Introducing a new urban hotel concept that redefines the relationship between city and visitor. A reference point for travellers and an open, multifunctional space for Milan.
Milan, January 2023 | In recent years, Milan has increasingly stood out as a flagship city for innovation: a workshop of lifestyles, a reference point for fashion, design, new trends and an incubator of start-ups offering innovative services to people. In this context of continuous experimentation, the hospitality sector is also reinventing itself by proposing new models capable of responding to people’s changing needs.This is the idea behind Urban Hive Milano, a new destination for metropolitan hospitality, a 4-star hotel in the charming district of Brera, with its Bohemian vibe, a mixture of art, fashion, flair and creativity. A new concept of space to express modern ways of catering for guests and a range of personal services that effectively interpret the needs of this era with a touch of fun. A comfortable place, where guests can feel at home, blending with the city by combining business and leisure, co-working areas and proposals for fitness and relaxation. A dynamic nest occupying a central position in the heart of the city, Urban Hive Milano is characterised by a modern and vibrant ambience, positioning itself as a cosmopolitan destination for a clientele of international travellers. A complete reinterpretation of what was once the historic Carlyle Brera – a renowned travel hub for those eager to experience Milan’s drinking scene – Urban Hive Milano is the result of a process of in-depth research into the meanings of living, travelling, and conceiving innovative ways of inhabiting spaces and time.
The space has been completely renovated by the Vudafieri-Saverino Partners architecture studio to create a boutique hotel that stands out for its style and services: designed for travellers visiting Milan for business or pleasure, but also for the locals, always on the lookout for new places to enjoy an aperitif, a shared work space and much more. The result is a hotel that evokes the city’s archetypal identity traits, reinterpreted in a highly original visual language rich in expressive autonomy, offering its visitors the unprecedented experience of breathing the most iconic atmosphere of the new Milan, a stone’s throw from one of the city’s most lively and cosmopolitan districts. A home from home, where you can find exactly what you need: flexibility, customisation, listening, entertainment, socialisation, well-being, authenticity and an ever-evolving food and beverage offering.
The hospitality and services on offer
The hotel comprises 97 rooms and suites spread over 7 floors, each designed to surprise guests with tailor-made services. The furnishings vary between vintage and contemporary design objects, with paintings, colours, woods and fabrics chosen to give each room unique character and personality.
There are five categories:
• MINI: for solo travellers or mini-stays
• COSY: to be shared by two people
• BIG: for families (double bed or two single beds, plus an additional single bed)
• TAYLOR MADE: tailor-made for each customer, with high-quality devices and premium services customised to make stays truly exclusive (Dyson hair dryer, Marshall Radio etc.)
• THE JUNIOR SWEET: where you can feel at home, it is the largest room in the hotel and offers a splendid view of the Milan skyline.
Sharing space, a new way of sharing time
One of the key concepts around which the overall space and atmosphere of Urban Hive Milano revolves is how the co-working spaces have been designed. In fact, the hotel has adopted a circular vision of the use of common spaces, so enhancing the surface to give it different uses throughout the day. The result is an environment exploited in all time slots with intensity and richness of meaning, hosting different audiences to create different sensations of community. For example, after 11am the mezzanine where breakfast is served is transformed into a co-working space for the city’s many start-ups seeking places where they can mix with different realities and build new forms of experience. From the Community Table in the lobby to the shared offices in the mezzanine and basement, these communal areas are designed as an open space for the city, an infrastructure of sociability, technology, comfort and relationships.
A business area with three Meeting Rooms: MAGENTA – VITTORIA – VOLTA and the Garibaldi in the basement complete the offer of multifunctional spaces that will nourish the relationship between city and hotel under the banner of versatility and modularity of services. The star of the wellness area is the fitness room, a place open 24 hours a day, equipped with the most sophisticated Nohrd and Technogym machines. An environment designed to train body and mind and foster a dynamic approach to the day ahead. The Urban Hive will also offer its guests arriving earlier than the scheduled check-in time, a luggage locker service and a space where they can shower and relax after a long journey and be ready for their scheduled business appointments. Upon returning to the hotel, guests will find their luggage has been delivered to their room. Just another of the many services that revolve around human needs.
The Food & Beverage proposal
The food & beverage offer is curated by Dom Carella, a well-known face on the Milanese gastronomic scene. He expresses the philosophy and vocation of Urban Hive Milano in a menu that not only satisfies the palate but also enriches the guest’s experience, through the quest for rare flavours and an authentic vision of the short supply chain. From breakfast to lunch, from all-day dining proposals to the evening menu with a sophisticated range of creative cocktails, the gastronomic itinerary does not divide hotel guests from city patrons, cherishing the idea of generating an atmosphere and shared experiences around food. The main protagonist of this gustatory narrative is Portico 84, which shares the access to the lobby on one side and to Corso Garibaldi on the other to reveal itself as the point where the two different souls of the hotel meet. The menu lists the dishes along with an indication of the distance that lies between the supplier of the ingredients and the Urban Hive.
Just like the range of bees when collecting pollen from their hive, the selection of the specialities and unique delicacies on offer here is focused on the theme of the short supply chain. The aim was to develop the potential of the small-scale producers around Urban Hive, creating that essential dynamic of give and take that promotes the common good. As for the cocktails at Portico 84, these include old favourites and new signature offerings, which also reflect the common theme of the short supply chain. Here the atmosphere becomes more ‘intimate and evening-like’, where patrons find themselves surrounded by a modern and cosmopolitan ambience that is as open to the city as it is to the hotel’s guests. The venue also becomes the new the place to be for business lunches and private events. When summer comes to Milan, those seeking a bar with fresh energy can enjoy the Street Terrace, located under the arcades of Corso Garibaldi, the perfect setting for sipping drinks from aperitif-time to the wee small hours.In the new Urban Hive Milano, design, creativity and food and wine come together to define a new level of contemporary hospitality.
Hively Hospitality
Urban Hive Milano is part of HIVELY HOSPITALITY, a company founded in 1990 that now has 80 hotels in 6 countries and is continuing to grow. With its network of franchised and proprietary brands, the company offers many opportunities, just like a beehive, where everyone can contribute to something bigger. Hively Hospitality hotels are places that create a joyful, understanding and welcoming atmosphere for guests and employees alike. Hively Hospitality is an ever-evolving entrepreneurial venture, driven by shared values in a multicultural environment. It prides itself on offering cutting-edge eco-sustainable solutions to make its guests’ stay an unforgettable, natural and eco-friendly experience.
Visual Identity
Urban Hive is an eclectic, lively and modern space, interpreted in its graphics by the 150UP design agency through references to Milan’s most emblematic design elements. Inspired by the icons of Milan, the 150UP team created the brand’s visual identity applications, the aesthetics of its stationery and its amenities. The hotel’s soft decoration is the result of the team’s careful research and selection of design objects and their creation of custom-designed graphics for the interiors, lifts and windows, also customising the wallpaper, ceramic plates and posters. Another essential activity performed by the team was the study of the best-suited tone of voice for Urban Hive, and its brand personality.
Hospitality design according to Vudafieri – Saverino Partners
The project concept was entrusted to the architectural firm Vudafieri-Saverino Partners, based in Milan, which has also operated from Shanghai for the past ten years. Tiziano Vudafieri and Claudio Saverino have created a place with an informal mood, bursting with colour and personality, in which the symbols of the past co-exist with the modern soul of the city; dynamic and intimate at the same time, it is designed to welcome those who wish to capture the evolving spirit of Milan. On the ground floor, comfortable coloured sofas on a light oak parquet floor, soft lighting, wooden bookcases, pop objects, graphics and illustrations make the environment warm and welcoming, creating an elegant and relaxed atmosphere. Peacock Blue is the intense, striking tone chosen for all the common areas, such as the lobby, transformed into a meeting point for guests and citizens. Ideal for a business appointment, a cocktail or a coffee at the bar, here the semi-circular counter in Canaletto walnut stands out, with its marble top and brass finishes, designed by the architects with geometric diamond motifs that recall the chromatic nuance of the walls.
The hotel’s 97 rooms and suites, with their sophisticated atmosphere, are the result of a particularly striking revamping process, of great conceptual depth. The careful study of colour resulted in the choice of three different palettes for each floor – terracotta pink, mint green and sky blue – which contrast in the rooms respectively with the Dedar curtains in Prussia blue, Persia orange and Amber yellow. The furnishings were designed by the architects: from the beds to the wooden headboards with metal inserts, the nightstands, bookcases, shelving and bathroom furniture. The references to the symbols of Milan, the geometric patchwork carpet with vintage charm that graces the hallways, and the dialogue between surfaces and coverings reflect a tailor-made interior choice that reconciles design and cosiness. The aim of Vudafieri-Saverino Partners was to create a lifestyle structure, integrated and in line with the context of the Brera district. They wanted to create a new place in the heart of Milan that could offer travellers experiences, with an architecture and design profile that would make them feel part of a local community.
Photos:
| Urban Hive Milano, Ph. Paolo Valentini |