New Year, New Wardrobe Stress-free January Sales Shopping with The Rocco Forte Collection
The January sales are the perfect time to update your wardrobe with some key designer pieces at a fraction of the usual price. Why not travel further afield with your sales shopping this year and make a weekend of it, as there are some great treasures to be found across Europe.
Kick-start the New Year in style with a luxurious January sales break with The Rocco Forte Collection and make sure your wardrobe is the envy of all your friends. With The Collection’s dedication to stylish individual design, exceptional levels of comfort, attention to detail and personal service, all you have to worry about is what shop to visit next.
Fashionista’s Florence
The January sales in Florence are a Fashionista’s paradise, taking place from the second week of January through to the end of February, with discounts ranging from 30 to 70 per cent. Once you have exhausted the many shops in the city centre, there are a number of fantastic designer outlet stores on the outskirts of the city, where further designer bargains can be found from household names like Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabanna and Armani.
Price: Rocco Forte’s Hotel Savoy offers The Art of Shopping in Florence package which costs from €594 (approx £410), including breakfast, a welcome gift by a renowned Italian designer in your room and a half-day transfer to and from the Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Armani, Loro Piana and D&G outlets. The price is valid from 1 January to 28 February 2008. For more information, visit www.roccofortecollection.com or call 0800 988 4040.
Bold Berlin
Whether its designer labels or vintage pieces that you’re after, Berlin has an impressive range of colourful shops with something for everyone. Friedrichstrasse is Berlin’s answer to Bond Street including the likes of Gucci as well as the legendary French store Galleries Lafayette. No trip to Berlin is complete without a visit to KaDeWe, which is Europe’s second largest department store next to Harrods. Vintage lovers should head to Hackischer Markt with its fantastic collection of individual boutiques.
In Berlin, you can now shop all night if you want to as the city has just changed its trading laws, meaning that during the week shops can stay open 24 hours and until 6 on Sundays. The first store to have taken advantage of this is Kulturkaufhaus Dussmann selling an extensive collection of electrical goods, CDs and DVDs.
Price: Stay at Rocco Forte’s Hotel de Rome located in the centre of the city on the Bebelplatz, close to Berlin’s shopping districts. The hotel is housed in an impressive conversion of a building that was once the headquarters of the Dresdner Bank. After a day of shopping, soothe your tired feet with a relaxing pedicure in the hotel’s luxurious Spa de Rome, located in the bank’s old jewellery vault. Rooms at Rocco Forte’s Hotel de Rome start from £139/€200 per room, per night. For further information, visit www.roccofortecollection.com or call 0800 988 4040.
Luxurious London
Well seasoned shoppers will not be disappointed with the huge choice of sales shopping in London, from the world-famous Harrods sale in Knightsbridge and the designer boutiques of Bond Street to the department stores on Oxford Street and Regent Street and the cutting edge designer boutiques in trendy Notting Hill.
Price: Rocco Forte’s Brown’s Hotel is offering a special shopping package for just £299 per room, per night and including accommodation with breakfast, porters on call to collect shopping bags from neighbouring stores, a local shopping map and a 45-minute massage to ease weary muscles in The Spa. The Simply Shopping package is based on a two-night minimum stay and is valid from 4 January – 4 February 2008, subject to availability.
Roam for bargains in Rome
Rome is synonymous with fashion, with the world’s most famous designer labels jostling for space along the Via del Corso – and if the likes of Valentino, Armani and Versace are normally beyond your reach, then the sales are the best time to visit.
Price: Stay at Rocco Forte’s Hotel de Russie, Rome’s most sylish retreat surrounded by beautiful gardens, yet within walking distance of the fashion houses. The hotel is offering a Shopping and Wellness package in January, costing from €140 (approx £100) and including a revitalising body scrub with roasted, grounded coffee beans – the perfect set-up to a day’s shopping, and also the hotel’s signature Ancient Roman Ritual foot treatment to soothe feet and legs after the retail marathon. The treatment includes a footbath in essential oils, followed by an energizing exfoliation, a foot masque and a reflexology massage. Overnight stays cost from €436/£305 per room, per night. For further information, visit www.roccofortecollection.com or call 0800 988 4040.
Shop ‘til you drop in St Petersburg
The Nevsky Prospect is the Champs Elysees of St Petersburg – a four kilometer stretch that was once home to Tchaikovsky, Turgenev and Dostoevsky and is now home to shops and boutiques galore!
Price: Located in an unrivalled setting in St Isaac's Square, Rocco Forte’s Hotel Astoria is ideally located in the hub of St Petersburg's vibrant city centre yet the Astoria SPA offers a perfect retreat from the hustle and bustle. Its Light and Beautiful Legs treatment includes an anti-stress massage and a mineral clay wrap to reduce puffiness and fatigue, improve blood circulation and enhance skin relief – perfect after a long day of trying on shoes! The 60-minute treatment costs £56. Overnight stays cost from £243 per room, per night. For further information, visit www.roccofortecollection.com or call 0800 988 4040.
Mad for fashion in Manchester
Ever since Harvey Nichols opened in Manchester the shopping spotlight has been shining on the city, making it a must-do retail experience. Now the coolest hotel in the city – Rocco Forte’s Lowry Hotel – has teamed up with Harvey Nichols, the coolest shop in the city, to offer a personalised shopping experience. The Simply Shopping package costs £200 and includes:
- Overnight accommodation in a deluxe king bedroom
- Dinner for two people in The River Bar and Restaurant
- Full breakfast for two people
- Appointment with the Personal Shopper at Harvey Nichols
- Glass of Champagne on arrival in The Personal Shopping Suite at Harvey Nichols
- Goody Bag from Harvey Nichols
- Make over in the make up hall at Harvey Nichols
- Complimentary use of the fitness suite
The package is based on two sharing and is valid until 30 April 2008. For further information, visit www.roccofortecollection.com or call 0800 988 4040.
Shop up a storm in Scotland
Just as castles and mediaeval buildings sit happily with award-winning modern architecture, the eclectic city of Edinburgh also boasts designer shops as well as independent boutiques and unique vintage stores. It’s most famous shop – and Scotland’s oldest department store - is Jenners, where guests staying at the Rocco Forte’s Balmoral can enjoy a personal shopping experience. These two stalwarts of the city have teamed up to offer a Simply Sales shopping package which costs £486 for two people and includes:
- Two nights’ luxury accommodation in a classic bedroom
- One glass of Champagne per person on arrival
- Full Scottish breakfast per person
- Personal shopping appointment with the fashion advisor at Jenners Department Store, a glass of champagne and a 10% discount card for use on the day – personal shopping appointments must be made upon booking
- One ZenSpa Pedicure – to pamper those precious peepers after some serious pavement pounding! This foot and nail treatment uses luxurious Jessica ZenSpa products and leaves your feet feeling soothed and in top condition
The package is valid from 1 January – 31 January 2008. For further information, visit www.roccofortecollection.com or call 0800 988 4040.
Ends
For more information and/or images, please contact:
Rebecca Holloway
Media Relations Manager
Direct line: 020 7766 3116
Email: rholloway@roccofortecollection.com
Romina Kennedy
Communications Executive
Direct line: 020 7766 3121
Email: rkennedy@roccofortecollection.com
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The Rocco Forte Collection was established in 1996 to create a group of luxury hotels in Europe. The hotels have individual styles, with each hotel reflecting its nationality and location. The properties are linked together under The Rocco Forte Collection, which guarantees attention to detail, quality and service delivery.
The Rocco Forte Collection comprises:
- Hotel de Russie, Rome
- Hotel Savoy, Florence
- The Balmoral, Edinburgh
- The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
- Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg
- Hotel Amigo, Brussels
- Brown’s Hotel, London
- Villa Kennedy, Frankfurt
- Hotel de Rome, Berlin
- Le Richemond, Geneva
- The Charles Hotel, Munich
Future openings:
Prague - 2008
Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily – 2009
Marrakech - 2009
For further information and online reservations, please visit The Rocco Forte Collection website: www.roccofortecollection.com.
