1 / 1
From a five-star escape where Elizabeth Taylor brought all of her husbands to a former monastery ransacked by pirates before becoming Portofino’s most coveted address, these historic hotels in Europe have recently undergone spectacular renovations
It’s a funny thing to reminisce about an era you never lived in. And yet, many travellers (Tatler included) find themselves romanticising the bygone glamour of travel in Europe.
Perhaps it’s a desire to return to the simple things—the timeless joys that the region does so well. After all, in that corner of the world, pleasure is not a privilege, but an essential part of life: conversations over wine under the shade of citrus trees, days spent—never wasted—doing nothing but soaking up the sun, or carving through azure waters in a vintage speedboat on the French Riviera.
Often at the heart of these experiences is a fabulous hotel, and Europe is home to many. We explore some that have been recently reimagined without losing the classic touches that have made them icons for decades or, in some cases, centuries.
See also: 5 luxury heritage hotels in Asia with enchanting designs and fascinating histories
1. Hotel la Palma, Capri, Italy
When a hotel renovation involves slashing the number of guest rooms from 80 to 50, it’s obvious that quality and comfort have taken precedence over all else. This is what UK-based designer Francis Sultana did when he was tasked with transforming Capri’s most iconic hotel—a bold move considering this was Sultana’s first hotel project.
The revamp came as Hotel La Palma’s new management, Oetker Collection—the hotel group behind such properties as Le Bristol Paris and The Lanesborough in London—took over and reopened the hotel in 2023 following a two-and-a-half-year renovation. Not only did the group want to restore the property to its former glory, it also wanted to restore its legacy as a place where meaningful connections between people and place are made.
The property was originally opened in 1822 as Locanda Pagano, a kind of ad hoc guesthouse where its original owner, Giuseppe Pagano, invited travellers for the pleasure of long conversations. It became known as the Artists’ Hotel, as Pagano regularly hosted poets, writers, architects, painters and musicians. As Capri’s first hotel, Pagano could be credited with introducing outsiders to the magic of the Italian island that continues to entice visitors to this day.
2. Splendido, Portofino, Italy
Splendido offers serenity and drama as far as the eye can see: its secluded hilltop location, set in lush terraced gardens on a steep hillside, provides the serenity; its panoramic views over the bay of Portofino, and its location just a short stroll from the ultra-chic village where people-watching is a common pastime—some of the biggest super-yachts in the Mediterranean regularly moor here—provide the drama.
The site was originally a Benedictine monastery, but after repeated ransacking by pirates, the monks abandoned the property in the 16th century, causing it to fall into disrepair before Italian aristocrat Baron Baratta converted it into a summer home sometime in the 19th century. In 1901, Ruggero Valentini—whom many credit with pioneering tourism in Portofino—bought the property and transformed it into a hotel that attracted the likes of Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Ava Gardner. Today, owned by Belmond Hotels, Splendido remains the place to be seen within one of the most coveted destinations to be seen.
In 2023, Martin Brudnizki, founder of Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, which is responsible for the designs of the likes of Hotel Barrière Fouquet’s in New York and the Six Senses Kitzbühel alpine resort in Austria, led a multiphase renovation of the hotel. Nowhere is Brudnizki’s knack for colour more apparent than Splendido’s spacious, 1970s-era saltwater swimming pool, which features tiles that echo the bay beyond, lined with terracotta-hued parasols and sea-green and white-striped seating with candy-floss-pink piping.
He also redesigned Splendido’s pièce de résistance, the Baronessa Suite, which he designed “to be like the drawing room of a well-travelled Italian aristocrat”. Inspired by palazzos in the region, it features enchanting frescoes, Graniglia alla Genovese flooring, and lights by Bartolozzi e Maioli, a family-run business dating back to 1938 in Florence.
3. Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes, France
Author F Scott Fitzgerald had a way with words when it came to giving his readers a glimpse into the hedonistic lives of the rich, famous and fabulous. In his fourth and final novel, Tender is the Night, Fitzgerald describes a “large, proud, rose-coloured hotel” where “deferential palms cool its flushed façade, and before it stretches a short, dazzling beach. Lately it has become a summer resort of notable and fashionable people.”
In the novel, the hotel is named Hôtel des Étrangers, or “Hotel of Strangers”. Fitzgerald’s not-so-fictional hotel was in fact modelled after Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, which has certainly seen its share of stars throughout history. Elizabeth Taylor brought all of her husbands there, Hollywood A-listers battle to secure a room during the Cannes Film Festival, legendary artists including Chagall, Picasso and Matisse count among its famous former guests … the list goes on, and continues to grow.
The property has sat perched on the tip of Cap d’Antibes for over 150 years. In 1865, Jean Hippolyte Auguste Delaunay de Villemessant, owner of France’s Le Figaro newspaper, had the idea of building a retreat for anxious, burnt-out artists and writers on the Côte d’Azur named Villa Soleil. Following the Franco-Prussian War, it experienced a series of failed ownerships and was even abandoned for 17 years until Italian hotelier Antoine Sella discovered the gem in 1887 and brought it back to life. The Sella family eventually sold the hotel to the Oetkers in 1969, who named it Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in 1987.
In April 2023, the hotel unveiled 46 reimagined suites, including the 1,075 sq ft Eden-Roc Suite, designed to resemble a chic seaside penthouse, with an expansive teak terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. Other highlights from the renovation include textiles by Loro Piana and an art collection curated by esteemed art dealer Marie-Catherine Douglas of Douglas Kunstberatung, featuring works by the likes of Andy Warhol, Alex Katz and John Baldessari.
4. Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp, Belgium
Occupying 12 hectares in Belgium’s historic port city, the Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp was built with lofty ambitions: to be a wellness, dining and hotel destination, all on the site of a former monastery and hospital dating back to 1238. In the 16th century, the famous pharmacist Peeter van Coudenberghe established the hospital’s apothecary, complete with a medicinal garden to grow herbs for his remedies, many of which he had brought back from Africa and India when this cosmopolitan North Sea trading port became one of the wealthiest cities in Europe. The botanical garden became a listed space in 1950.
Easing places like this into the 21st century without turning them into either a museum or a lifeless relic requires not just a vision, but a certain sensitivity. The architects at AIDarchitecten have managed to do it.
Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp, which opened in 2022, is the first five-star hotel in Belgium with four Michelin stars under one roof; it houses a spa with various saunas, a steam room, ice fountains, showers with botanical infusions, and treatments that range from skin peels to acupuncture to measuring your electromagnetic fields. There are also 108 guest rooms, including 34 suites, some with their very own mini spa. Many of the magnificently restored 15th-century Gothic gems still stand, including a church with soaring, vaulted ceilings, which was transformed into The Jane restaurant by Piet Boon Studio.
5. Mandarin Oriental Palace Luzern, Switzerland
Originally built as the Palace Hotel Luzern between 1904 and 1906, Luzern’s Grand Dame emerged renewed and reborn in 2022 as Mandarin Oriental Palace, following an incredible renovation overseen by local architects Iwan Bühler Architekten and London-based interior designers Jestico + Whiles.
The designers tasked with transforming the belle époque beauty maintained enough of its original design elements that locals have flocked to reacquaint themselves with the old “Palace”—clearly held in great affection—while giving it a sleek modern polish. Late Romantic-era oil paintings from the original hotel collection are juxtaposed against up-to-the-minute artistic interpretations of the same works by contemporary Swiss artists.
Its 136 rooms and suites all come with majestic views of Lake Lucerne and the majestic shards of Mount Pilatus, and feature parqueted Swiss oak floors and ivory-white panelled walls. Its 1,400 sq ft Presidential Suite is dressed in indigos and golds, housed inside the top floor of the turret under the Palace’s copper dome.
Topics
Coco Marett is a writer and editor who grew up between Hong Kong and Melbourne. She currently heads the travel section for Tatler Asia, and manages the Tatler Travel account on Instagram. She is known for her features on unique, under-the-radar properties and destinations. She's also known for her in-depth interviews that paint a refreshingly candid portrait of influential figures across various industries —from artists to political figures, CEOs to celebrity chefs. Follow her on Instagram @cocomarett
