We found ourselves back in winter 2013 at a crossroads, and we decided to change our trajectory. We stepped away from our daily routines and our respective jobs – a web designer and an architect – to build something completely new for us. This was to give new life to an old family property on the lake’s shores by turning an old-fashioned hotel into our open villa. Move and live on the top floor, sharing the rest of the building with people like us. It was some sort of vision, something about change, but also about recollection. Something related to our childhood memories. The freedom of vacation, the jumps in the cool water during the hot summer days, our faces warming up watching the sun go down. We gathered our thoughts on these feelings, and then we realized that what we wanted to do had somehow already been here. Back in the day, this place was already a private, sunny retreat, and now our main challenge was to give the old building a new face and bring back the spirit of the original 1930s guest house.
When we started the renovation in November 2014, all we knew was we had 6 months to do a tough job, stay focused, and not lose ourselves in nostalgia. We opened in June 2015 with a simple yet challenging idea: reimagine a traditional hotel by making the experience authentic. It was a compelling task. We ask ourselves many times:
What’s an authentic experience in the first place?
Is it a contradiction?
Is it even possible to produce a genuine feeling?
We found out that to be true to you we had to be true to ourselves, so we took the privilege and courage to do the things in our own way.
We studied the hospitality business, market research, hotel design, and consolidated frameworks, but ultimately, we did what we thought was right. Yes, we could do as everyone told us, “Keep it like it is” – “Why change what works?” We could continue the good-old business, deploy all the standard procedures, set up 4 suites on the top floor, and optimize revenues in the short term. But this is not us. From the business model to the scrambled eggs, from the room layout to the jazz music, we made our own choices.
From the first day, we have worked to make our guests feel as if they are living in their own Sirmione holiday house, and we do this by sharing space, time, and culture together. In the same way, we share the stunning view or the cool morning breeze; we share our lifestyle, and our guests share their impressions and suggestions with us. Every winter, we take the time to rethink and refine our project, striving to improve and perfect your experience here, whether it’s comfort or service. This is an ongoing thing, and it will always be.
Doing things differently can be both a risk and a great privilege; the same is true for lore and tradition. Both can be a great heritage and mind-frames, but what we’ve learned so far is this: what you value, you will achieve, and commitment always pays off.
After less than 3 years in business we have been chosen to be on the Michelin Guide, this is not a finish fine this is just one important milestone and we are thrilled to show you what we have in store for the next years.