ANDIAMO - Nicolo Rusconi

Owner of The Georgian Hotel

What was the inspiration behind the restoration of Santa Monica’s iconic property The Georgian?

The inspiration was the building’s history. The Georgian was one of the cultural epicenters of Los Angeles in the 1930s through 1960s and to be able to participate in the next chapter drove our creative process in a way where the stories of The Georgian were the foundation for the restoration. You can see these stories in the art, the furniture, the design motifs, the literary collection, and just about everywhere else in the building.

If you could describe The Georgian experience in 3 words, what would they be?

Magical, Romantical, Inspired

For The Georgian you chose our exclusive Cotton/Tencel blend: how important are good quality linens and how do they impact a guest's stay?

As they say, you spend 1/3 of your life in bed. Well equally for our guests at The Georgian (assuming they’re not intending on watching the sunrise after a night in The Georgian Room), a significant portion of their time at the hotel will be spent in bed. It becomes even more important for the weary traveler or the high productivity remote worker to get a good night sleep to not only operate at the top of their potential, but to feel good and refreshed when doing so. Great sheets can be the difference between waking up feeling disheveled and unrested or clean, comfortable, and confident. 

What are the key elements of a meaningful guest experience?

Proactive thoughtfulness and creative inspiration. It is our responsibility to not only be thoughtful about each and every guest that comes through our door but to do it proactively so that we can not only manage expectations for the hospitality experience, but surpass them every chance we get. The creative inspiration is what takes the guest experience to the next level - whimsical brass champagne carts, custom designed stuffed animals for the kids, and phone scripts from the 1930s are just a few examples of the creative ways we elevate the guest experience. 

The city of Santa Monica recently announced 14 new development projects across residential, retail, hospitality, fitness etc: normal post pandemic recovery or real economic boom?

We see what’s happening in Santa Monica more as a cultural renaissance than an economic boom (although they go hand in hand). We had one of the top art fairs in the world, Frieze, here this year, and some of the best food, cocktails, and hospitality concepts have opened locally in recent years. Santa Monica epitomizes the world-renowned California lifestyle and that’s what is serving as the foundation for the renaissance. Fortunately, the City has smart, motivated leadership, passionate local stakeholders, and inspired community advocacy groups that are making sure we continue moving in the right direction - one that pays homage to the rich history of the City. 

How easy or complicated is to create your own property and brand Vs developing hotels for other companies?

Creating a hospitality concept is relatively simple. Creating a hospitality concept that inspires people, makes them feel romance, and sparks their curiosity is much more difficult. I would say that it’s a much more linear creative process to restore an existing iconic hotel since there’s so much foundational brand and storytelling DNA already in existence. The most difficult part for any lifestyle hotel is to create a seamless and consistent story and identity that weaves throughout every element of the hospitality experience: design, branding, food, beverage, service, and more. These challenges exist no matter if we’re creating the brand in house or developing an existing brand, and it’s finding the ways to connect all of these elements cohesively that creates a truly special hotel. 

Who has been your biggest inspiration throughout your career?

I was very fortunate to meet my business partner and best friend, Jon Blanchard, when I first moved to Downtown Los Angeles over a decade ago. Our partnership in BLVD, The Georgian, and everything else we work on is what allows us to be so nimble and dynamic in our growth strategies while still allowing us to be creative. His love for hospitality and constant desire to create magical experiences have always been major inspirations for me. 

When did your passion of collecting rare and antiquarian literature begin?

I fell in love with reading at a young age. I spent many nights growing up in a warm bath by candle light late at night reading everything from the Lord of the Rings to The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire to The Hardy Boys. When out shopping for new books, I’d come across old, dusty versions of the books that I fell in love with and slowly begin buying my favorites. Now after many years of traveling around the world and always popping into the local bookstores in whatever city I may be in, my collection has grown to include hundreds of first editions, rare prints, and signed copies.

3 favorite hotels and travel destinations around the world?

Blue Lagoon Iceland, Residenza Napoleone III in Rome, and North Shore Kauai where my wife is from.

You co-founded BLVD Companies in 2009 and developed extremely successful properties, how do you see the company growing in the next 10 years?

Over the next 10 years, we plan to open other historic properties around the country like The Georgian but also more affordable hotels that still incorporate the BLVD creative hospitality philosophy. We also have a vision for a large mixed use development that we are opportunistically searching for. With that said, we never want to sacrifice the attention to detail that we give every project, so we will continue to be selective around the projects we pursue.