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The owner and personal manager of the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni Hotel is Gianfranco Bucher, the heir of a family who for five generations has made high class hotel hospitality his life’s ideal. An ideal which is expressed by combining the splendid surroundings with accurate service and the perfection of highly refined gastronomy; by the choice of wines which encompass the best of Italian and international wines; by offering each guest an ideal stay, also with an emphasis on leisure activities.
Please tell us about the history of the hotel. The hotel itself was a private Villa. It was built 1850 by a Swiss family, who were living in Bergamo. He built this house as a present for his wife for the wedding anniversary. That time Bellagio was reachable only by boat there were no roads coming to Bellagio, so you could walk or come by boat and so that’s why the entrance of the villa is front of the lake. In 1872 the villa, which is in pure neo-classical style, was sold and since then it has formed the central nucleus of the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni which was opened in 1873. Its interior reflects the good taste loved by the wealthy nobility of the time: its walls and
Who are the famous visitors here?
The Sovereigns of Spain, Romania, Albania, Egypt; above all the Russian and English aristocracy; Winston Churchill, Roosevelt, the Rothschilds, J.F. Kennedy; Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Maria Schell, Clark Gable, Robert Mitchum, Al Pacino.... these are just some of the famous guests who have strolled through the rooms and lakeside gardens of the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, enjoying its beauty and outstanding hospitality.
In Bellagio, there is so many hotels, these type of hotels in the world a lot, but what differentiate you as Serbelloni?
I would say maybe that we are still privately owned, still belonging to a family, my family and…
Not a big group so we are working in the hotel. The hotel reflects our taste and our characters, I think it differentiate itself because it’s not standard. I think a lot of problem now especially with the large hotel they belong to chain they look all similar, they look all the same and if you enter an hotel, you don’t know if you are in Istanbul or
in Rome or in Paris or I don’t know whether…
I think here in Italy you should feel the Italian character of the land you are in, and this is with the furniture, with the taste of the colors, it must reflect my taste because it’s my hotel, it’s my house but also the country you are in. So, I think that’s quiet important and it’s more and more difficult to find and it’s a pity because if you travel, you travel also because you want to see something new and something different otherwise stay at home. What about your free times, what you do?
We have a lot of interest in nature, so I like very much diving and I like very much climbing the mountain. So we go normally on the islands diving on the red sea or in Maldives diving on the boats, or we go to the Himalayan country. Now at the end of May now we will got to Tibet, we will do the Mount Kailash. We did also the Everest camp near 7000 meters.
What’s luxury for you?
I think luxury is very subjective; I’ve been born in a luxury hotel, I live in a luxury hotel and so for me luxury is easy life that I don’t have to worry about. I don’t care about golden things… It must be comfortable, clean, easy and friendly. You have been in Istanbul also several times, so how would you describe someone who never been in Istanbul?
I would describe a modern city with a lot of history, and with a lot of energy, with a lot of willing of living. You’ll see a lot of young people. I think Istanbul became really an international city.
İLKBAHAR 2013 SPRING 2013
TürkçeSayın Bucher ile keyif dolu bir sohbet gerçekleştirdik;
ceilings are adorned with frescoes and paintings of mythological scenes, gilded frames, festoons, temples, putti, flamingos, and Pompeian reds. The coffer ceilings are often frescoed with floral patterns in grey and pink tones. The guests are fascinated by the period wall coverings in French style, the antique Persian carpets, the crystal chandeliers from Murano, the Imperial furniture, and the neo-classical and Art Nouveau style; not to mention the marble staircases, the stucco work columns, and the splendid trompe l’oeil.