Venice is Hilton”s latest destination for business travellers and conference organisers. The building, which was once a flour mill, has been vacant for the past 50 years. It is set to reopen in July next year after a four year restoration project.
The Molino Stucky will provide the second largest conference facility in Venice after the Lido. The conference centre will include a 700sq m foyer and a 100sq m ballroom, which can be divided into five different sections for meetings and other business events. Within the hotel there will be 14 additional meeting rooms, and the option of WiFi or wired internet access in all rooms. The hotel also features a total of 380 rooms”50 Suites, 100 Executive rooms and 230 Deluxe rooms. The hotel is a 40min water taxi ride from Marco Polo Airport. If you fly to Treviso airport you”ll need to take a taxi to San Basilio (roughly 30mins), where a shuttle boat will take you across to the hotel on Giudecca island.
Commenting on the project, director of business development for the hotel Katharina Schlaipfer told ABTN: ”Hilton has always been on the look-out for a hotel in Venice, but we hadn”t found the right property until now”.
In other Italian news the hotel chain has also reopened the first of its Sicilian properties after refurbishment. The Villa Igiea (pictured below) has been rebranded as a Hilton property after it signed its franchise agreement with Acqua Pia Antica Marcia.
The hotel has been completely remodelled and the company said it is ideal for both business or leisure travellers. It has 109 rooms, which includes 41 standard, 55 deluxe and 13 suites. All rooms now contain WiFi.
The convention area seats up to 1,000 delegates. The 400sq m Congress Centre is on the ground floor and holds 500 delegates. The Ballroom houses large events and four smaller rooms hold between 15-40 delegates for meetings. Another six rooms can be used for gala events.
Hilton regional director of marketing for Benelux and the Mediterranean Pierre Dorrell revealed that Hilton”s two other Sicilian properties the Excelsior Hilton Palermo and the Des Palmes Hilton Palermo are currently under refurbishment and reconstruction respectively.
Hilton spokeswoman Shelley Winkel told ABTN: ”This is the first Hilton to open in Sicily, three more are scheduled in the near future, including the Hilton Palermo Celsior in December this year. The Hilton Portorosa will open in March 2007 and the Hilton Grand in Palermo in Mid 2007”.
The Hilton Garden Inn brand will be opening in Florence-Novoli in coming weeks, and a property at Rome Fiumicino Airport will open by the end of this year.