Katara Hospitality’s hotel in Milan to join Luxury Collection portfolio

Owned by Katara Hospitality, Excelsior Hotel Gallia, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Milan will open this November following an extensive renovation. The opening will mark The Luxury Collection’s seventh hotel in Italy, as the brand remains on track to surpass 100 hotels globally in the next five years.

The management agreement was signed by Sheikh Nawaf bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani, chairman, Katara Hospitality, and Frits van Paasschen, president and CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

The ceremony took place at the Katara Hospitality headquarters in Doha in the presence of Guido de Sanctis, Italian ambassador to Qatar; Abdul Aziz bin Ahmed al-Malki, deputy chairman of Katara Hospitality; and Hamad Abdulla al-Mulla, CEO and board member, Katara Hospitality.

“We always embrace the local spirit wherever we invest in hotel assets around the world and the Excelsior Hotel Gallia in Milan is no exception,” said Sheikh Nawaf. “We have made a major investment to bring this grand property back to its true glory. Today, it gives us great pleasure to share our Italian flagship property with Starwood Hotels & Resorts.”

“I would like to thank Katara Hospitality for putting their trust in Starwood as we extend our partnership to bring The Luxury Collection brand to Milan,” said van Paasschen. “With the brand’s origin in Italy, we are delighted to open this newly renovated hotel in Milan. Historic architectural gems such as Excelsior Hotel Gallia are perfectly suited to The Luxury Collection brand, which offers authentic travel experiences and exceptional service for global explorers and the local community.”

Bart Carnahan, senior vice-president (acquisition and development) at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa & Middle East, added: “As an established market, Italy offers exceptional potential to expand our presence across all brands, especially in the luxury sector. The iconic Excelsior Hotel Gallia joins other historic landmark Luxury Collection hotels in Italy, in Venice and Naples as well as exceptional resorts in Costa Smeralda in Sardinia.”

Located in the Piazza Duca d’Aosta, Excelsior Hotel Gallia opened in 1932 in central Milan as one of the city’s most prestigious hotels. Now undergoing a renovation and strategic expansion, the hotel will return to its original grandeur where Milan’s most fashionable mix and mingle.

Marrying contemporary design with the Belle Époque architectural style, the hotel’s new architecture and design concept - led by Studio Marco Piva - has already won an Italian tourism industry award, recognising its outstanding combination of historical and contemporary elements.

The hotel will offer 235 guest rooms and suites, a signature restaurant and a rooftop bar with panoramic views of the city, a lounge bar and cigar room, plus 1,000sqm of wellness facilities that include a spa, an indoor swimming pool and a fitness centre.

Excelsior Hotel Gallia will also offer event and meeting spaces for special celebrations, including a congress centre spanning more than 1,000sqm and comprising two ballrooms, six meeting rooms and a business centre.

Al-Mulla said: “We are confident the ethos of The Luxury Collection brand is a strategic fit for our hotel as it is important that we have an operator that understands and respects the heritage of this wonderful hotel, ensuring it occupies its rightful position in the Italian and global marketplaces when it reopens later this year.”