Oliva, Green, and Balance.
Our 2.0 version of the “old-time” rooms: the double rooms, the twin rooms with a balcony, the rooms with a sofa bed.
Accommodations that we still have, but now with more contemporary and detailed labels.
In 2016, when we decided to merge Villa Arianna with Casa 400, the building overlooking the pool garden, the goal was to add 11 rooms to the selection facing the inner side. Our guests have always appreciated the view of the pool garden, away from the main road and with a view of the greenery.
At the last minute, with structural plans already approved and construction underway, we thought it might be better to distinguish those new accommodations from the others, to offer something different. At that point, we could only change the content, as the structure had already been decided.
- First, we decided to assign a parking space to those rooms, in the small parking area we managed to create under the new wing of the hotel. Exclusive.
- We redesigned them only for 2 people, without spaces occupied by sofas or extra beds.
- With the furniture, we wanted to give a sign of renewal, lightening up the “heavy” furniture often used in hotels.
Thus, the Green rooms were born, modest in size but all with a balcony facing the pool, a larger shower, and a much less rigid arrangement of furniture.
And the 3 Balance rooms were born, with the bed in the middle of the room, more space to move around, and a record player. We see them as a “nest.” Those who stay there seem almost isolated from the rest of the hotel.
THEN CAME 2023
The Oliva rooms are the path we never took, that fork in the road you often see indicated from the main road but never take.
For a renovation we had been waiting for at least 5 years, we left some of our trusted and long-standing suppliers to find someone who could offer us a bit more design and creativity in the furnishings.
We wanted the new rooms, replacing our oldest ones, to give a more contemporary but also elegant look.
We definitely succeeded, although all “beautiful” things raise the guest’s expectations, and in some moments during these first 2 months, we wondered if we had done “too much.” Too much compared to the overall service that Brione offers, that is.
With the Oliva rooms, we also made a choice that sparked much debate within the family.
Faced with the possibility of offering double rooms or large doubles, like Junior Suites, we chose to focus on the comfort of those traveling together.
The rooms, resulting from the fusion of two previous ones, are almost twice the size of a single room. We equipped them with two partially separate spaces, with the double bed on one side and the two beds (“real” beds, not undersized cots) positioned behind a wall. To offer the best possible mix of intimacy and autonomy even to “additional” guests. Whether they are children or other adults.
Something that traditionally doesn’t happen in hotels, where multiple rooms are mostly 3 or 4 beds close to each other.
Kind of a humbler version of what they show in the very successful recent Airbnb commercial. Have you seen it?
