Category: Italy

Thanks to the UK Independent we now know their five best Factory Hotels:

• The
  
  Alicia Room Mate Hotel in Madrid, Spain.

  The Room Mate history is this:

  3 friends, Kike, Carlos and Gorka, having drinks mentioned how there weren’t any hotels in Madrid that would satisfy their needs and those of their friends. So they started wondering what kind of hotel they’d like to stay at if they were going to a city like Madrid or Paris.

  They came to the conclusion that there should be one in the heart of the center, with an original decoration and a reasonable price, not saturated with extras and services that are seldom used and with a natural personal feel. Because the only thing you really need while “exploring” a city is a good breakfast.
  So they opened their first hotel, Room Mate Mario in the center of Madrid next to the “Teatro Real”.

  Impressed by the enthusiasm showed by their clients and the media they decided to start a chain of hotels and urban apartments.

  Apparently there are four friends now operating Room Mate Hotels:

  Enrique Sarasola comes from a family constantly linked to the large business world. Carlos Marrero derives from a restoration family business in the Canary Islands. Eduardo Sanzol represents the Sanzol family, important promoters from Navarra, and Gorka Atorrasagasti. who is from Donostia (Basque Country) and has directed entertainment/nightlife events for years.

  The Independent:

  Housed in an early 20th-century shoe factory, it has 34 bright, contemporary bedrooms overlooking the Plaza Santa Ana, and is a stroll away from the Prado and Reina Sofía.

• The
  
  Bratsera Hotel on the Greek Hydra Island.

  The funny thing with this old logo is that it denominates the old sponge export business as N.V. Verveniotis which is a typical Dutch language abbreviation for publicly held a limited liability corporation as they still exist in The Netherlands and in Belgium.

  The Independent:

  Situated on the idyllic, car-free island of Hydra, the Bratsera began life in 1860 as a sponge factory, cleaning and pressing sponge from the Mediterranean for shipping. But as plastic became cheaper, the industry went into decline, and current proprietor Christine Davros decided to diversify into hospitality. After an extensive renovation, the Bratsera emerged as a chic boutique hotel, with 28 individually designed rooms, an outdoor pool and a wisteria-draped courtyard restaurant serving Greek cuisine.

• The

  
  Nhow Milano belonging to NH Hoteles.

  The Independent:

  The work of designer Matteo Thun and architect Daniele Beretta, the Nhow Hotel has come a long way from its beginnings as the General Electric powerplant on Milan’s Via Tortona. Built in 1935 and restored last year, the hotel is in the heart of the trendy “Zona Tortona” – the canal-side district that was once a centre of heavy industry and is now an artists’ quarter, home to studios, galleries, bars and shops.

• The
  
  Tea Factory Hotel in Sri Lanka

  The Independent:

  Rising out of the mist on a hilltop in Sri Lanka’s highlands, the imposing Tea Factory Hotel once produced some of the finest pure Ceylon tea in the world. Built during the British Raj in the 1930s, it was later rescued from dereliction in 1992 and converted into a luxury hotel. The 57 colonial-style rooms are housed in the old withering lofts, with views over the tea hills; a bar occupies the one-time packing area; a restored railway carriage is now a restaurant.

• The
  
  Henry Jones Art Hotel Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

  The Independent:

  One of Tasmania’s most famous residents, the entrepreneurial Henry Jones went from label-paster to head of his own jam-making empire – and the largest private company in the world at the time. His IXL jam works – a row of Georgian buildings lining Hobart’s waterfront – now comprise an award-winning hotel, bar and restaurant, as well as a regularly changing display of more than 250 works of art. Designed by local architect Robert Morris-Nunn, the 50 open-plan rooms are gritty and modern, echoing Hobart’s colonial trading links with Indo-China (ottomans and silk eiderdowns) as well as the factory’s past (exposed brickwork, refurbished machinery and wood panelling).

Oops another five for my want to visit list……