Tuesday, 10 April 2007 | Levent OZLER
The Keating Hotel by Pininfarina
The Keating Hotel by Pininfarina, the first luxury "Boutique Hotel" in San Diego, California - a combination of Italian design with sophisticated and personalized service - had a grand opening ceremony last week.
Designed by Pininfarina, which expresses itself for the first time into hotel design, the Keating is centrally located in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter in an historical building dated 1890. The 35-room, 4-floor hotel can guest up to 72 people and boasts 8 suites and an environment characterized, such as in the Pininfarina tradition, by pure, clean, ergonomic design, where breathtaking form meets function in every possible detail.
"Pininfarina's modern aesthetic and innovative approach to design partnered with the intricate historic details of the property makes The Keating unlike any other in the world in terms of both form and function," said Paolo Pininfarina, Deputy Chairman Pininfarina S.p.A. and CEO Pininfarina Extra.
The Keating brings to San Diego an extract of Made in Italy, from the Lavazza coffee machines to the Lauretana mineral water, from the Gancia wines to the Jacuzzi baths, all designed by Pininfarina. What is more, guests will have the chance to get design merchandising and experience a special list of white and red wines, strictly from the Piedmont area, personally selected by Paolo Pininfarina: wineries involved are Villa Fiorita (Castello d'Annone, in the Monferrato area), Molino (Treiso, near Alba) and Matteo Correggia (in the Roero area).
Conceived and operated by San Diego based lifestyle group BOND Urban Habitat and Edward Kaen, local real estate developer, The Keating redefines urban hotels in Southern California. With its historic Romanesque Revival façade and contrasting modern sleek interior, The Keating is perfectly poised to solidify downtown San Diego's burgeoning "chic metropolitan" status. For the sophisticated, savvy, style-conscious traveler (and celebrity), it will be the long awaited answer to the question of where to stay in downtown San Diego.
Owner Edward Kaen adds, "Working with the Pininfarina team is thrilling. Every detail has been studied paying attention to aesthetics, never forgetting functionality needs. I wish this is the first out of several projects to be developed together."
"San Diego is a beautiful city with the potential to truly become a world class metropolitan destination," said Robert Watson, founder of BOND Urban Habitat. "The Keating will be San Diego's first authentic urban boutique hotel, combining historical architecture, cutting edge design, and innovative services to evoke a modern destination with subtle sex appeal."
"Working on this project we created a sort of research laboratory - concluded Paolo Pininfarina. - The hospitality world is very interesting: that will be one of our development lines. In such a high level hotel hundreds of people will get in touch every day with our brand".
The Keating Hotel: http://www.thekeating.com
Pininfarina: http://www.dexigner.com/directory/detail/8560/
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