An underground oasis

Parc Hotel Germano, a four-star hotel belonging to the Parc Hotels Italia chain, was built in 2009 on the hillside in Bardolino in the province of Verona on the eastern shores of Lake Garda. The complex stands on a series of terraces to accommodate the terrain’s morphology and consists of a number of volumes immersed in the lush Mediterranean maquis. The hotel offers a series of suites and apartments as well as a wide range of dining, leisure and wellness facilities. These include two outdoor swimming pools and an indoor pool connected to the new spa, which was built in 2020 to a design by Ardielli Fornasa Associati with the goal of expanding the range of available services and attracting guests during the off-peak season. To avoid altering the hotel’s external appearance, an underground space suitable for expansion was identified within the existing terrace, consisting of a 330 square metre area adjacent to the indoor swimming pool. Two entrances provide access to the spa from the indoor pool along a route envisioned by the designers “as a sensorial journey in which the visitor is immersed in an enchanted atmosphere” and passes through the spa’s three constituent areas: the entrance, the relaxation area and the wellness space. Each area “was carefully designed to provide a distinct sensory experience. The warm and inviting colours of the surface coverings create a sense of tranquillity.” The lights are positioned in such a way as to enhance the colours of the surface coverings, with porcelain tiles chosen for their aesthetic and emotional appeal as well as their comfort, hygiene and safety properties. The Up stone Beige porcelain stoneware collection from Italgraniti was chosen for the entrance and relaxation area along with the Transition tile collection from Mirage in the colours Ostuni, Lecce and Matera. In the relaxation area in particular, the designers sought to create a sense of calm and serenity by using slabs in muted tones that produce a pleasant tactile sensation and are illuminated by subtle and graduated LED lighting. The same tiles were chosen for the wellness space, which includes a dry and warm Mediterranean bath and a Turkish steam bath. Italgraniti’s Nordic Stone Sweden collection inspired by northern European Burlington stone was installed on the floors and can be found throughout the spa. The project received an Honourable Mention in the Commercial/Hospitality category of the Ceramics and Design competition 2022 for its ability to differentiate the various areas through skilled use of lighting and the choice of Italian ceramic tiles, reflecting the desire to express the facility’s high quality standards through its selection of products.