The colour of the sea as well as the Belgian way of saying “I’m mad about you” (je suis bleu de toi), Blu di Te is an apt name for the first boutique hotel on the Ligurian Riviera. “Nomen omen” to quote a Latin phrase. Guests are destined to fall in love with Blu di Te House, a recently refurbished period building in Santa Margherita Ligure, in the Tigullio Gulf, whether it’s for the maritime-style façade painted in white and grey-blue stripes with indigo shutters and a pretty internal courtyard, or for its familiar feel that blends romanticism and design. As you approach the hotel, you are bewitched by a glass foyer that opens onto the reception. Here, you are able to catch a glimpse of the heart of this magical location: a large living room/ bistrot decorated in a combination of salvaged and contemporary pieces, vintage ones found in flea markets around Europe and icons designed by Ettore Sottsass, Arne Jacobsen, De Sede, Braakman and Robin Day.
Blu di Te House is located between the San Giacomo baroque church and Villa Durazzo, a stone’s throw away from Santa Margherita’s port, although it remains hidden from the busy seafront. Here, every corner has a story to tell: an old wooden balance beam, a mirrored wall that evokes a space that was previously a garage, a gently weathered sofa in velvet and an old apothecary cabinet with a display of creams, towels and toiletries. There’s an additional lounge area with retro sofas and armchairs, a fireplace in the centre of the room and a bistrot area with a long table in weathered wood, laid for a scrumptious buffet and lit up by chandeliers in wicker.
Blu di Te House has a familiar, convivial feel, similarly to a friend’s house. The overall aesthetic of the hotel is enhanced by old brickwork, suffused lighting, weathered timber as well as antique terrazzo and cement tiles with a delicate colour palette in turquoise, pale-pink and silvery-grey, the colours of storms and sunsets. The boutique hotel is decorated with one-of-a-kind pieces and all of them are on sale: from a traditional French armchair to an industrial lamp, from a footstool in velvet by Missoni to a trunk from the sixties and from Danish furniture to Moroccan teapots as well as a French Gueridon.
The 20 bedrooms are decorated in a similar aesthetic. You are able to choose from: Tiny, Standard, Deluxe Corner, Junior Suite and Junior Suite Superior. All the rooms have been especially designed to indulge the guests and make them feel at home, in a soothing space inspired by the thirties and the fifties.
“Indulgence” is the keyword of this project. In fact, the four partners Michele Concina, a designer as well as the president of the Fondazione Fernanda Pivano, Enzo Sanfilippo, an art stylist based in Milan, wife Cinzia Berta and Christel Chabrol, an interior designer as well as an international buyer, have prioritized functionality, comfort and above all the customers’ needs. The utmost care has been paid to every detail. The kitchen relies exclusively on locally sourced ingredients with a menu that goes from breakfast to dinner, served to outside punters too. In the evening, the hotel is brought to live by small events and live music. Besides, you are able to indulge yourself in a spa, enjoy a cocktail in the internal courtyard, chat, read a book and soon, there is going to be a rooftop terrace with a bar and a swimming pool.
Here, every single detail is an ode to style. You are additionally able to rent a 10 metre-long fishing boat in teak and fine wood, restored in 2016, to enjoy lunch or dinner cradled by the waves or join a boat trip, available at night-time too, accompanied by a sailor. A never-ending dream consumed between Portofino, Camogli and San Fruttuoso.
Where: Blu di Te House, 30 via Favale, Santa Margherita Ligure, Genoa, Italy
