Latest news with #CristianoRinaldi
NDTV
14 hours ago
- Business
- NDTV
Florence In Italy To Get Europe's First Capella Hotel In 2027, In An 800-Year-Old Convent Complex
By reinventing a venerable complex of former convents dating back to the 12th century, Capella Hotels and Resorts is set to make its much-anticipated European debut in Florence, Italy, in 2027. Where And What Located in the historic heart of the Tuscan capital, in Via San Gallo, the hotel will be just a few steps from the Piazza della Libertà (the northernmost point of the historic centre of Florence) and the Duomo (cathedral). The complex where Capella Florence is coming up has been home to the convents of Sant'Agata, San Clemente and Santa Lucia di Camporeggi, which hosted talented artists like Arcangela Paladini. It even served as a military hospital back in the day. The hotel is designed by renowned Italian architectural firms RPA and De Vita & Schulze, with interiors by French design house Liaigre. This will mark the restoration of one of the city's most culturally important and storied properties. "Capella Florence represents a natural evolution of our vision, bringing the Capella experience to a city where culture, history, and artistry are deeply ingrained in everyday life," Cristiano Rinaldi, President, Capella Hotel Group, said in a statement. What Capella Florence Will Comprise The 89-key property will include 33 suites, 56 guestrooms and 10 exclusive classical and modern residences with their own entrance. Guests will enjoy two refined restaurants - one spotlighting local Tuscan cuisine and the other a refined Japanese sushi omakase. It will be complemented by a rooftop bar, subterranean speakeasy wine vault and Capella's signature Living Room. A separate Clubhouse will house a 600 square metre Capella Spa, with hydro pool, fitness centre and a wellness café. It will include an indoor amphitheatre, which will pay tribute to the site's 800-year tradition of creativity and cultural exchange. The introduction of Europe to the Capella Hotel and Resorts brand comes after the success of its properties across Asia and the Pacific. The hotel is expected to welcome guests from 2027.
TTG
3 days ago
- Business
- TTG
Capella Hotels and Resorts to make European debut
Capella Hotels and Resorts will make its much-anticipated first foray into Europe with the opening of Capella Florence in 2027. Occupying a privileged position in the historic and cultural heart of Florence, moments from the Piazza della Libertà and the Duomo, this respectful reinvention of a venerable complex of former convents continues to build on the bespoke luxury brand's thoughtful expansion into global destinations. A masterful reimagining of the historic Via San Gallo by acclaimed Italian architectural firms RPA and De Vita & Schulze with refined interiors by French design house Liaigre, Capella Florence will breathe new life into one of the city's most culturally important and storied properties. Dating back to the 12th century, the site has been home to the convents of Sant'Agata, San Clemente and Santa Lucia di Camporeggi; hosted talented artists like Arcangela Paladini; and served as a military hospital. "Capella Florence represents a natural evolution of our vision, bringing the Capella experience to a city where culture, history, and artistry are deeply ingrained in everyday life," says Cristiano Rinaldi, President, Capella Hotel Group. Augmenting sensitively restored heritage buildings with visionary architecture, the 89-key property will converge eight centuries of artistic and cultural excellence with bespoke luxury and timeless elegance. Two refined restaurants, showcasing local Tuscan cuisine and Japanese sushi omakase respectively, will be complemented by a rooftop bar, subterranean speakeasy wine vault and Capella's signature Living Room. A separate Clubhouse will be home to a 600sqm Capella Spa with hydro pool, fitness centre and café, while an indoor amphitheatre will pay homage to the site's 800-year tradition of creativity and cultural exchange, elevated through the lens of Capella's visionary curation and crafted hospitality. In addition to 33 suites and 56 guestrooms, Capella Florence will also feature 10 exclusive classical and modern residences with a dedicated entrance.
Skift
06-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
Capella's Break-Out Year: Four Openings, Two Brands, Cracking Luxury's Toughest Challenge
The Singapore-based hotel group expands its portfolio while expanding a second brand, demonstrating that growth and craft excellence aren't mutually exclusive. On Experience Colin Nagy is a marketing strategist and writes on customer-centric experiences and innovation across the luxury sector, hotels, aviation, and beyond. You can read all of his writing Colin Nagy is a marketing strategist and writes on customer-centric experiences and innovation across the luxury sector, hotels, aviation, and beyond. You can read all of his writing here Capella Hotels may be solving luxury hospitality's toughest equation: maintaining intimacy while scaling. The Singapore-based group is doubling its footprint in 2025, adding four properties across Asia while simultaneously developing Patina, their cultural-centric second brand, into urban markets. Rather than the blitzscaling approach of larger competitors, the expansion reads as craft-paced growth. Each new property targets underserved markets with distinct positioning, suggesting the group has found a sustainable way to grow without losing what makes them special. "Guests aren't collectors of luxury hotels, they're collectors of meaningful contexts," explains Cristiano Rinaldi, President of Capella, articulating a mindset that seems to be resonating with discerning travelers and addressing a key tension facing luxury hospitality. This intent is evident in Capella's newest properties. Capella Taipei, which opened in April as the city's first luxury hotel debut in several years, immediately filled a void in Taiwan's economic and cultural capital. The 86-key property, designed by Andre Fu, operates as a "modern mansion" with programming that includes calligraphy workshops and night-market expeditions through their "Capella Culturists" program. The execution feels sharp, and despite just opening, seems to be magnetic to the right crowd. During a recent visit, the hotel buzzed with a compelling mix of American tech executives, global business travelers, and affluent Taiwanese locals: a living moodboard that might have appeared in early concept drafts of the property. It felt inspired and different. Two-Brand Approach Similar intentionality appears across their 2025 openings: Capella Kyoto taps into strong interest in Japan's traditional heritage with an intimate 89-key property by Kengo Kuma & Associates, and perhaps most intriguingly, Capella is developing Patina as a parallel luxury brand targeting culturally curious travelers. Where Capella emphasizes heritage and craft, Patina positions itself as "pioneering transformative luxury" for guests seeking creative programming alongside high-touch service. Patina Osaka, their 221-key urban debut, showcases this through partnerships with local tastemakers like Verdy, the Japanese creative who styles for Blackpink and designs limited Nike editions. Verdy lives nearby in Osaka (and also runs a local pizza joint), and their collaborations evolved naturally over time, first at Patina Maldives, and then in his own backyard with the hotel's Listening Room by OJAS (aka Devon Turnbull) channels Japan's vinyl bar culture, while pop-up collaborations lend cultural cred that speak to next-gen luxury travelers. "With Patina, we're definitely not going to color within the lines," Rinaldi explains, describing an approach that allows for a bit of risk-taking while leveraging Capella's operational acumen. Rinaldi also says that some of the cultural dot connecting that Patina does well is also feeding into Capella's pipeline. By positioning Patina as "powered by Capella," they're creating a bit of space for both brands to develop distinct identities while sharing resources and expertise, and providing some necessary clarity to consumers. The group's most significant opportunity remains the United States, where Americans already account for nearly 30% of room nights across their Asian portfolio. Unlike competitors with established North American presence, Capella is building brand recognition through word-of-mouth, a slower but potentially more sustainable approach. The brand is also demonstrating operational execution. Their investment in general managers like Antonio Saponara (currently running Capella Bangkok after fine tuning Patina Maldives) ensures vision-based service that pulls through the front line staff, and the focus on genuine local partnerships, when done well, creates differentiation. Other brands find it hard to have the taste levels or the connections to truly make these feel real. Sydney's Capella (opened in 2023) has also become a gathering place for the international creative class rather than just another central business district hotel. Each property feels distinctly interesting with its own inherent energy. What Comes Next Capella's 2025 expansion represents luxury hospitality's most thoughtful scaling effort in recent memory. By combining disciplined growth with creative programming, they're demonstrating that a boutique and craft mindset and broader reach aren't incompatible, provided the execution remains meticulous. The two-brand strategy adds complexity and remains the biggest risk to watch, which will be interesting to follow. It takes a long time to introduce consumers to one brand, let alone two new ones. The real test comes in the next 18 months. Can Capella Kyoto maintain the cultural authenticity that defines the brand while opening in Japan's most tradition-conscious city? Will American travelers embrace Patina as a distinct experience, or will brand confusion occur? And perhaps most critically, can they secure that elusive U.S. foothold without compromising the patient, relationship-driven approach that got them here? If Capella succeeds on all fronts, they'll have cracked the code that has stymied luxury hospitality for decades. But it will be a strategic, marketing, and operational challenge that will take an unprecedented level of leadership cohesion. But early signs are promising.
