After restoring some of its most historic hotels last year, including the Gritti Palace in Venice and the Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastian, Spain, the Luxury Collection from Starwood Hotels & Resorts announced a second round of upgrades, this time to two more historic properties, the Hotel Imperial in Vienna and the Excelsior Hotel Gallia in Milan, and two more-modern ones including Santa Marina Resort in Mykonos, Greece, and Grand Hills in Broumana, Lebanon.
The results of the initiative will be seen beginning this summer with the 75-room Santa Marina, featuring renovated guestrooms and beachfront restaurant, and the Hotel Imperial, originally built in 1863 as a royal palace, which will introduce a new restaurant, bar and event spaces.
When they open in September and December, respectively, both the 1932-vintage Excelsior Hotel Gallia and the more contemporary Grand Hills will join the Luxury Collection.
Some upgrades will address practical matters, such as Wi-Fi and plumbing. Others will restore original design features that were covered up over the years.
All updates will emphasize interaction with their surroundings. Guests “want to be where locals are buzzing,” Paul James, global brand leader of the Luxury Collection, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts and W Hotels Worldwide, wrote in an email.
Past efforts to connect guests with local life included a new street entrance to a bar at the Gritti Palace in Venice.
“You will soon see something similar with Hotel Imperial where the entrance, connecting the hotel to the neighboring Musikverein, home to the Vienna Philharmonic, will be restored and reopened to provide a stately sense of arrival for maestros, musicians and guests,” Mr. James said.