26/09/2007 - Bentley Hotel: after more than 20 years Genoa has a “five-star” again
The promise has been kept. A year and a half after the initial announcement, Genoa is rediscovering the fascination and prestige of a luxury hotel.
Twenty-two years since the closing of the Columbia di Principe, the role of ambassador of hospitality in the Ligurian capital passes to the Bentley Hotel in Via Corsica, in the city’s Carignano district. A “five-star” that is the result of a reconversion operation that gives new life to the building, dating from the late 1920s, that was the historic headquarters of Ilva.
A bustling metropolis whose urban contours are constantly evolving, Genoa is also recovering a chapter of its entrepreneurial history linked to Italy’s biggest iron and steel manufacturer.
The protagonist of the complex renovation and upgrade of the historic building, long in disuse, is Coopsette, which for the management of the new structure wanted Turin Hotels International at its side, a Turin company active internationally in the hotel and restaurant sector whose interests and choices are focused especially on the luxury segment. A company that with the opening of the Bentley reconfirms the “tradition and reconversion” combination successfully initiated in Turin with the realisation of the Golden Palace, housed in the building that used to be the headquarters of Toro Assicurazioni.
The hotel’s inauguration took place this morning in the course of a short ceremony – preceded by a press conference – that saw the participation of Genoa Mayor Marta Vincenzi, Liguria Region President Claudio Burlando, Genoa Province Mobility, Transport and Tourism Councillor Anna Maria Dagnino, and the Coopsette and Turin Hotels International Presidents Fabrizio Davoli and Amato Ramondetti.
“Two key elements characterise Turin Hotels International’s development strategy,” Ramondetti explains: “the choice of structures that are significant for Italy’s historical and artistic heritage, and our determination to make the prestigious ‘Made in Italy’ mark known abroad in the elite hospitality sector. “The ‘tradition and reconversion’ combination, which we already applied with the Golden Palace in Turin, located in the building that was long the headquarters of Toro Assicurazioni, has had a positive debut and we hope to be able to repeat its success with this analogous operation in Genoa,” the President of Turin Hotels International concludes.
“This latest intervention bridges a gap in Genoa, a city that has rediscovered its tourist vocation but which was still unable to provide an adequate hotel offering for a high-end clientele. Coopsette confirms its desire to continue to invest extensive resources in order to operate in this territory through the reconversion of large abandoned areas or individual buildings”, adds Davoli. “It is a very important project for the city which follows other, analogous operations that we have managed, like the revitalisation of the Bolzaneto/San Biagio and Fiumara areas. Recently we also announced the coming realisation of the new ABB headquarters in Sestri Ponente”. “They are all high-value-added operations in which sizeable private economic resources have been invested, carried out with prestigious partners like THI. I believe the benefits for the whole area in terms of employment and development are evident,” says Coopsette’s President.
The restructuring
The overall investment to realise the new hotel, around €30 million, lays the groundwork for the relaunch of leisure and business tourism in the city, which for over two decades did not have an upmarket hotel.
The restructuring of the building in Via Corsica did not require invasive operations. By preserving the architectural values and the unity of the building, the stylistic characteristics of the historical period in which it was designed, the Bentley has retained its original physiognomy, in particular of the main facades, the monumental staircase, and the octagonal entrance from Via Corsica with its original polychrome marble.
The dominant note is the great luminosity of the interiors, caressed by the muted tones of furnishings and decor in copper, platinum and titanium tones. The leitmotiv of the rooms and suites, located on the top floor and boasting terraces, is their sophisticated amenities, fundamental for ensuring the high quality standards that certify a high-end hotel.