Massimo Bottura Is Opening a Fancy Italian Inn

Massimo Bottura, the chef behind 2018’s World’s Best Restaurant as well as several chef-led soup kitchens, is getting into the luxury hotel business. Bottura and Lara Gilmore, his wife, are opening an inn 20 minutes outside of Modena, Italy, WSJ. Magazine reports. Maria Luigia, a 12-room house on 12 acres, will open to the public this spring. The project, paired with Bottura’s restaurant, just may be the most luxurious experience Modena has to offer: a $300 10-course tasting menu at Osteria Francescana can be book-ended by a stay at Maria Luigia, where rates start at around $519 USD per night.

For that rate, the inn, named after Bottura’s mother, won’t be your run-of-the-mill bed and breakfast. According to WSJ. Magazine, the country estate was the setting for frequent “Gatsby–style soirées” at the turn of the century, and Bottura and Gilmore plan to entertain their guests in a luxurious space filled with artwork by artists like Matthew Barney, Tracey Emin, and Andy Warhol.

Gilmore has dedicated the past year to renovating the previously neglected estate, with help from designer friends. Access to art isn’t the only amenity: When guests arrive, they’ll find half bottles of Lambrusco and chunks of Parmigiano Reggiano for snacking in their rooms. Breakfast and a light lunch, served in the eat-in kitchen, are included. Outside of the main stone house, there’s a tennis court, swimming pool, and grounds that double as a sculpture garden.

Bottura’s most recent projects have taken him all over the world. This month, he’ll open Torno Subito, a restaurant at Dubai’s W Hotel. He’s working on a new restaurant for Gucci in Beverly Hills, a follow up to his cafe in Florence (Bottura is a Gucci brand ambassador). And Bottura’s soup kitchen project Food for Soul has refettorios in San Francisco and the Yucatán in the works. These refettorios take potential food waste and turn it into meals for people who need them, often with the help of big-name chefs. But Bottura and Gilmore have wanted to open an inn closer to home for some time, dismayed at the lack of luxury hotel options in Modena.

There’s no word yet on how to reserve a room, but odds are they’ll be as tough to come by as a spot at Bottura’s restaurant.

• Chef Massimo Bottura’s New Italian Inn [WSJ]