Bulgari’s fabled origins trace back to 1884, when Greek silversmith Sotirio Bulgari unveiled his creations at a shop on Rome’s Via Sistina. Travelers swooned for the jewelry, and more retail storefronts followed. With sons Giorgio and Constantino on board, Bulgari’s designs grew more lavish over the years, venturing into yellow gold and incorporating colored stones.

It was an organic evolution, as was the company’s decision to make a foray into hospitality. Some 25 years ago, Silvio Ursini, then Bulgari’s creative director, noticed a rising interest in the notion of experiential luxury. Prior to joining Bulgari in 1989, he worked in advertising and at Procter & Gamble, so he was well-versed in consumer behavior. There was an opportunity, he realized, to transcend jewelry and watches and imprint Bulgari’s ethos on an intimate collection of hotels.

The Bulgari Resort Bali marries volcanic lava stone and indigenous wood

“We’ve never been hoteliers, but we know luxury and we know our customers and what they want,” says Ursini, who now serves as group executive vice president of Bulgari’s hotels and resorts division.

He was right: Since the debut of the inaugural property in Milan, loyalists have been continuously enthused about checking into these hotels. Situated in a revamped 18th-century palazzo, complete with private garden, the Milan original—designed by local practice Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel (ACPV Architects)—was unveiled in 2004. Given Rome is the birthplace of Bulgari, fans were surprised by Milan, but the choice amplified the importance Bulgari places on finding just the right site.

“The fact of the matter is we were shown this incredible place in Milan first. We always know which neighborhood we want to be in, and even 500 meters makes a difference,” explains Ursini. “Each of our buildings has character because we need to deliver something extraordinary.”

Growth strategy

Black granite floors, lacquered walls, and brass touches come together at the Bulgari Hotel Paris bar

Bulgari found the ideal Roman home in 2023. “We saw good ones but nothing amazing before that,” Ursini says, but it was worth the wait. The most recent addition to the portfolio, the Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo-designed Rationalist structure from the 1930s faces the Mausoleum of Augustus.

Between the Milan and Rome openings, seven more properties with distinctive settings designed by ACPV sprouted in London, Dubai, Bali, Beijing, Shanghai, Paris, and Tokyo. In London, materials like Portland stone nod to the city’s architectural icons, while Shanghai—a transformation of the city’s 20th-century chamber of commerce headquarters—recalls the 1930s. The Tokyo outpost, meanwhile, is spread across six floors of a skyscraper.

Core concept

On the 40th floor of the Bulgari Hotel Tokyo, the lounge beckons with a cast iron and granite fireplace

“We started cautiously,” Ursini says. “We took time to think about what we were going to do and how, and the plan hasn’t changed. We said we would do eight to 10 hotels in 20 years, and we have nine. The whole purpose of the exercise was not to become the market leader in the hotel segment or necessarily to make a business out of it. It was to be experimental, innovative, and disruptive.”

One common thread at each hotel is the oval-shaped bar, a social hub rendered in various materials. In Milan, for instance, it is crafted from black resin, and Beijing’s is brought to life in a hand-hammered bronze that draws from the building’s surroundings. Dubai’s is fashioned from chrome and matches the city’s pulsating nightlife.

Design ethos

Textured Vicenza stone, a nod to Italian architecture, appears in the spa at the Bulgari Hotel London

Central to the vision is the continued embrace of ACVP as design partner on all projects. “We wanted an Italian designer, and we interviewed many, but we landed on Antonio and Patricia because they are leaders of a style that is contemporary yet timeless. If you look at the hotel in Milan, it hasn’t changed an inch from 20 years ago. To me that’s the greatest compliment,” Ursini says.

Ursini also cites ACPV’s attention to detail as an asset. Citterio and Viel “bring an architectural vision to drawers and handles. Very few firms can do that these days,” he adds.

Enduring, quality materials are another ACPV hallmark, so Bulgari uses residential instead of contract furniture. “At the end of the day, our hotels are small, around 60 to 80 suites, and our guests are the kind who can recognize a Maxalto sofa and appreciate it,” says Ursini. Bespoke ACPV pieces take a significant amount of time to design, prototype, and perfect, so these “true eternal classics,” as Ursini puts it, are often woven into various hotel vignettes.

Italian charm

Italian cuisine juxtaposes Japanese design elements like the curved wood ceiling at Tokyo’s Il Ristorante – Niko Romito

Since launching, the Bulgari hotel aesthetic has, like the retail displays and jewels themselves, adapted. Italian travertine and mosaic are becoming more prevalent, and the Rome location, with its richly hued red, yellow, and green marble, signals a bolder palette direction. The forthcoming 84-room resort in Bodrum, Turkey, will sport local stone, and like the Bali resort swathed in Javanese mahogany, these elements ground visitors in their environs, but never lose sight of the overarching Italian vision.

A certain energy underpins all the hotels. They are “animated by an Italian approach to service,” as Ursini describes it, which is bolstered by restaurant collaborations with chef Niko Romito and pools that evoke monumental Roman baths in some of the centerpiece spas. Essentially, the properties “have become embassies of the Bulgari brand, a showcase of Italian craftsmanship and the art of living.”

On the boards

Stripes pop against ribbed wood at Il Caffè, which fuses Italian and Middle Eastern sensibilities at the Dubai resort

In 2026, the 54-key Bulgari Resort Ranfushi is headed to Raa Atoll in the Maldives, starring a villa tucked away on its own island. In 2027, Bulgari will make its much-anticipated stateside splash in Miami Beach at the former Seagull hotel, a modernist bastion of 1950s and ’60s revelry. This 100-key property is perfectly positioned between Collins Park and the ocean.

Such a choice backdrop proves that Bulgari’s growth strategy is a success. “Our lack of pressure on development can be long and frustrating, but it has turned out to be a winning proposition because it allows us to search for superior locations in every city we want to be in,” explains Ursini. “We can’t disappoint our customers. We’ve been around too long.”

 

This article originally appeared in HD’s November 2024 issue.