Luigi Scordamaglia
Puff of iced seawaterby Corrado Assenza
Dal Mondo L'Enigma è risolto: il nuovo Albert Adrià a Barcellona
A River Suite at Capella Bangkok, luxury hotel that also includes restaurant Côte with Argentinian Mauro Colagreco
Pierre Gagnaire and Mauro Colagreco arrive in Shanghai and Bangkok, in establishments that belong to the Capella Hotel Group. They respectively bring the elegance of three-starred cuisine from the Ville Lumière to China and the flavours of the current best restaurant in the world, Mirazur, from Menton to Thailand. The redemption of the famous hotel brand from Singapore, nominated “2nd Best Hotel Brand in the World at the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2020”, includes serving excellent food, but the restart is more of a return to the origins, focusing on the creation of authentic cultural experiences for the guests, combining the elegant design of Bill Bensley, with the highest standards of tailor-made, attentive and discreet service. And there are new projects too, starting from a new property in Vietnam, Capella Hanoi, strategically opened in the lively Hoan Kiem District. Plus there will be new openings in the coming years, in the Maldives, in Sydney and Chiang Mai, but also the desire to open in Italy. We discuss the future of the group and of the luxury hospitality segment in Asia with Nicholas Matthew Clayton, CEO at Capella Hotel Group, in the family since 2015, after a remarkable career that had him involved in the strategic development of groups like Ritz Carlton, Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons, and then as CEO of the Jumeirah Group and president of the Viceroy Hotel Group. Mr. Clayton, the last year has been very complex for the hospitality industry. How do you see the future of hôtellerie? It's very clear that the leisure travel segment will be the first to restart, while for business tourism and MICE we'll need to wait for 2022 and beyond to see a significant improvement. Given the imminent return of tourists who can spend, luxury hotels will surely be the most sought for in the coming months, followed by urban properties that can offer adequate services to satisfy the needs of a changed market. Now, as ever, in the choice of holiday destination, travellers will be eager to increase the standards of the location, preferring suites, villas and rooms with larger private spaces, capable of giving a general feeling of security.
The facade of Capella Hanoi, Vietnam
Nicholas Matthew Clayton, CEO at Capella Hotel Group
A detail of Capella Shanghai, China
Restaurant Le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire, Capella Shanghai
Professional journalist, consultant at Identità Golose, deputy editor at The CUBE Magazine and contributor at AD Architectural Digest italia and Panorama. Author of Guides and books edited by WhiteStar and Marco Polo
Careful analysis, news and curious facts about the most important hotels and inns in Italy and abroad.