Hotel Missoni features in The Herald

1.06.09

Opening an elite hotel in these straightened economic times may not seem the most sound business move.

But when you are the matriarch of one of the world’s most renowned fashion dynasties the pursuit of luxury knows no bounds.

In partnership with the Rezidor Hotel Group quality Italian fashion dynasty Missoni are set to open their first “lifestyle” hotel in Edinburgh with a second to follow in Kuwait City.

Rezidor has linked with the fashion and design group in a multimillion-pound deal spearheaded by Hotel Missoni creative director Rosita Missoni and Rezidor executive vice-president Gordon McKinnon.

Rezidor, the Brussels-based international group, has 370 hotels worldwide and is looking to expand.

By 2010, Rezidor is expected to have four hotels in or around the capital with the addition of a Park Inn on Leith Walk and at Edinburgh Airport while the Hotel Missoni portfolio will see 30 hotels open or under development within 10 years.

Edinburgh is perhaps not the most obvious choice given the dual slump of the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of Scotland, but the capital’s hotel is the vanguard of the Hotel Missoni chain.

A spokesman for the Rezidor Hotel Group said there was no particular reason for choosing Scotland’s capital beyond the fact that the Royal Mile hotel happened to be the first ready for opening.

However, he added that the city had “always been on Rezidor’s radar” due to its history and its previous success in attracting luxury brands, such as Harvey Nichols.

The high-end hotel, to open on June 8, sits on the corner where George IV Bridge meets the Royal Mile in the building which formerly housed Lothian Regional Council.

Room rates are not for the light of wallet. A single room with breakfast costs £210 a night while the suite d’argento, featuring a balcony looking out over Edinburgh, is priced at £600 a night.

Rosita Missoni, matriarch of the Italian knitwear design dynasty famous for its dizzying stripes and zigzags of colour, is responsible for the interior design of the hotels.

Missoni, immaculately elegant in clothing from her own collection, is a petite powerhouse and remarkably sharp for one just shy of 80.

Having retired in 1997, Missoni says she was bored and looking for a new challenge Missoni, 78, says her creative process begins by working with a black and white background before layering on swatches of colour, an appropriate method considering Edinburgh’s famous dreich, grey days.

Missoni says the aim of the hotel is to feel like a home with restaurant La Cucina acting as the heart of the building, the way an Italian kitchen is the heart of the home. To emphasise this, Missoni has had furniture from her own homes replicated for the hotel.

Design features have also been modified to take in the “host country” with Hotel Missoni Edinburgh featuring Rennie Mackintosh high-backed chairs.

She and her husband Ottavio are well seasoned travellers. The pair have poured their collective likes and dislikes into creating a “perfect” hotel, even down to the wooden floors, which Missoni claims to be more hygenic than carpets.

The hotel lobby, framed by two giant mosaic urns, features a bar with artwork by Missoni’s son Luca. Even the elevator is decked in piercing Missoni stripes, designed to delight first-time visitors to the 136-room hotel.

Five-star Hotel Missoni aims to beat rival boutique hotel chains in comfort and style. All staff are to be robed in Missoni clothing. For the Edinburgh team, this means zigzag striped kilts.

For Missoni, the leitmotif of her hotels is an uncompromising commitment to luxury, although she denies the hotel is ostentatious or inappropriate in such tight economic times.

“For me, the biggest luxury here is the view,” she says.

“The view is art in itself and the most luxurious element to the hotel. Even in such difficult times, people deserve luxury and comfort.”
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