The key points
- The operation
- The strategy
- The scenery
Cortina is increasingly attracting large international real estate and tourism investors. Today the announcement comes from Mandarin Oriental Group which has signed a long-term agreement with Attestor Limited for the rebranding and management of the historic Hotel Cristallo in Cortina d’Ampezzo, as stated in a note. After closing in the second quarter of 2023, the property will undergo a major refurbishment and will reopen as a Mandarin Oriental resort in the summer of 2025, ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. ‘order of about fifty million euros.
The Mandarin Oriental Cristallo Cortina will also be the first alpine resort of the hotel group and will further expand the presence of Mandarin Oriental in Italy, up to now present in Milan and on Lake Como (in the latter case always in partnership with Attestor Limited). Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group currently operates 36 hotels and seven serviced apartments in 24 countries and is part of the Jardine Matheson Group.
Attestor Limited is a London-based investment management firm. It is an evergreen investment fund, which manages capital on behalf of a limited number of investors, mainly made up of US university funds and large European and US family offices. Assets under management are approximately 7 billion US dollars. Attestor is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
In 2021 Attestor joined the Hotel Cristallo as an investor, in partnership with the Gualandi family, which owned the hotel complex for over twenty years. The entry of Attestor into the ownership of the Hotel Cristallo is aimed at ensuring significant investments for the realization of the renovation and repositioning project on the market of the Hotel Cristallo. The agreement on the Hotel Cristallo confirms Attestor’s role as investor, with an important track-record in long-term operations in the high-end luxury hotels segment. The agreement with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group for the management of the Cristallo di Cortina is considered strategic and consolidates an existing successful partnership between the two groups, evidenced by the joint relaunch of another Italian trophy asset: the Mandarin Oriental, Lake Como – formerly Casta Diva Resort & Dpa – owned by Attestor since 2017.
The Cristallo Hotel in Cortina was built in 1901 in Art Nouveau style by the Menardi family and in the 1930s it was an elite ski destination. After the 1956 Olympic Games, the Hotel entered its “golden age” as a renowned ski destination, hosting celebrities, including Peter Sellers, Frank Sinatra, Saul Bellow and Vladimir Nabokov. It has been the setting for numerous award-winning films, maintaining the historic charm of a grand hotel from the early twentieth century. In 2021 the property was acquired by funds managed by Attestor Limited, which – as mentioned – also owns the Mandarin Oriental, Lake Como.