Want to take advantage of Marriott STARS benefits, including a space available room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked. This is valid for paid stays at BVLGARI, EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and St. Regis.
There are a couple of brands belonging to Marriott that tend to cause confusion. One of those brands is Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and the other is BVLGARI Luxury Hotels & Resorts. I recently wrote about the basics of Ritz-Carlton Reserve (and what makes the brand different than Ritz-Carlton), and in this post wanted to talk a bit about BVLGARI.
In this post:
BVLGARI doesn’t participate in Marriott Bonvoy
BVLGARI hotels don’t in any way participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program, even though the hotels are displayed on marriott.com. When staying at BVLGARI properties:
- You can’t earn Bonvoy points
- You can’t redeem Bonvoy points
- You don’t receive any sort of elite recognition if you have Bonvoy status
For all practical purposes, think of BVLGARI as not being part of Marriott, except the brand is bookable through Marriott’s website and app. BVLGARI does participate in Marriott STARS, meaning that when booking through an eligible travel agent you can receive perks like free breakfast, a $100 hotel credit, and a room upgrade subject to availability.
I’m sharing BVLGARI’s lack of participation in Bonvoy upfront, because I don’t want people getting excited over these properties, only to realize at the end of this post that these hotels don’t participate in the Bonvoy program.
Now, I think it’s entirely possible that we see BVLGARI participate in Marriott Bonvoy in the future. Ritz-Carlton Reserve belongs to Marriott Bonvoy nowadays, and I see no reason the same couldn’t happen for BVLGARI. With Marriott Bonvoy having dynamic award pricing, it seems like the economics of redemptions at these properties could be more practical.
The basics of BVLGARI hotels
BVLGARI (or Bvlgari, or Bulgari — the “V” in place of “U” is intended to reflect the Roman alphabet) is an Italian luxury brand known for watches, fragrances, jewelry, leather goods, etc.
Over time the company has launched collaborations to get into other spaces, and one of those collaborations has been for hotels. BVLGARI currently operates nine hotels, with a further three in the pipeline.
BVLGARI got into the hotel space as part of a collaboration with Ritz-Carlton (which is owned by Marriott), and the first property opened in 2004. The portfolio has grown at a fairly slow pace, with the second hotel opening two years later (in 2006), the third hotel opening six years after that (in 2012), and then the fourth and fifth hotels opening five years after that (in 2017). The brand is now growing at a faster pace, and by 2026 should have a dozen properties.
For what it’s worth, here’s how the luxury hotel group describes itself:
Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts aims to be the leading luxury hospitality collection in the world. Comprised of a few, selected properties in major cosmopolitan cities and luxury resorts destinations, its aim is to convey the excitement of the Bvlgari brand, its timeless glamour and its heritage of magnificent Roman jeweller.
BVLGARI hotel & resort locations
Currently BVLGARI has nine hotels, in the following locations and with the following number of rooms:
- BVLGARI Bali has 59 rooms
- BVLGARI Beijing has 119 rooms
- BVLGARI Dubai has 101 rooms
- BVLGARI London has 85 rooms
- BVLGARI Milan has 58 rooms
- BVLGARI Paris has 76 rooms
- BVLGARI Rome has 114 rooms
- BVLGARI Shanghai has 82 rooms
- BVLGARI Tokyo has 89 rooms
In addition to the properties currently open, there are another three BVLGARI hotels expected to open in the next few years:
- BVLGARI Maldives Ranfushi is supposed to open in 2026
- BVLGARI Bodrum is supposed to open in 2026
- BVLGARI Miami Beach is supposed to open in 2027
There were initially also plans for properties in Los Angeles and Moscow, though those projects are no longer moving forward.
The best way to book a BVLGARI stay
The best way to book a stay at a BVLGARI property is through a travel advisor who is affiliated with the Marriott STARS program. When booking through a Marriott STARS travel advisor, you’ll receive the following additional perks:
- Complimentary full or continental breakfast daily for up to two people per room
- Hotel credit valued at 100USD once per stay
- Room upgrade, subject to availability at check-in
- Complimentary basic Wi-Fi daily
- In-person welcome
- Personalized welcome amenity and note
Ford and his team are happy to help with Marriott STARS bookings for BVLGARI properties, and can be reached at [email protected].
A few things to note:
- In order to be eligible for Marriott STARS perks, you’ll generally have to book the flexible/standard rate, which should be among the lowest rates available; sometimes there are also promotional rates bookable through STARS
- You’re better off booking through Marriott STARS rather than programs like Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts or Virtuoso because upgrades are prioritized for Marriott STARS guests; that’s because this is Marriott’s own proprietary program
Are BVLGARI properties worth staying at?
BVLGARI isn’t the first luxury brand to get into the hotel market (just look at Cheval Blanc, owned by LVMH), so are these hotels actually worth staying at, or is this just a vanity project?
BVLGARI has opened properties in some of the world’s most competitive hotel markets, with a surprising focus on cities (Cheval Blanc, meanwhile, primarily has resorts). Admittedly there are tons of amazing hotels in London, Milan, Paris, etc.
BVLGARI puts a big emphasis on fashion, service, food & beverage outlets, and amenities, and that’s reflected at properties around the globe. I’ve stayed at the BVLGARI Milan, BVLGARI Rome, and BVLGARI Dubai, and had good stays at all three. They all had excellent service, great restaurants, and nice design.
My general take is that BVLGARI properties offer a top notch experience, though I wouldn’t necessarily consider to offer great value for money, as they’re typically priced on the high end of the market. They’re going primarily after fashion obsessed people who aren’t very price sensitive.
Bottom line
BVLGARI’s hotel collection started as a joint venture with Ritz-Carlton, which is how it’s connected to Marriott. Unfortunately for Marriott Bonvoy members, these hotels don’t in any way participate in the loyalty program, meaning you can’t earn or redeem points, and can’t take advantage of elite benefits when staying with the BVLGARI brand. That certainly could change in the future, as we now see Ritz-Carlton Reserve participate in Marriott Bonvoy.
I find BVLGARI properties to be intriguing — while there’s a limited connection to Marriott, the brand has some fantastic properties, especially in Bali and Dubai.
Has anyone stayed at a BVLGARI property? If so, what was your experience like?
I've been very skeptical of the brand, mostly because I saw the Milan hotel years ago and thought it was super dark and overall not that great. Well I just stayed at the Tokyo property and it was hands down one of the best hotel experiences I've ever had. Everything was incredible, the service was above and beyond, and the views are the best in the city. I was extremely pleasantly surprised. I value a...
I've been very skeptical of the brand, mostly because I saw the Milan hotel years ago and thought it was super dark and overall not that great. Well I just stayed at the Tokyo property and it was hands down one of the best hotel experiences I've ever had. Everything was incredible, the service was above and beyond, and the views are the best in the city. I was extremely pleasantly surprised. I value a sense of place and thought they did a really nice job blending the Italian and Japanese cultures into the decor. Also so nice that it's connected to the station underground - it poured on our departure day and they provide a comp. departure service where she walked is through the tunnel and mall all the way to the train. Cannot recommend the hotel enough.
They are obscenely over priced. I mean, rooms in London often top $3K a night. Really amazed at the ignorance of people paying these kind of rates for a hotel room. I'm all for luxury properties - but places like Bulgari and Aman are helping to define the idea of obscene.
The property in London attempts to be oh so hip yet is incredibly uninspiring. Well-known five star properties in London afford a far better experience. Those who know know.
As a midwestern middle-aged white dude, I'm likely not the target audience for this sort of brand. But I find the V-for-U thing just unbearably pretentious. If I ever happen to stay in one of these places, I will diligently refer to it as Bevel-Gary as long as I'm there.
It has nothing to do with the bvlgari brand, its a very common way - yet a bit outdated - of spelling "u" at least in French and Italian, the brain simply process "u".... in the past U & V were actually the same letter.
I imagine it may have been common vsage back when the hovse was fovnded in 1884. And I'm svre the company takes pride in the fact. Bvt since (I think) it's pretty mvch gone from contemporary Italian, it still falls on my ear as a pretension. Yovr mileage may vary!
In the case of Bulgari, it's an expression of its heritage. While I don't buy their stuff, I can respect the heritage. But, it's more broadly used. In one Midwestern city, there's the Chicago Pvblic Library. Look up an image of its facade. It's borrowed from Latin, which traditionally was the language of education. Until the mid-1900s, it was a required subject of the highest caliber US universities. But, you knew that.