Luxury designers are increasingly tying up with luxury hospitality brands. Louis Vuitton’s upcoming Paris property and Palazzo Versace’s new Macau location and Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa, Dubai, are a few examples. Bulgari Hotels and Resorts has many locations in Milan, London and Shanghai; Armani Hotel occupies 11 floors of the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Louis Vuitton is transforming its Paris headquarters into its largest store and first-ever hotel in the times to come. Round Hill Hotel & Villas is designed by Ralph Lauren in Jamaica. Fendi Private Suites, Rome, is the first boutique hotel with Fendi Casa pieces and linens, including beds, couches and side tables.
This year, Christian Dior opened a brand-inspired spa at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in the South of France. The hotel has been a refuge for stars like Sharon Stone, Robert de Niro and Clint Eastwood, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, Audrey Hepburn. There is another poolside retreat by Dior in the Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles, with cabanas, surf-inspired cabins, and a sandcastle-inspired boutique.
Dolce & Gabbana will come up with a luxury hotel in Maldives soon. The Italian brand has collaborated with Dar Global, the international arm of Saudi property developer Dar Al Arkan, for the project.
Famed French-Egyptian designer, best known for high-end shoes, Christian Louboutin, this year opened a lavish new hotel in Portugal by the name of Vermelho, which means ‘red’ in Portuguese, a patent hue that one can easily identify in the sole of most Louboutins. Just like the shoe design, the hotel is unique, with 13 luxury rooms embedded with local craftsmanship, distinctive works of art and amenities. Frescoes and rare artworks handpicked by Christian Louboutin adorn the walls of the hotel. The Portrait Firenze, a select 37-room luxury suites hotel in Florence, Italy, includes a spectacular rooftop suite and a penthouse floor. The hotel is an exclusive, luxurious design hotel from the Salvatore Ferragamo-owned Lungarno Collection, and listed among the leading hotels of the world. The legacy of the Ferragamo family adorns the walls of Portrait Firenze along with photography archives of stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Grace Kelly as they holidayed in Florence.
The Karl Lagerfeld in Macau, a five-star luxury hotel located at Grand Lisboa Palace Resort Macau, has streaks of the late designer’s signature style in the property. Armani Hotels in Dubai and Milan have the vision of designer Giorgio Armani. The colour palette of Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa features a dark and muted colour scheme from beige to charcoal while all furniture is from the brand’s homeware line Armani Casa.
Palazzo Versace hotels by the House of Versace in Dubai, Macau and Australia’s Gold Coast have amenities designed and tailormade by Donatella Versace, chief designer of the Milan-based fashion house, including a Versace logo bathrobe, a Barocco-printed belt and matching slippers in iconic Medusa-motif.