Hotel Missoni - Edinburgh

The launch of the first Missoni hotel is the result of some three years of planning and development, and for Rezidor, it marks the company’s long awaited entry into the ‘lifestyle’ hotel market. It’s an entry that could have happened a lot earlier, had Rezidor’s joint venture with MWB to acquire Malmaison from Wyndham International in 2000 succeeded in its aim of expanding the brand internationally. Instead, in October 2002, it sold its 50% stake in Malmaison to MWB, announcing plans six months later for a new chain of ‘lifestyle’ hotels in partnership with Italian fashion label Cerruti.

That plan proved similarly shortlived after “corporate problems” lead Rezidor to walk away from the deal, and the group instead turned to Rosita Missoni, to whom they had originally been introduced by designer Matteo Thun.

President and CEO of Rezidor, Kurt Ritter, explains:
“We already had [the lifestyle hotel] concept but moved it up a notch or two for Missoni and went to them with the idea for an international hotel chain. As hotel operators a collaboration with Missoni allows us to enter a new, niche market and respond to the demands of a design savvy and lifestyle orientated clientele. For Missoni it gives them a way to diversify and get into a new and attractive market.”

Missoni is very much a family business and according to Ritter, the decision to come on board was something the whole Missoni family were involved in.

Established by Rosita and Ottavio Missoni in 1953, their distinctively colourful knitwear, with its zigzag and striped designs, took the fashion world by storm and since then the Italian label has become one of the best-known in the world. There is also a home furnishings line that is now run by Rosita, after passing responsibility of the fashion brand to her daughter Angela. It is Rosita in particular, who is the creative force behind the new hotel brand. Ritter says:

“Rosita is hugely passionate and Missoni is a special brand with family values at its centre and a unique style. The opening of Hotel Missoni marks a new wave in hotel design, a move away from grey, black and brown and into colour and personality.”

Another key influence in the launch has been Gordon McKinnon, Rezidor’s Executive Vice President for Brands, who is also Brand Leader for Hotel Missoni. Having been involved in the early days of Malmaison, and acting as Managing Director for the brand during Rezidor’s joint venture with MWB, McKinnon clearly understands the lifestyle market and has worked closely with Missoni on the launch of the new brand. 
The initial designs were developed by Rosita Missoni and McKinnon with Matteo Thun, the Italian designer who had worked with both parties previously – with Rezidor on schemes for their Radisson SAS brand, and with Missoni on designs for their stores.

These initial roomsets established the themes for Missoni Edinburgh and will be at the heart of every Missoni hotel. Rosita is clear, however, that this will be no cookie cutter chain, and each venue will respond directly to its environment and location. This has been very much the case with the first launch in Edinburgh, as she explains: “We wanted the Edinburgh hotel to be unmistakably Missoni in its mixing of colour and pattern and the furniture. Comfort is key and we wanted to make visitors feel at ease and in a welcoming atmosphere. I took inspiration from the severe yet seductive architecture of the historical buildings surrounding the site, starting with the castle, and decided on a careful approach in the use of colour and pattern. I chose to use black and white as a good background for the colour.”

The Missoni experience starts as soon as visitors come through the doors, which are flanked by two huge, mosaic-tile vases that stand like Dragoon guards either side of the entrance and will be a trademark of all Missoni hotels. Guests are greeted by staff dressed head to toe in the label (some of whom sport Missoni’s own specially-made tartan kilts) and a world of strong shapes and colourful design which, just like Missoni’s fashion, is chic yet vibrant and fun. Local designers Graven Images worked on the actual design implementation during the renovations (as they will do on future Hotel Missoni projects), tailoring Rosita and Matteo Thun’s original designs and making them work in the real surroundings of the old Scottish parliament building.

Each bedroom is a different shape but all offer views, some good some spectacular depending on their situation, out across the city and to the surrounding hills. Style-wise, fabrics – curtains, bedspreads and towels – come in muted, mostly black and white, tones but all bearing the distinctive Missoni patterns, while colour is introduced in blocks of red (in the case of the wardrobe area), purple and yellow (in the case of the bathroom). Guests are given a great night’s sleep with plush mattresses and bedding by Muehldorfer. Rosita Missoni has hand-picked a variety of furniture pieces by some of her “favourite designers” including Marcel Wanders, Eero Saarinen, Arne Jacobsen and Charles Rennie Mackintosh (in a nod to the Scottish heritage of the site) which appear throughout the hotel.

The food and drink offering is, unsurprisingly, very Italian. A sleek ground floor bar, sets itself up as a destination not just for guests, but for the city’s fashionistas and party people serving grappas, negronis and other drinks with an Italian flavour. The upstairs restaurant Cucina, has been developed in conjunction with Executive Chef Giorgio Locatelli. The Cucina concept is integral to the whole Hotel Missoni offering and will appear in all of its venues. In Edinburgh the first floor dining room uses black and white booth seating, which runs the length of the space, with Missoni-patterned crockery adding further interest and a nod towards Missoni’s fashion designs in the artwork. 

From the service, to the design, to the specially-made toiletries in the bathroom, to the authentic Italian food, Missoni Edinburgh is a hotel that is dedicated to not only giving guests a great experience, but the full Missoni experience. Customers can engage with the brand in a way they have never done so before, giving them a unique taste of what Rosita calls the “Missoni lifestyle.”  Maybe because Missoni is not just a fashion brand, but also a real family business, there is a real sense of integrity, as well as style, to the project.

Ultimately the plan is to create at least thirty Missoni hotels in high profile destinations around the world.

Work has already started on properties in Oman, Kuwait, and Cape Town, a new site has just been confirmed in Brazil, and negotiations for a property in New York are underway. Rezidor’s entry to the lifestyle market may have taken almost a decade to come to fruition but now that they have found the right partner in Missoni, expect see the brand rolled out at breakneck speed.

HOTEL MISSONI
1 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh,
EH1 1AD, UK
Tel: +44 (0)131 220 6666
www.hotelmissoni.com

Rooms    140 guestrooms (inc 7 suites)
Dining    Cucina
Drinking    Missoni Bar
Leisure    Fitness centre
Facilities    Four event rooms