From the civilized charm of Brown’s, in Mayfair, to the tranquil Hotel de Russie—an ideal antidote to an afternoon of jostling through Rome’s maddeningly crowded streets—hotelier Sir Rocco Forte is the impresario behind many of Europe’s most appreciated lodgings. No wonder he’s in expansion mode. In 2019, he put his stamp on the Adriatic Coast with Masseria Torre Maizza, a dazzlingly restored 16th-century country house that comes complete with a nine-hole golf course and private beach club. Later this year, he will make his mark on Shanghai with the opening of the Westbund. Somehow, Forte manages to carve out time to pursue his love of sports—long-distance swimming, cycling, and golf, in particular. As anyone who has experienced his hotels might expect, he has a firm grasp on the good life. —Ashley Baker
Airline: British Airways.
Airport: Heathrow Terminal 5.
App: Free Now.
Bike: Cipollini.
Birthday: Forget it.
Breakfast: Yogurt and fruit on the weekdays, and bacon and eggs on the weekends.
Car: An Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio.
Date: With my bros.
Dress: It’s handled on Savile Row.
DIET:
I don’t need to.
Drive: From Palermo to Sciacca.
Family: Comes first.
Fit? Very.
Good-bye: I usually leave without saying it.
Hideaway: Masseria Torre Maizza, in Puglia.
Hotel: Plaza Athénée in Paris.
Last meal: Fulvio Pierangelini’s spaghetti pomodoro.
Match: England winning the World Cup.
Movie: Cinema Paradiso.
Nonfiction book: What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, by Stephen A. Schwarzman.
Shoes: George Cleverley.
Piece of advice: “Focus on what’s important.”
Restaurant: Wiltons, in London.
Ride: Through the hills of Tuscany.
Second spouse: One is enough.
Toast: “To my company, and the great people who work with me.”
WRITING INSTRUMENT: Pencil.
Rocco’s Essentials
