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DELLE ARTI DESIGN HOTEL |
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CREMONA, ITALY
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The Delle Arti opened in July 2002 in Cremona, a sleepy Lombard town known chiefly for violins (Stradivari lived and worked here, Monteverdi was born here) and nougat. The hotel is a surprisingly resolute design statement by local architects Giorgio Palù and Michele Bianchi, shoe-boxed into a terrace of low townhouses near the cathedral. Though executed with relatively limited resources, the Delle Arti is a mostly successful attempt to attract smart young business clients and the kind of tuned-in tourists who make time for the town's recondite charms. Behind the dark, dramatically-lit façade, the lobby is a bright play of glass, silver and burnished gold. Undulating corridors on three floors provide access to 30 guest rooms and three suites. This is a classy and affordable hotel which also acts as a contemporary-art exhibition space.
WHEN TO GO
For two weeks between the end of May and the beginning of June, fans of baroque vocal music flock here for the Monteverdi festival. But the misty, nougat-fuelled winter months are also atmospheric (and the hotel offers special rates between November and February)
WHICH ROOM TO BOOK
All are similar; the two suites offer more space (one has a Jacuzzi), but suffer from low ceilings and a lack of windows
CONTACT
Delle Arti Design Hotel, via Bonomelli 8, Cremona (00 39 0372 23131; fax: 21654; www.dellearti.com; Design Hotels 0800 169 8817). Doubles €130-€165
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