Maintaining excellence
“My definition (before the pandemic) was that luxury is not synonymous with ostentation, but it’s the opposite of mediocrity,” Zucchetti says. “You can have many definitions of luxury, but I think luxury is whatever you do with the excellent mindset. Everything needs to be excellent, which doesn’t mean opulence or ostentation.”
Especially now, it includes providing what people have been craving for months: time and space. “I think we are going back more to the analogical, slowing down the pace. That’s what I see as the need of the guests, to slow down the pace and to really appreciate the thread of time.” He sees himself as the caretaker of the property and its history.
So does Droulers, whose family had owned the hotels since the early 1960s. “I thought the background of Mr. Zucchetti fit very well with the Villa d’Este atmosphere,” he says, based on what he knew of Zucchetti’s experience at the Bauer.
“He was very much keen to maintain the atmosphere of that older hotel, and to adapt to it instead of having the building adapt to his thinking of what a hotel should be… Of course, a hotelier needs to be extremely attentive. He has to have a keen eye. When he enters into a room he must understand at once what is going on, what is right, what is wrong. And I think that Mr. Zucchetti has that quality that his glance is at once attracted to the things which should be improved – even if they’re small details.”
The details help make a guest’s stay at Villa d’Este “not exactly at a hotel but the private room of a hotel,” says Droulers, who sold his shareholding in 2008 and ended his tenure as a CEO and part owner in 2011 after nearly 45 years with the hotel. He remains a board member.
“A hotel should not compromise about its approach because if the hotel is successful it must be faithful to the crowd that goes to the hotel, and newcomers must fit into the crowd,” Droulers says. “It’s not the opposite, otherwise you’ll change everything.”
Indiani echoes that thought. “I used to meet clients that were 80 years old, telling me, ‘I used to come here at the end of the Second World War when I was 20 years old with my parents. And since then, every two, three years, I have to come back for a long weekend, because I’ve got so many fond memories.’”
The hotel has embraced modernity, however. Zucchetti says he balked initially at installing WiFi on the hotel’s terrace – who wants to share that charming lake view with someone’s Zoom meeting? – but gave in. However, “the priority is not to change the perception of the place,” he says.
That WiFi comes in handy, though. Zucchetti, who is married with two teenage sons, conducted this interview over video conference from a sunny suite that is one of his favorites because a particular celebrity always stays there. Peering over his shoulder during the conversation was a portrait of 17th-century Spanish soldier. (After the interview, Zucchetti panned the camera of his computer out the window to show off the terrace and lake).
Timeless perception
If that soldier were visiting today, he might only recognize the main mansion, built in 1568 by a cardinal as a summer residence and converted into a hotel, along with another villa on the manicured grounds, in 1873. Today it and a sister property in Florence, the Villa La Massa, are family-owned and members of The Leading Hotels of the World; two other hotels are located in Como.
Villa d’Este arguably is ground zero for the luxury, unique history and sense of place that so many other hotels strive for. Historical gravitas, tasteful elegance, an affluent and influential clientele with famous names (from Franz Liszt to contemporary celebrities that Zucchetti declines to mention) requires a manager who can balance timeless appeal with the demands of contemporary guests.
“The timeless perception is also due to the location we are in. We cannot deny that the location we are in is supreme,” Zucchetti says. “But there is a lot to do with the intangibles that you manage to deliver… Authenticity, I know, is a little bit abused in this era, because it’s not easy to keep authenticity for a long time unless you really have a clear vision of the importance of this for your property.”
That authenticity has helped the Villa d’Este maintain its once-in-a-lifetime aura. As Indiani says: “To be someone, you must have stayed at least a weekend in Villa D’Este.”