Venice in the heart. Within a year Planetaria Hotels has realized the dream of the family at the head of the group, that is, to be able to ‘welcome’ in the lagoon city. In fact, the company led by the CEO Sofia Gioia Vedani, after having acquired the state concession last year of the historian Palazzo Molin Erizzo on the Grand Canal, did an encore in the Serenissima: he bought the Ca’ Pisani Deco Design Hotel, a four-star boutique hotel located in the Dorsoduro district a few steps from the Accademia Galleries. The value of the deal, including some elements of ‘personalisation’, not restyling because the hotel does not need interventions, is 20 million euros.
“Venice is the romantic dream of every traveler – says Vedani – and it is an attainable destination, affordable. Our family, for a long time, had been evaluating investment opportunities in the Lagoon every year and had never found the right opportunity, when last year they learned that the historic family Serandrei, already owner of the Hotel Saturnia & International, opposite the Bauer, wanted to sell the Ca’ Pisani. For us it was the ‘perfect moment’. Ca’ Pisani Deco Design Hotel was purchased in 2002 by the Serandrei family and was known for being the first design hotel in Venice”.
It is in fact a place where the love for beauty emerges, the deep bond with art and design, which are founding characteristics of the Milanese hotel group. “The fact is that in March this year we became owners of the structure – specifies the CEO of Planetaria Hotels – even if the acquisition was finalized in May, as it is a property protected by the Superintendence. Our idea is to enhance the historical and cultural heritage of this building, maintaining local suppliers and promoting the social fabric.”
Everything inside Ca’ Pisani speaks of art: the hotel is inside a late 14th century Venetian palace, it houses original furnishings from the 1930s and 1940s, with a collection of rare period objects and vases, as well as interiors revisited in a modernist and art deco key, “thus giving life to a unique in lagoon hospitality” comments Vedani. The hotel will be led by the director Filippo Lunardiwhich will collaborate with art galleries and local artisan businesses, developing useful synergies to promote new sustainable approaches.
The structure has 29 rooms, including four junior suites, with attention to detail to offer a experience of charm: the warm tones of beige, ocher and brown match the briar beds and the curtains of the fine Venetian Bevilacqua weaving, as well as the collectible design elements.
“This hotel of great architectural value – continues Vedani – is a ‘bridgehead’ for our presence in Venice, because in the next few years we will open a 5-star hotel on the Grand Canal”. The ‘number one’ of the hotel group explains in fact that the concession of Palazzo Molin Erizzo, purchased for 25 years by Altanaa company controlled by Planetaria Hotels, is the latest concession that the State Property Agency has offered to build a hotel in a fragile city like Venice. “It is an excellent example of collaboration between the public and private sectors,” concludes the CEO, “and of valorization of the territory with a redevelopment of services, because in the Serenissima there is still a need to make services more efficient and improve them, an added value that we will bring.”
Meanwhile, the hotel group which has 12 hotels in Italy closed 2023 with a turnover of 52 million euros and an ebitda of 18.7 million, therefore with an impact on revenues of 35%, and is preparing to close 2024 with a turnover of over 55 million. “The idea is to grow further in Italy with other acquisitions – anticipates Vedani – but we are in no hurry, we manage the development independently with our resources and our times, given that we do not have funds or financial companies behind us to be accountable to . Among the various locations, we are thinking of Puglia or an island where to open a resort”.
