VILLA FLORHOF PRESS KIT

OVERVIEW: AN URBAN HOUSE OF EXCEPTIONAL REFINEMENT

Opened on 1 August 2026, Villa Florhof marks the arrival of the first Lalique boutique hotel in Zurich, and one of the Swiss city’s most significant new hospitality venues.

Occupying a heritage-listed building on Florhofgasse, between the historic Old Town and the university quarter, the property traces its origins to the sixteenth century, when the site was integral to Zurich’s celebrated silk trade.

Following an extensive restoration work carried out in close collaboration with heritage authorities, the building has been sensitively reimagined as an intimate hotel of thirteen individually designed rooms and suites.

The guest experience encompasses a bar and brasserie with garden terrace, a historic vaulted wine cellar, a dedicated cigar lounge and a Signature Restaurant, which is set to open in autumn 2026.

The architecture and interiors are the work of Green & Mingarelli Design, whose approach weaves centuries of layered history into a coherent, contemporary living environment. The Lalique Interior Design Studio has contributed a bespoke programme of crystal panels, architectural glass and lighting, each created specifically for this commission.

Beyond architecture and design, the Lalique presence extends throughout every space in the hotel, from decorative objects and sculptures to the glassware and tableware of the restaurant and bar, ensuring that the Lalique universe is encountered at every moment of the guest’s stay.

Villa Florhof joins the Lalique Hospitality portfolio alongside Villa René Lalique and Château Hochberg in Alsace, Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey in Bordeaux, and The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Scotland.

THE PROPERTY: A PRIVATE HOUSE OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

Villa Florhof has been designed not as a grand hotel but as a private house of exceptional quality: residential in atmosphere, precise in service, and profoundly connected to its location. Set upon a quiet, tree-lined street within minutes of the Grossmünster, the Kunsthaus and the Bahnhofstrasse, the hotel occupies the intersection of old and contemporary Zurich, a discreet refuge at the heart of one of Europe’s most compelling cities.

With only thirteen rooms and suites, each individually designed and named after a motif drawn from the silk trade and the Lalique universe, the property offers a quality of attentiveness that larger establishments cannot replicate.

Location

Florhofgasse 4, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland.

Situated between the Niederdorf quarter and the university district, the hotel is within easy walking distance of Zurich’s principal cultural, commercial and gastronomic destinations. Zurich Hauptbahnhof is accessible within ten minutes on foot; Zurich Airport is approximately twenty minutes by rail.

Rooms & Suites

The hotel has thirteen individually designed rooms and suites, all of which have been individually designed, including the Suite René Lalique, the hotel’s principal suite, which was conceived as a statement of the collaboration between the building’s heritage and the Lalique universe. Furnishings by Green & Mingarelli Design incorporate Lalique Maison pieces, balancing the textural richness of the historic building with highquality materials.

In collaboration with Meljac, each guest room is identified by bespoke brass signage engraved with a name drawn from René Lalique’s artistic repertoire, ranging from Papillon and Libellule to Masque de Femme, Panthère and Hirondelles. Featuring the illuminated crystal Papillon motif, these refined details extend the Lalique narrative throughout the property reflecting the meticulous attention given to every aspect of the guest experience.

HISTORY: FIVE CENTURIES OF CONTINUITY

Few urban buildings in Europe can claim an unbroken connection to a single site spanning more than five hundred years. Villa Florhof is one of them. First mentioned in records in 1447, its origins lie in the medieval period, when the estate formed part of the holdings associated with Zurich’s Grossmünster, occupying a strategic position above the city on what were then open fields and vineyards. Throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the house passed through the hands of merchants, physicians, craftsmen, and civic figures, each of whom left their mark on its evolving form.

In 1489, the building served as the scene of one of Zurich’s most dramatic political episodes, when Hans Dignauer, a close associate of the besieged burgomaster Hans Waldmann, fled through its gardens during a civic uprising, only to be captured and executed a few days later.

The most significant chapter in Florhof’s history was its deep connection to Zurich’s silk industry. From the mid-sixteenth century onwards, the site was associated with the merchants and manufacturers who drove one of the city’s most important economic activities. Raw silk from Italy, techniques imported from Lyon, and the labour of countless Zurich craftsmen combined to establish the city as a leading European centre of silk production. The building’s name endures as a direct reference to this heritage.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, important aristocratic families including the Heideggers and the Oeris shaped the building’s architectural identity by adding the formal garden, the terrace and the principal façades that define its appearance today. The decline of Zurich’s silk industry in the nineteenth century transformed the function of many such residences. In 1907, architect Karl Weigle undertook a programme of modernisation, and the following year the property officially opened as a hotel and pension under the name Florhof.

Over the following decades, the hotel quietly established a reputation as Zurich’s most distinguished retreat for artists, writers and intellectuals. Günter Grass, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eugène Ionesco, Michael Ende, Bruno Ganz and Christopher Lee are among those recorded in its guest books, drawn by the quality of silence and character that the building has always offered. In 1973, the principal elements of the property were placed under formal heritage protection. In 2022, Swiss entrepreneurs Silvio Denz and Peter Spuhler acquired the building, securing its future and enabling the recent restoration.

ARCHITECTURE & INTERIORS: CRAFT AT EVERY SCALE

The architecture and interiors of Villa Florhof are the work of Lady Tina Green and Pietro Mingarelli, the design partnership behind some of the most distinguished projects within the Lalique Hospitality collection. Green & Mingarelli Design has shaped the interiors of Villa René Lalique in Alsace, Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey in Bordeaux, and The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Scotland, establishing a language of refined craft and material sensitivity that spans each of these commissions. The two designers first met over the project of a 36-metre yacht and have since brought their complementary sensibilities to apartments, private residences, yachts and aircraft worldwide. At Villa Florhof, as with every Lalique property they have worked on, their ambition has been to honour the soul and authenticity of the building while creating an environment of enduring contemporary quality.

The Lalique Interior Design Studio has created a bespoke programme of crystal and architectural glass for Villa Florhof, more than a dozen distinct installations, each conceived for its precise location within the building. The commission begins in the lobby, where a large composition of Papillon and Feuilles de Mûrier crystal panels – the two central symbols of silk manufacturing – establishes the hotel’s visual language at its first point of welcome.

The staircase is the building’s most theatrical interior sequence. Twentythree individually lit crystal butterflies rise through the stairwell in a natural formation, as though in flight. Set in the centre of the ceiling, fourteen Alizé crystal volumes, organic, cocooned shapes in gold-luster, are suspended over a ten-metre vertical run. A standing crystal screen, composed of Papillon and Feuilles de Mûrier panels set in tempered glass, marks the threshold between the lobby and the staircase. It is present enough to define the space yet transparent enough to dissolve into light.

The Papillon motif reaches its most spectacular expression in the Signature Restaurant, where one hundred and four large crystal butterflies, each individually lit from within, cover the ceiling in three alternating orientations, evoking the spontaneous movement of a swarm in suspension. The entrance to the wine cellar is framed by Merles et Raisins crystal panels, an allusion to the vineyards that once surrounded the site. The passage into the white wine cellar beyond is marked by the Femme Bras Levés, Lalique’s iconic crystal figure. The Champs-Elysées chandelier, a motif first designed by Marc Lalique in 1951, appears in two versions: a five-rank form in the vaulted cellar and a more intimate three-rank version in the lounge.

Throughout the bar and lounge, crystal becomes functional: the entrance sliding doors carry Petites Feuilles panels; the pull handles on both sets of double doors are formed from Merles et Raisins and Feuilles de Mûrier crystal cut to a half-circle and set in metal, objects that are simultaneously hardware and works of craft. In the cigar lounge, deeply sandblasted Art Deco foliage doors recall Lalique’s founding mastery of the technique.

In the bridal suite, a stucco ceiling and a Dahlia crystal shower panel with black enamel detail extend the same rigour into the most private spaces of the hotel. The suite is further distinguished by a bespoke Champs-Élysées dome comprising nine crystal leaves mounted on gilded metal stems. Each leave is lit from within and suspended from the ceiling providing an intimate counterpart to the larger versions installed in the bar and lounge below.

On the ground floor, a wall installation of fourteen coloured crystal butterfly panels by Damien Hirst, created in collaboration with Lalique, is displayed alongside the Lalique commission. Hirst’s artworks place his emblematic butterfly imagery alongside Lalique’s interpretation of the same motif, showcasing two distinct artistic approaches within a single building.

GASTRONOMY: A TABLE OF THE HIGHEST AMBITION

Bar & Brasserie

The Bar & Brasserie, open all day, is situated on the ground floor and opens out onto the spacious garden terrace. During the warmer months, this becomes one of the most beautiful spots in Zurich for lunch, an aperitif or a casual dinner. Head chef John Schiffmann is known for a style of cooking that focuses on high-quality ingredients and a relaxed form of hospitality.

Signature Restaurant

Villa Florhof’s Signature Restaurant is set to open in autumn 2026. The restaurant is situated in the stately rooms on the first floor and overlooks the historic buildings surrounding the villa.

The Wine Cellar

The historic vaulted wine cellar beneath the property has been preserved and restored to serve as a functional wine repository and a destination in its own right. It forms the atmospheric foundation of the hotel’s beverage programme and can be booked for private tastings, dinners, and events.

Salon Davidoff - The Cigar Lounge

A dedicated interior cigar space, a rare amenity in an urban luxury setting, furnished with dedicated cigar storage facilities and a curated selection of premium cigars. It is distinguished by its bespoke sandblasted glass doors, designed by the Lalique Interior Design Studio, and by its connection to the bar and garden beyond.

LALIQUE HOSPITALITY: A COLLECTION DEFINED BY PLACE

Villa Florhof forms part of Lalique Hospitality: a collection of individually conceived properties united by a shared philosophy rather than a standardised model. Each destination responds to the history, landscape and cultural context of its location; each expresses the Lalique commitment to craftsmanship, gastronomy and design in its own unique way.

Villa René Lalique, Wingen-sur-Moder, Alsace

The former residence of René Lalique himself: one of France’s most celebrated gastronomic hotels, home to a two-Michelin-starred restaurant and the flagship expression of the Lalique universe in hospitality.

Château Hochberg, Wingen-sur-Moder, Alsace

Adjacent to the Lalique Manufacture, Château Hochberg offers an intimate experience of Alsatian hospitality in a historic setting, closely connected to the artisan traditions of the region.

Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Sauternes, Bordeaux

A First Growth Sauternes estate transformed into a destination combining wine heritage, exceptional gastronomy and Lalique interior design in the heart of one of France’s most distinguished wine landscapes. Its restaurant has been awarded two Michelin stars, making it one of the leading gastronomic destinations in the Bordeaux region.

The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, Crieff, Scotland

Located within Scotland’s oldest working distillery, this restaurant has rapidly established itself as one of the country’s leading gastronomic addresses. Awarded two Michelin stars, it weaves the traditions of Scottish whisky with the aesthetic sensibility of Lalique, creating one of the most distinctive dining experiences in the United Kingdom.

OWNERSHIP & LEADERSHIP: VISION & STEWARDSHIP

SILVIO DENZ, Owner & Chairman, Lalique Group

Silvio Denz is the majority shareholder and Chairman of Lalique Group. Entrepreneur, collector and patron, he has shaped Lalique’s evolution from crystal manufacturer into one of the world’s most distinctive luxury lifestyle groups, encompassing crystal, fragrance, jewellery, interior design, gastronomy and hospitality. His vision for Villa Florhof is consistent with the broader Lalique philosophy of creating environments of genuine cultural depth that are rooted in place and expressed through craftsmanship of the highest order.

TANJA WEGMANN, General Manager, Lalique Hospitality

Tanja Wegmann has overseen the transformation of the Villa Florhof from the earliest stages of the project. She has also been the principal architect of the hotel’s operational vision, service philosophy and cultural positioning. Her experience in Swiss luxury hospitality, combined with her detailed understanding of the property’s history and potential, has been central to defining what Villa Florhof will offer its guests.

AT A GLANCE: FACT SHEET

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ABOUT VILLA FLORHOF

Villa Florhof is a luxury boutique hotel located in the heart of Zurich. Following an extensive heritage restoration, the property opened on 1 August 2026 and occupies a listed building whose origins date to the fifteenth century. From the mid-sixteenth century onwards, the site was part of Zurich’s celebrated silk trade. With thirteen individually designed rooms and suites, a Signature restaurant (opening in autumn 2026), a bar and brasserie, a historic wine cellar and the Davidoff Salon, Villa Florhof offers a uniquely intimate and historically rich experience. The interiors are the work of Green & Mingarelli Design, with bespoke crystal panels, architectural glass and lighting by the Lalique Interior Design Studio. Operated by the Lalique Group, Villa Florhof is part of the Lalique Hospitality collection, alongside Villa René Lalique and Château Hochberg in Alsace, Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey in Bordeaux, and The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Scotland.

Press Contacts

INTERNATIONAL - LALIQUE

Elle STEINBRECHER | elle.steinbrecher@lalique-group.com

Vân BOUCHET | vbouchet@lalique.fr

DACH – PR/TICULAR

Katja GRAUWILER | katja.grauwiler@pr-ticular.com

UK - SIMON+SIMON COMMUNICATIONS

Sonia SANSON DUBAN | sonia@simonplussimon.com

Lucie RISACHER | lucie@simonplussimon.com

Melissa BYRNE | melissa@simonplussimon.com

USA - THE CONSULTANCY PR

Jacob MCLEAN | Lalique@tcpr.co