Portofino’s Splendido Reopens With A Refined New Look

In a previous era, guests of Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino, might have seen Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner or Elizabeth Taylor lounging on the terrace overlooking the multicolored village of Portofino and the surrounding bay. More recently, the grand hotel/celebrity magnet on the Italian Riviera has been a vacation spot for marquee names like Steven Spielberg and Beyoncé. When it reopens for the season next week, though, the hotel is beginning to transcend what those guests would recognize, unveiling the first stage of a revitalized new look.

The redesign is spearheaded by the London and New York based Martin Brudnizki Design Studio whose work is on view in restaurants and hotels around the world such as 23 Hours in Copenhagen, The Beekman in New York and Annabel’s, Matteo’s and Harry’s Bar in London. As Brudnizki explains it, he took a nuanced approach to the update.

“Splendido is an icon and so our approach to the project was similar to that of a portrait painter, creating a design centered on the building and one that is as much a restoration as a rejuvenation,” he explains. “We looked to the local flora and fauna and architecture for influences while also championing Ligurian craft to ensure the rooms felt luxurious as well as contextual. It was important the design situates guests in Portofino, creating that comforting feeling of being at a friend’s holiday home while allowing them to experience the beauty, art and life of this magical place.” Behind the scenes, the technology is by necessity also being upgraded to up to the minute standards such as lighting that changes according to the time of day and enhanced sound insulation so that rooms remain silent even if there is a loudly vocal diva next door.

The first of the rooms to be revealed is the Baronessa Suite, one of the hotel’s Signature Suites, decorated with frescoes, antiques and rich fabric wall coverings contrasting with the mosaic Graniglia alla Genovese floors. Antique furniture sourced from local antique stores and estate sales and reupholstered in plush fabrics is dotted through the rooms, giving the suite a classic, patrician style. Other design elements include an intricate carved timber headboard for the king bed, painted Genovese antique bedside tables and Albissola table lamps. The suite also has an expansive terrace with a private garden with direct access to the pool.

That pool, the scene of much celebrity lounging after its installation in the 1970s, has also gone through a redo at the hands of Italian landscape designer Marco Bay. It’s now designed with green and blue tiles to reflect the colors of the sea below with a surrounding terrace decked out in red, pink and white stones embedded with mosaic sea creatures. Adjoining the swimming pool terrace, the Splendido Grill was embellished with green and white handpainted tiles inspired by the Albissola ceramics in the guest rooms. At night, striped Murano glass pendant lights illuminate the terrace.

That’s the first glimpse: the rest of the hotel will be unveiled in stages at the next season openings. “Splendido’s multi-phase renovation is undoubtedly an extraordinary project that brings this historical hotel into the future,” explains the hotel’s Managing Director Alberto Pirozzini. “But it will keep the spirit that made it a legend completely intact.”