Asian luxury hotel brand Capella Hotels and Resorts has revealed plans to launch the brand in Europe. It will open a hotel in Florence, Italy in 2027 as a first step on the continent.
The award winning luxury brand has won a string of accolades. Its hotels in Singapore and Ubud, Bali have been named the best in their respective countries, while Capella Sydney was ranked the third best hotel in all of Australia and New Zealand.
Adding Europe to a largely Asian portfolio
Currently, the group has 15 operating hotels under the Capella banner. A further two sites, in Singapore and Shanghai, feature Capella Residences.
The Florence hotel will have 89 rooms, and is scheduled for launch in 2027. It will be created from the imaginative reuse of a historic complex of former convent buildings, with some parts of the site dating back to the 12th century.
Architects RPA and De Vita & Schulze have been given the challenge of creating a modern luxury hotel, while respecting the past and delivering interiors with warmth and unique style. French interior designers Liaigre will be contributing to the ambience of the many rooms, two restaurants, a rooftop bar and basement wine vault.
As well as hotel rooms, the property will feature 10 residences. There will also be a separate clubhouse, which will have a spa with hydro pool and fitness centre. In addition, the property will feature an indoor amphitheatre.
The Florence hotel fits into a busy construction and opening programme for the brand in its home region of Asia Pacific. There, Capella Hotel Taipei has recently opened, with Capella at Galaxy Macau following. In China, the group has hotels under construction in Nanjing, Shenzhen, and Hengchun.
Plans are also under way to develop a Capella Residences project in Seoul, South Korea and a 92 room hotel in Kyoto, Japan, opening in late 2025. Additional presence is also being planned in Sydney, Australia, while the Capella brand will also soon have a resort in the Maldives.
Capella is also playing its part in the development of a broader tourism offer in Saudi Arabia. There, it plans to add Elanan Capella Resort Neom, plus a Capella hotel in the Diriyah Gate expansion.
Capella is also growing a second brand, Patina, which is a lifestyle brand designed to appeal to progressive travellers. Currently Patina has hotels open in the Maldives and Osaka, with two upcoming openings. These are in Sanya, and Tianjin, China.
New hotels for Patina brand
Patina Tianjin will feature more than 150 rooms, created within a complex of 17 restored historic buildings, in the city’s Hebei district. An urban resort, the Sanya property has been designed by Scandinavian architects BIG, with a modern, swooping block of accommodation topped by rooftop gardens.
As a regional hotel business, Capella and its Patina brand both participate as members of the Global Hotel Alliance, joining a group of more than 550 hotels around the world. This grouping provides an international marketing platform for its member hotels, as well as enabling hotels to be part of an international loyalty programme GHA Discovery.
