Ugo explains what is most important to him: “Quality, high standards, and to make my clients happy. I would rather spend the extra dollar to deliver, and go that extra mile. It feels so good when a customer comes to me and says they are happy about a particular detail that I included in a project. I have high standards, and that is why I am happy to be working with my friend Giuseppe, because he has high standards too.”
Giuseppe Cipriani, named after his grandfather, (also a successful restrauteur) was born and raised in Venice, Italy. When asked about his inspirations, he responds smiling, “Many things: a great building, a beautiful woman, a piece of warm bread.” That is Giuseppe; he is filled with positive energy, very upbeat and very warm always. His grandfather was owner of the famed Harry’s Bar, which opened in 1931 near the Piazza San Marco in Venice. For centuries, Venice, Italy’s beach shore, has welcomed kings and queens, tycoons, artists, and movie stars. There is an old world service very specific of that time and place. The family-owned restaurant, Harry’s Bar, is now a national landmark in the waterfront town. “[My grandfather’s] vision was clear: to do the simplest things perfectly, to design his establishments impeccably, to make fine food and drinks flawlessly, and, above all, to serve his patrons with loyal devotion, down to the last detail.”
Giuseppe shares the wisdom that was instilled in him as a boy, “Work hard and don’t complain too much. Think positive.” It is abundantly clear that Giuseppe brings not only his style, but also his knowledge, skill, and superb success in the service sector to the Cipriani Ocean Resort and Club Residences South Beach. Giuseppe explains, “When I saw the beach, met my partners, and went to dinner in Miami and saw the need for some service, I knew I wanted to be involved in this project!”
Miami is an international hot spot and is becoming more and more cosmopolitan daily. As the Cipriani sales team says, “South beach has it all: 1.7 square miles of perfectly white sand beach, clear turquoise water, and nearly three hundred sunny days a year.”
When finishing my conversation with Giuseppe, I asked what he would like to share with Haute Living readers and he responds humorously, entertaining, and upbeat and asks, “What makes you think that the readers want to know about me?” Who wouldn’t want to learn more about Giuseppe Cipriani? One thing for sure is that Giuseppe’s favorite city, New York is where the warm, Italian hospitality has been stretched from Italy, with the Harry Cipriani restaurant, as well as with multiple other successful locales that crawl with business moguls, celebrities, and socialites daily. Cipriani also launched 55 Wall Street, a condo-hotel concept in a Beaux Arts building from 1842 that screams exclusivity and elegance. 55 Wall Street includes a private club that offers every single ingredient for enhancing one’s way of life. With the philosophy, “Whatever your personal style-own the good life, Cipriani style,” one should anticipate only the very best.
I asked Giuseppe if he had plans to take the Cipriani Club Residences to the Middle East, Far East, and throughout Europe, for now, he very coyly exerts, “It is a secret.” For now, he seems to be focused on making the Cipriani Ocean Resort and Club Residences “the new art of living: elegant, distinguished and dedicated to the perfection of pleasure.” As he says, it takes “hard work.”
He certainly knows what that means, and has been working hard with all of his projects, which includes the Cipriani Concert Series, which has featured artists like Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Marc Anthony, Alicia Keys, Sheryl Crow, and others. The concert series began to revitalize the Wall Street area, and benefit the reconstruction of lower Manhattan after September 11, 2001. While some don’t give a second thought to the tragic events of that day, for Giuseppe, it has been a project and passion to help revitalize the area.
News
May 25, 2007The Master Architect
