4 days ago
You can meet the Clooneys – but it will cost you €100,000
It's a rare opportunity to enjoy fine wines, gourmet food and the sublime scenery of Lake Como – all in the company of George and Amal Clooney. There's just one catch – it will set you back at least €100,000 (£87,000).
The Hollywood actor and his wife, Amal Clooney, the British human rights barrister, will this month host a 'philanthropic travel experience' near their Lake Como estate in northern Italy.
The four-night, five-day experience, set on the shores of one of Europe's most beautiful lakes, promises a giddy whirl of encounters with the Clooneys.
Guests will be able to take part in an 'immersive travel experience', relishing the vistas of Lake Como while at the same time participating in the couple's 'quest to change the world'.
And for anyone with a few tens of thousands to spare and a hankering to meet Clooney, who was once described as 'the sexiest man alive', there is good news – there is still one hotel room available.
Guests might even get two Hollywood legends for the price of one – local media are reporting that Robert De Niro, 81, was recently spotted touring the lake with his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, 45, and may drop in on his friend George.
The aim of the exclusive event is to raise money for the couple's human rights organisation, the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which provides free legal aid to wrongly imprisoned journalists and support to women's rights groups around the world.
The foundation works in 40 countries, from Belarus and Syria to Sudan and Zimbabwe.
A select group of just 16 people have made generous donations to the foundation, in exchange for which they will spend time discussing world affairs and human rights with the star of Ocean's Eleven, Burn After Reading and Monuments Men, as well as his wife, a celebrated lawyer who is based in London.
Italian media have reported that those donations will amount to €160,000 per person, but that was denied by the organisers. 'The number is incorrect, but it's six figures for sure,' an insider told The Telegraph. 'Each individual donates a different amount to the foundation. There is no minimum.'
There will be gastronomic tours of the lake and an alfresco dinner at a historic villa, with guests taken there and back by motor launch.
It is the first time that such an event has been held by the Clooneys, one of Hollywood's most formidable power couples. 'They have been talking about it for some time,' said the insider.
After flying to Milan, guests will be picked up and whisked to the Passalacqua Hotel on the shores of Lake Como.
An imposing villa built in the 18th century, its illustrious guests have included the composer Vincenzo Bellini and Pope Innocent XI. The hotel's Bellini Suite, described as 'a succession of lavishly decorated halls', costs €12,000 a night. Breakfast is included.
Guests on a slightly tighter budget might opt for a 'grand junior suite', boasting a king bed and lake views, which goes for a modest €5,500 a night – excluding taxes and fees.
Once the guests are settled in, they will be invited to a welcome reception and then a garden party hosted by George and Amal.
The next few days will feature a busy round of private dinners and 'engaging discussions' on international justice and philanthropy.
If the debates about global crises and human rights abuses get a bit heavy, relief will not be far away – guests are promised 'exquisite menus with wine pairing'.
After hobnobbing with George and Amal, guests will be sent on their way with a farewell brunch.
The event is being organised by a high-end company, Satopia Travel, which promises its clients 'the utmost discretion and confidentiality'.
The actor has had a love affair with Italy for years. He bought Villa Oleandra, his property on Lake Como, for a reported $10 million more than 20 years ago and has been a regular visitor ever since.
For years, he was one of the world's most eligible bachelors. But all that changed in 2014 when he married Amal during a lavish wedding in Venice – a precursor to the recent multi-million dollar nuptials held by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos when he married television journalist Lauren Sánchez in June.
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