Stylish Hotels With a Past (105)Travel to the fashion capital of Milan where we tour a Four Seasons hotel that was once a 15th century convent. Hear how this impeccably appointed resort incorporated the original columns, frescoes and fireplaces into its sophisticated contemporary design.
Then it's off to the south of France for a visit to a 19-room villa that was once the run-down carriage house of a large estate. Meet the three Aix-en-Provence natives who bought and restored the hotel, then decorated it in traditional Provencal style.
Next, learn how an architect transformed an elegant set of townhouses from the 1700s into a magnificent five-star hotel—connecting the four structures while maintaining their original facades.
Finally, meet the French celebrity chef Raymond Blanc. The details of his 15th century English manor house's décor are especially designed to enhance each guest's experience.
Four Seasons Facts:
- The Four Seasons manages 50 properties in 22 countries.
- The Milan hotel was built on an ancient convent that dates back to the 15th century.
- Originally inhabited by the Celts, Milan was conquered by the Romans in 222 BC and has been a flourishing commercial center ever since.
- The city's name makes reference to its geographic location—it has its roots in the Latin word mediolanum, which means "in the middle of the plain."
Contact Information:
Maison 140
Joachim Reitman, Hotel Manager
140 S. Lasky Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310-281-4000, 800-432-5444
www.maison140.com
Four Seasons Hotel, Milan
Andrea Filippi, Director of Sales & Marketing
Via Gesú, 8
Milano, MI 20121 Italy
011-02-7708-5000
Resources:
Lonely Planet Milan, Turin & Genoa (Milan, Turin and Genoa, 1st Ed)
by Nicola Williams
Italian Government Tourist Board
www.italiantourism.com
South Of France Villa Facts:
- The Villa Gallici was originally a carriage house for a larger estate located on the property.
- In keeping with the original architecture, 12,000-square feet was added to the house.
- Aix-en-Provence was founded in 122 BC by a Roman general, Caius Sextius Calvinus, who named it Aquae Sextiae after himself.
- Aix (pronounced "ex") has been a Roman military outpost, a civilian colony, the administrative capital of a province of the later Roman Empire, the seat of an archbishop, and the official residence of the medieval comtes de Provence.
Contact Information:
Villa Gallici
Daniel Jouve and Gil Dezco, Charles Montemarco: co-owners
Avenue de la Violette
Impasse des Grands Pins
13100 Aix-en-Provence, France
33-04-42-23-29-23
gallici@relaischateaux.fr
www.villagallici.com
Resources:
Provencal Interiors: French Country Style in America
by Betty Lou Phillips, Dan Piassick
Eyewitness Travel Guide to Provence and the Cote d'AzurM
by Roger Williams, Deni Bown
Provence Interiors/Interieurs De Provence (in English)
by Lisa Lovatt-Smith (Editor), A. Muthesius (Editor)
Dublin 5-Star Hotel Facts:
- Dublin celebrated its 1,000th birthday in 1988; it was designated European City of Culture in 1991.
- Literary greats George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, WB Yeats, James Joyce and Samuel Beckett are some of Dublin's native sons.
- The city is known for its Georgian townhouses.
- The Georgian period was from 1714-1811.
- Leinster House is Ireland's House of Parliament.
Contact Information:
Hotel Information:
The Merrion Hotel
Upper Merrion Street
Dublin 2, Ireland
353-1-603-0600
info@merrionhotel.com
www.merrionhotel.com
Martin Jones, architect
Burke-Kennedy-Doyle & Partners
6/7 Harcourt Terrace
Dublin 2 Ireland
Fax: 353-1-676-6908
Resources:
Classic Georgian Style
by Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, Andreas Von Einsiedel (Photographer)
Irish Tourist Board
www.ireland.travel.ie
Dublin's Georgian Heritage Trail
www.visitdublin.com
English Countryside Facts:
- Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons is French for "The Manor of Four Seasons."
- There are no fewer than 32 varieties of tomato grown in Le Manoir's hothouses.
- According to Blanc, there are three components to his guest's experience—the food, the interior design and the gardens.
Contact Information:
Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
Raymond Blanc, Owner/Chef
Church Road, Great Milton
Oxford OX44 7PD, United Kingdom
018-44- 27-88-81
lemanoir@blanc.co.uk
www.manoir.com
Resources:
Manor Houses of England
by Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, Christopher Simon Sykes (Photographer)
Raymond Blanc : Recipes from Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons
by Raymond Blanc, Michael Boys (Photographer)
