Hotel Dynasty

Sempre Avanti. Ever Forward. That's the motto on the Gelardi family shield and it's a philosophy that has directed the lives and careers of four generations of hoteliers – Giuseppe, Giulio, Bertie and Geoffrey. Giuseppe managed hotels in his native Italy in the nineteenth century but his son Giulio was more ambitious and came to London, working first at Walsingham House – which was to later to become the Ritz – and managing the Savoy and Claridges in London and the Waldorf Astoria in New York. H