Welcome area, Armani Hotel Milano.
Welcome area, Armani Hotel Milano.
Image: Supplied

The fashion world’s leading designers don’t restrict their creativity to the runway — they also lend a keen eye and inimitable style to some of the world’s most bookable hotels. Wanted pored over the options and settled on three addresses where it’s worth calling ahead…

MILAN: ARMANI HOTEL MILANO 

While the very first Armani hotel may be in Dubai, it’s easy to believe that this ultra-stylish palazzo in the heart of Milan’s famous fashion district is where the brand truly feels at home. Each of the 95 rooms and suites is testament to designer Giorgio Armani’s eye for detail. Bathrooms are clad in silky limestone from Asia. A vestibule adds a layer of privacy to every bedroom. Refined fabrics adorn the clean lines of linear furniture pieces. Naturally, covetable Armani amenities are offered throughout. None of the rooms here will disappoint, but, if one had to choose, the spacious sixth-floor Armani Milano suite offers stellar views of the city skyline and the Duomo. And if the budget doesn’t stretch to a room, book a table at the Armani/ Ristorante, where modern Italian cuisine comes with a side-order of panoramic views stretching from the ancient cathedral to the skyscrapers of the gentrifying Porta Nuova district.

armanihotelmilano.com 

DUBAI: PALAZZO VERSACE DUBAI 

It’s entirely fitting, for both Versace and Dubai, that the brand adorns no mere “hotel” in this ever-glamorous Gulf emirate. Indeed, “palazzo” is a far more fitting moniker for the vast property in the city’s Jaddaf Waterfront, just 10 minutes from the international airport. Inspired by the neo-classical architecture of Italy, with just a hint of Arabian influence, this palazzo has clearly been given Versace’s Midas touch. As you arrive, admire the striking Pietra di Fiume granite inlay of the iconic Medusa that adorns every Versace label. In fact, every item of furniture and each bolt of fabric used in the 215 rooms and suites has been designed and tailor-made by Versace for the hotel. It’s a subtle opulence though, with pastel silks and elaborate boiserie panelling in creams and whites. Scattered across the resort-style property you’ll find nine restaurants and bars, each with a subtle hat-tip to Italian design, while the intricate mosaics in the three outdoor pools hint at the brand’s long tradition of craftsmanship.

palazzoversace.ae

Hotel le Bellechasse Saint-Germain.
Hotel le Bellechasse Saint-Germain.
Image: Supplied

PARIS: HOTEL LE BELLECHA SSE SAINT GERMAIN 

Few arrondissements in Paris are as effortlessly stylish as Saint- Germain-des-Prés, the Left-Bank quarter that has long been a haven for writers, artists, and poets. And if Oscar Wilde hadn’t wasted his last francs buying vin rouge in the bars here, he’d surely have taken a room at the charming Le Bellechasse, a 33- room boutique hotel brimming with character, charm, and personality. That’s thanks to the inimitable style of French designer Christian Lacroix, who has infused the hotel with his trademark flamboyance. Wallpaper emblazoned with dragonflies competes for attention with colourful murals, while heavy drapes and plush fabrics create a delightfully Parisian degree of opulence. Enjoy cocktails at Le Butterfly bar on the ground floor, before setting out to wander the cobbled streets of this medieval district. Le Bellechasse puts you in the heart of Paris, within walking distance of Les Invalides and the revamped parks at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. If it’s art you’re after, the hotel is mere steps from the glorious Musée d’Orsay, the former railway station built in the Beaux-Arts style that today is home to one of the world’s great collections of Impressionist and Post- Impressionist works. And if there’s no room at the proverbial inn? Not to worry — Lacroix also did the décor at the Hôtel du Petit Moulin across the Seine in the charming Marais district.

lebellechasse.com 

Palazzo Versace Dubai.
Palazzo Versace Dubai.
Image: Supplied

 From the April edition of Wanted, 2022.

Welcome area, Armani Hotel Milano.
Welcome area, Armani Hotel Milano.
Image: Supplied
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