INSPIRATIONS BELMOND ITALY, MALLORCA & MADEIRA PLUNGE INTO OUR WORLD CELEBRATE A LEGEND ESCAPE ON UNIQUE ADVENTURES BELMOND INSPIRATIONS 2018 BELMOND INSPIRATIONS 2018 NEWS WELCOME Welcome to the exciting new season unfolding at our wonderful world of Belmond. Whether you join us in Italy, Mallorca or Madeira, expect to be amazed by the unique and truly exclusive adventures that await. Behind all our hotels are inspiring stories that celebrate what we call The Art of Belmond. This year we’re raising Bellinis galore to mark Belmond Hotel Cipriani’s first 60 years. But we’re also answering the call of the wild and heading to a Sicilian island to meet an artist at home in her mountain cave. Our heritage, authenticity—and spirit of playfulness—all come together in these and many other once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Do come and stay during what promises to be an exceptionally fun and festive year—and become part of our continuing story. I look forward to welcoming you. Robert Koren, Vice President Southern Europe, Belmond CONTENTS PAGE 3 | YOU’VE ARRIVED! PAGE 24 | GREAT EXPLORATIONS Make a glamorous new entrance Discover hidden worlds and remarkable stories—a at Belmond Reid’s Palace. rare rose in Venice, a secret Madeiran vineyard, incredible art trails in Mallorca and Tuscany. PAGE 4 | 60 YEARS A LEGEND Celebrate the diamond anniversary—and PAGE 40 | EPICUREAN ESCAPADES YOU’VE glittering history—of Belmond Hotel Cipriani. The joy of travel meets the bliss of food in these mouthwatering experiences, from Sicilian cooking ARRIVED! PAGE 10 | FOR YOUR EYES ONLY classes to a Madeiran mountain breakfast. Escape the ordinary on our exclusive adventures, from breakfast with a Filicudi islander to a PAGE 48 | IN YOUR DREAMS private concert at San Fruttuoso Abbey. Floating acrobats? Operatic waiters? Plan an out- The approach to Belmond Reid’s Palace was always a glorious Discover delightful touches that reflect both the island’s unique of-this-world wedding at our exceptional venues. surprise. Long ago, you arrived by boat and strolled through riches and the hotel’s celebrated history, such as floral inspired PAGE 22 | MATTHEW WILLIAMSON’S the subtropical gardens into another world. Now, following an wall lamps, explorers’ artefacts and beautiful embroidery. Enjoy a DESIGNS ON DEIÀ PAGE 52 | SUITE DECADENCE extensive re-imagining, your arrival is even more stunning. Enter fabulous new multifunctional events space boasting spectacular The designer reveals the thinking behind his Introducing a whole new level of luxury a bright, airy lobby with potted palms fringing historic black and ocean vistas, and our spruced-up Pool Terrace, where locally gorgeous new suite at Belmond La Residencia. aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. white prints and gleaming marble floors. Twinkling chandeliers crafted tableware makes sampling Madeiran delicacies even invite your gaze towards the terrace, where later you’ll be more delicious. enjoying afternoon tea overlooking the sea. Discover more @belmondreidspalace and instagram.com/belmondreidspalace 2 3 BETSI EWING BETSI 60 Years a LEGEND IN 2018, WE CELEBRATE BELMOND HOTEL CIPRIANI’S 60TH BIRTHDAY. JOIN US AS WE LOOK BACK AT THIS DIAMOND’S GLITTERING PAST AND CELEBRATE ITS SHINING FUTURE. 4 5 5 BELMOND INSPIRATIONS 2018 60 YEARS A LEGEND CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: SOPHIA LOREN; THE HOTEL IN THE 1960S; THE GLAMOUR LIVES ON TODAY; ELIZABETH TAYLOR’S MESSAGE IN THE GOLDEN BOOK; THE SHORT RIDE TO ST MARK’S SQUARE; GIUSEPPE CIPRIANI. GRAZIANO ARICI So it is with Belmond Hotel Cipriani, our iconic Venetian truly luxurious. He was also a pastry chef and he put on sumptuous buffet Party central What makes a hotel, where heroic characters, captivating stories and breakfasts with incredible pastries. He was meticulous about details.” The At the age of 72, Giuseppe left the hotel and, in 1976, it became the blissful happiness are all part of the legend. guest list reads like a Who’s Who, from Yves Saint Laurent and Hubert cornerstone of the Belmond collection together with the revived Venice legend? You need de Givenchy to Vanessa Redgrave, Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve. Simplon-Orient-Express. Another legendary hotelier, Natale Rusconi, was Our story began in 1956, when Giuseppe Cipriani, founder General Manager until 2007. Former PR Director Nadia Stancioff recalls: Size matters of the celebrated Harry’s Bar in Venice, decided to build a “The hotel used to host amazing parties and lavish receptions. Organised heroes, dreams, drama; As the hotel expanded, Giuseppe hit on the idea to install a swimming haven for jet-setting travellers close to St Mark’s Square, yet by Dr Rusconi, they were very appealing to Venetian society.” She also pool. And herein lies a tale. Allegedly, when the Guinness sisters arrived to away from the city bustle. It was a time when Italy was still celebrating remembers he was a stickler for detail. “The hotel was known above all historical facts mixed with view it they cried, “We didn’t agree to an Olympic swimming pool!” “But for its impeccable service. Printed profiles were kept, indicating habits a post-war dolce vita, as encapsulated by films such as Roman Holiday and we agreed 25 by 50 metres with your architect,” replied Giuseppe. “No, and special requests of guests, so that the following year they could find compelling fiction, or just Summertime. He chose a three-acre plot on the tip of the then-deserted we said 25 by 50 feet!” came the retort. The manager at the time, Enzo exactly the same things and feel truly at home.” Today, Giampaolo Ottazzi Giudecca Island and secured funding from three wealthy Guinness sisters. Cecconi, now 81, clears the matter up: “The truth is, it measures exactly 33 ensures Belmond Hotel Cipriani continues to blaze a trail. tales that become ever more x 13.5 metres. I know because it was me who led the work.” Just two years after the project began, glamorous guests were arriving The hotel may look quite different now from the one Giuseppe Cipriani in their droves. Affluent Americans, French nobles, English aristocrats, Whatever its dimensions, the titanic pool has become one of the most outlandish with each telling. built—additions have included the magnificent Palazzo Vendramin, Cip’s exclusive attractions and meeting places in Venice. Writer Erica Jong, a European royalty, actors and artists from across the globe were drawn Club, the Granaries of the Republic and our Michelin-star restaurant longtime aficionado of the city, says it’s the first thing that springs to mind And you need a joyful to the relaxing, private atmosphere, the outstanding service and the Oro. But it stays true to the original aspiration: to provide an indulgent when she thinks of the hotel. “The crazy pool with the wrong dimensions…! gorgeous rooms decorated with Murano glass and Fortuny fabrics. sanctuary that’s a world away, yet a stone’s throw, from St Mark’s Square. outcome for all. But it’s the most wonderful pool because of the salt water—you feel like Giuseppe was very hands-on, his grandson Bonifacio Brass remembers. you’re swimming in the sea.” The author frequently features Venice in The final word goes to Bonifacio, who recalls that his grandfather, on “He was loved by the staff and he took great pleasure in greeting them her books. “I’ve published 25 books all over the world in 45 languages, creating the iconic pool, said he wanted to have a dolphin as a lifeguard. every morning. He put his heart and soul into making a place that was including Chinese, and Venice always somehow appears.” “And he almost made it happen.” Now that’s the stuff of legend. 6 7 BELMOND INSPIRATIONS 2018 60 YEARS A LEGEND BIRTH OF I’LL HAVE WHAT THE BELLINI HE’S HAVING So simple, but so delicious, the peach purée and Prosecco cocktail Less historical, but just as popular, the Buona Notte was that has become synonymous with Belmond Hotel Cipriani was concocted by our legendary head barman Walter Bolzonella invented by Giuseppe Cipriani at Harry’s Bar in 1948. Serendipity for regular guest George Clooney on the opening night of his led to the opening of the bar, after the young Giuseppe, 2005 film, Good Night, and Good Luck. “He usually ordered a barman at the time, had lent 10,000 lire to a struggling a cranberry vodka,” remembers Walter. “But this time I American student named Harry Pickering. When a much prepared a vodka with cucumber juice and fresh ginger. ‘Try wealthier Harry returned to repay Giuseppe, he presented it for a change’, I suggested. ‘What’s it called?’ he asked in his friend with four times the sum and suggested he return. As it had no name he christened it. That evening, I set up his own bar. Harry’s Bar opened in a converted had to prepare a hundred Buona Nottes!” After nearly four warehouse in 1931 and swiftly became frequented by decades at the hotel, Walter has a bottomless well of stories, writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote and although he’s the soul of discretion. “Our guests are my Somerset Maugham. Apparently Giuseppe conjured up the friends,” he says. “I’ll cry with them and laugh with them. Bellini when the sun was setting: the pinky golden hues They can tell me anything.” inspired his world-famous cocktail. GRAZIANO ARICI FROM LEFT: MAKE A STYLISH ENTRANCE; ITALIAN ACTRESS CLAUDIA CARDINALE AT THE HOTEL; ONE OF THE ORIGINAL GUINNESS “I’ve travelled three SECRETS OF A HEAD DOORMAN SUITES CREATED IN THE 1960S. Smartly uniformed Roberto Senigaglia, who is often the first smiling WHAT THE BUTLER SAW times around the face you see on arrival at the hotel’s jetty, has welcomed many famous figures during his 25 years at the hotel.