The Bulgari - a hotel and a brand
One clientele only, the chic and the cosmopolitan
In typical Italian style (elegant stone in which black dominates) the hotel targets a cosmopolitan and fashionable clientele, one that is seduced by this contemporary and luxurious hotel. Situated in one of Milan's private streets, the Via Fratella Gaba, the Hotel Bulgari with its 58 rooms of which 9 are suites, is situated in a wooded park of 4000 m2; a park that in the 18th century was the kitchen garden of a monastery. Its white marble façade, marked with black granite and with black oak frames round the windows is a strong contrast to the buildings around. Inside it is all charm; generous well laid out spaces, a large fireplace in black granite from Zimbabwe, contemporary paintings and objects from the famous Massimo de Carlo gallery, mix with the low key tone of the foyer.
The rooms have contemporary fluid lines
The chromatic equilibrium can also be found in the corridors and the rooms with a dark/light contrast between the floor and the walls covered with black or dove-grey material. The rooms and suites are all very pared down and almost monastic, in tones of beige and white with fluid contemporary lines. The floors are in faded oak and the bedding is immaculate linen; there is honey coloured silk at the windows and the atmosphere is quiet and relaxing. A DVD even offers a sensory video. In contrast the bathrooms are very sophisticated,with golden wire gauze partitions to separate them from the rooms.
A chapel that is now a restaurant
The chapel has been converted into a restaurant, and has become the place to be seen.
The chef, Elio Sironi treats us to mainly Italian inspired dishes but with interesting and contemporary twists.
So a simple salad becomes a feast when the gorgonzola is paired with grilled peaches. Don't miss the "all' acqua pazza" spaghetti, cooked in a sort of bouillabaisse, a delicious dish that is served with fish.
For a drink or a light lunch, the bar is the place; oval shaped in black resin beneath a suspended ceiling, it is surrounded by black columns and is set against large windows that give onto a garden of geometric figures. When the weather is fine you can eat outside, where black tables and chairs on a teak deck are waiting for guests.
A spa with a Moorish feel
To end the day beautifully; try the spa across the garden planted with purple beeches, magnolias, climbing roses and topiary. The ultimate refuge from the city, it wraps stressed city dwellers in a pampered cocoon.
In this peaceful place designed to rest both the body and the mind, is a pool tiled in emerald green and gold mosaic that extends into a hammam with a minimalist design; decorated with the same mosaic as the pool, the benches are in Turkish stone from Aphyon.
Age old treatments
A Moorish atmosphere is present here too on the patio that adjoins the spa and is used as an open air sitting room.The hurly burly of the city is forgotten, and we rediscover age old traditions, Ayurvedic inspired treatments, aromatherapy, massages from Bali or Hawaii.
To recover your energy and equilibrium there is nothing like the hot stones treatment designed to put your "chakras" in balance; in the Ayurvedic system they represent the seven points of energy of the body.
For those that are still undecided the Bulgari Spa has four treatment programmes, rituals designed to plunge you into well-being and harmony. Harmony, Indulgence, Escape and Serenity are long term escapes (from two to five hours). The ultimate luxury for the blasé, the Bulgari would not be the Bulgari of it didn't offer the impossible, or almost; does a drive in a
Lamborghini or a Ferrari tempt you, a tour round Lake Maggiore in a helicopter or that childhood dream driving round the Monza circuit? Anything is possible here, all you need to do is ask... and pay of course!
My opinion
It is a very beautifully designed hotel, imagined by an architect who understands luxury and the contemporary life-style. You must try the breakfasts, they are a feast. Especially the Bulgari breakfast that apart from the usualfruit juice and jams offers eggs with caviar from Iran and champagne and lobster or let yourself be tempted by the Mediterranean breakfast, based on olives, tomatoes and fresh fruit carpaccios.
One good point the 7 children's menus.
