Staying in Style: A Brief History | Travel + Leisure
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Staying in Style: A Brief History

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1959
Guido Molinari, leader of the pack, opens a hotel in Carpi, Italy.

1982
Flame-haired French designer Sonia Rykiel overhauls Paris's Hôtel de Crillon—down to the plates. Three years later she heads across the Seine to re-create the 1930's in the restaurant of the Hôtel Lutetia.

1988
After falling in love with the tiny Italian village of Montegridolfo, Alberta Ferretti buys a ruined palace there. Within six years she cuts the ribbon on the restored Palazzo Viviani hotel, along with several stores and cafés.

1990
Krizia owner Aldo Pinto and his wife buy a villa on the Caribbean island of Barbuda. Their holiday getaway eventually morphs into the K Club.

1991
In an attempt to match the opulence of Louis XIV's Versailles, the house of Givenchy creates a spa at the nearby Trianon Palace hotel. Westin soon takes over, and Givenchy is out. But that doesn't stop them: Givenchy spas eventually open in Cannes and Mauritius.

1992
Ralph Lauren packs up his polos and heads to Jamaica to help redecorate Round Hill. No wonder the classic resort claims it's as comfortable as "a cashmere sweater."

1994
As if running Chanel, Fendi, and his own label weren't enough, Karl Lagerfeld—Germany's so-called Kaiser—revamps the Schlosshotel Vier Jahreszeiten, a castle-like hotel in Berlin. He keeps a private suite for himself, which is now available to paying guests.

1994
Hipster jeans maker Diesel unveils the equally hip Pelican Hotel in a restored Art Deco shell on Miami's South Beach. Visiting rock stars and models make the scene in the lobby.

1995
The Ferragamos open the Hotel Lungarno in Florence, the first of four hotel projects for the fashionable Italian family.

1997
Die-hard New Yorker Donna Karan crosses the pond to outfit the staff at the Metropolitan in London; minimalist uniforms blend into minimalist setting.

1998
Dominican-born Oscar de la Renta returns home to transform Punta Cana Resort & Club—and enlists his pal Julio Iglesias as a partner.

2000
After taking over her late brother's company, Donatella Versace lends her family name—and plenty of gold, glamour, and glitz—to the Palazzo Versace on Australia's Gold Coast.

2004
Giorgio Armani scores backing from investors in Dubai, where he will open the first of eight properties. Also this year, the bejeweled Bulgari makes a foray into the hotel business.
—Hillary Geronemus

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