Nuvole Garden Hotel / VARRODESIGN

Architects: Achille Manfredini (1911), restoration by Domenico Garritano, Studio Ingegneria
Interior Designer: Zoltan Varro / VARRODESIGN
Landscape and Garden Design: Zoltan Varro
Developer: Italiana Hotels & Resorts
Area: 6,000 m²
Year: 2025
Photography: Gyorgy Darabos
Artworks: Marton Uzsaly (BLU Restaurant paintings), Barna Gacsi (sculpture in pool)
Rooms: 80 guest rooms and suites
Dining: Sole Gourmet Restaurant, BLU Restaurant, Bar Negroni
Spa: Spa with wellness facilities
Design Themes: Sun, Water, Mountains, Belle Époque revival, La Dolce Vita, garden fantasy
Custom Furnishings and Materials: Curtains and upholstery by JAB Anstoetz, wallpapers by VARRODESIGN Attitude Luxury Collection, carpets by JAB Anstoetz and Radici Carpet, bespoke furniture by Dublino by VARRODESIGN and Contract-lab.it, custom carpentry and wooden fittings by Pierri S.r.l.
Signature Brands: Kartell, Emu Italia, Tom Dixon, Gessi, Duravit, Moooi, Seletti, Iris Ceramica
City: Brunate, Lake Como
Country: Italy

The Nuvole Garden Hotel, designed by Zoltan Varro for Italiana Hotels & Resorts, reimagines the historic Grand Hotel Milano in Brunate as a contemporary five-star retreat. Originally completed in 1911 by architect Achille Manfredini, the building had long stood abandoned before its restoration by Domenico Garritano, Studio Ingegneria. Now spanning 6,000 square meters with 80 rooms, three restaurants, and a spa, the hotel pays homage to its Belle Époque heritage while embracing fantastical themes inspired by Lake Como’s mist and landscape. Varro devised interiors and gardens that transform traditional grandeur into immersive narratives of sun, water, and mountain life. Custom furnishings and textiles, produced with leading manufacturers, establish a tailored aesthetic identity. Decorative elements and artworks, including works by Marton Uzsay and Barna Gacsi, reinforce the hotel’s artistic character. With spaces ranging from the luminous Sole Restaurant to the immersive BLU dining room and an outdoor courtyard referencing La Dolce Vita, the project blends history, artistry, and storytelling. Positioned on the mountaintop town of Brunate, known as the “Balcony of the Alps,” the Nuvole Garden Hotel emerges as a contemporary landmark celebrating Como’s cultural and natural splendor.

For me, the magic is always in the details. I love it when everything is interconnected and contributes to a larger concept — from the design of the garden down to the candleholders on the tables.
Interview with Zoltán Varró VARRODESIGN

The reopening of the Nuvole Garden Hotel above Lake Como represents the rebirth of an icon long dormant. Once the Grand Hotel Milano, the property had languished in disrepair until Italiana Hotels & Resorts commissioned Zoltan Varro to restore and reimagine it for the 21st century. Varro’s concept was shaped by the ephemeral lake mists rising over Brunate, a vision that became the hotel’s defining metaphor of clouds, myths, and transformation.

Rather than relying solely on the nostalgia of Belle Époque architecture, the design layers new identities across the building’s historic framework. Each programmatic space takes inspiration from a natural element. The Sole Restaurant, positioned at the top level, serves as a modern temple to sunlight, where retractable ceilings open the dining room to the skies and golden finishes glow in evening light. In contrast, the BLU Restaurant immerses guests in an aquatic world, its surfaces recalling the depths of Lake Como, complemented by custom carpets evoking the lakebed and atmospheric chandeliers that create a sense of underwater reverie.

Varro’s approach extends beyond interiors. In the courtyard, the spirit of la dolce vita is materialized through a fountain pool and mosaic terrace, recalling cinematic memories of Fellini’s Trevi Fountain scene. Here the outdoors is treated as a grand salon, complete with chandelier and fireplace, an inversion of indoor and outdoor conventions. Within the public spaces, vegetal motifs blur the line between architecture and garden, suggesting an enchanted landscape that has crept indoors.

Guest rooms follow two thematic strands. Lake-facing suites embrace the sun motif with expansive glazing, warm tones, and bespoke textiles celebrating the Como horizon. Others reinterpret the intimacy of Italian cabanas, with wood-paneled partitions and draped fabrics creating secluded retreats inspired by vineyard and poolside pavilions.

Throughout the hotel, artisanal craftsmanship and carefully curated design brands reinforce Varro’s narrative. Custom-made textiles and furniture define each space, while pieces from Kartell, Moooi, Seletti, and Tom Dixon infuse a contemporary counterpoint. The result is a fusion of history and fantasy: the preservation of Achille Manfredini’s art nouveau structure balanced with Varro’s theatrical, narrative-driven interiors.

In bringing the Grand Hotel Milano back to life as the Nuvole Garden Hotel, the project secures a new chapter in Brunate’s hospitality legacy. It simultaneously honors its architectural past and projects a visionary identity for the future, where the clouds of Lake Como remain both muse and metaphor.