Luca Virgilio moved from being general manager of Hotel Eden to the same role at The Dorchester. Moving in the opposite direction was Mirko Cattini, previously hotel manager at The Dorchester, who took up his first general manager position at Hotel Eden. Stars spoke to both of them about the challenges ahead.

Mr Virgilio arrived at a pivotal time for The Dorchester, with the extensive renovation work now well under way (stay tuned for a sneak preview in the next edition of Stars).

“It’s really exciting,” he says. “We have called upon the most renowned names in architecture and design to transform the hotel. Pierre-Yves Rochon is reimagining the hotel entrance, The Promenade and the new guest rooms and suites; Martin Brudnizki Design Studio has been appointed to recreate the bar; and ReardonSmith Architects has been enlisted for the entire project. To be a part of it fills me with pride.”

Guests will have noticed a few changes, but the experience is as seamless as possible – and with new things to try. The Promenade experience has temporarily been moved to the Orchid Room and, with The Bar at The Dorchester closed, the hotel reopened the ninth floor roof terrace with a new cocktail concept that received rave reviews this summer.

The renovation, however, is not the only exciting thing happening at The Dorchester in 2022. “We were at the Chelsea Flower Show in May, Tom Booton and his team from The Grill created a restaurant at Royal Ascot, and we proudly celebrated the late HM The Queen’s 70 years of service with some spectacular activations. So, a busy year!” says Mr Virgilio.

It has also been a busy time for Mr Cattini in Rome, back working in his native Italy after more than 20 years in London. “It’s my first role as general manager, so there is a level of expectation – I’m in the hot seat!” he says. “There is a lot of hotel activity in Italy, with more competition coming, so we have to be creative and continue to grow, to create that level of relevance.”

For both Mr Virgilio and Mr Cattini, the team is at the centre of everything they do. “It’s really important that I am as collaborative as possible with the team,” says Mr Virgilio. “I like to focus on the growth and development of our talented people. I have a fantastic hotel manager, Vincent McGrath, who arrived around the same time as me. With such a great team, we will be taking The Dorchester to new heights.”

“Right now it’s really important to me to spend time with the team,” says Mr Cattini. “I want to really understand the employees, the property and the guests. There is a huge amount of history in the team at Hotel Eden and getting that balance between knowledge and experience combined with new ideas and new people is always key.

“I’m also very much one of those who loves to be out in the hotel, talking to the team and the guests and it’s really important to balance that with all the meetings and responsibilities of being a general manager.”

As for what each will miss from their previous posting, both agree it is the people.

“The team at Hotel Eden makes it such an incredible place,” says Mr Virgilio. “And I miss them, of course. Italy is my home country so I never leave it too long before returning and I am lucky that Hotel Eden is a sister property of The Dorchester so I will be heading back as much as I can.”

Mr Cattini agrees. “I miss the team back at The Dorchester,” he says. “I have made great memories and great friendships with them and with some of the guests. Also there’s the size of The Dorchester, the diversity of what is happening on a daily basis and so many nationalities working there. But Hotel Eden is a fantastic property and now I have a chance to experiment. I’ll probably fail a couple of times and then stand up and try something new. If you don’t try, you’re never going to know.”