The first 25hours hotel in Italy has opened its doors in Florence. On exactly the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri, the 25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino welcomed its first guests.
The hotel is designed around the theme of Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’, which has been playfully reinterpreted by Milanese interior designer Paola Navone. The journey through the medieval masterpiece begins at reception: should you spend the night in heavenly paradise or in blazing hell? Guests can choose for themselves where they would like to sleep – the hotel rooms are divided into the two styles of Inferno and Paradiso. There is a choice between intense red rooms with velvet curtains and black bed linen, or cloud-white retreats with ethereal blue accents.
The eccentric style of the designer and her team runs through all areas of the hotel. In some parts of the hotel, it’s easy to imagine you’re in an amusement park. Guests and visitors won’t come across special effects, monsters or ghosts, however, but rather an original selection of vintage furniture sourced from markets and traditional craft businesses from all over the world. Many of the pieces are reproductions of previous designs from the design studio. Several design elements, such as the tableware used in the San Paolino restaurant, have been specially designed for 25hours by Navone and her team.
The implementation of this extraordinary and very extensive hotel project was made possible through a collaboration between investor and project developer Art-Invest Real Estate, the new owner Invesco Real Estate and 25hours Hotels as business operator. The total investment cost for the restoration and redesign of the property amounted to over EUR 100M.
