When Hannah Waddingham won her Emmy in 2021 for “Ted Lasso,” she thanked Jason Sudeikis for changing her life and “more importantly, my baby girl’s.” That daughter is Kitty, born in 2014 to the actress and Italian hotel executive Gianluca Cugnetto. Their relationship ended in 2023 after more than a decade together, but Cugnetto had already built a formidable career in luxury hospitality long before the public knew his name.
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Running Croatia’s Most Awarded Spa Hotel
Since June 2023, Cugnetto has served as General Manager of Hotel Bellevue in Mali Loลกinj, Croatia. The five-star property on Loลกinj Island belongs to Preferred Hotels & Resorts and operates with roughly 200 staff during peak season.
The results speak clearly. Hotel Bellevue’s spa won Croatia’s Best Hotel Spa at the World Spa Awards four consecutive years (2022 through 2025). The property previously claimed World’s Best Hotel Spa in 2021. Its Japanese restaurant Matsunoki holds a Michelin Plate and earned Wine Spectator’s “Best of Award of Excellence” in 2024, recognized for a wine program featuring 2,230 bottles across 495 selections.
TripAdvisor ranks Hotel Bellevue in the top 10% of properties globally. Booking platforms show guest ratings between 9.0 and 9.3 out of 10. Industry professionals who’ve worked with Cugnetto on media visits describe his grasp of positioning luxury properties and his detailed approach to hotel operations.
The Italian Background That Shaped His Hospitality Career
Born in Calabria, southern Italy, Cugnetto grew up in a family that owned restaurants. Hospitality wasn’t a career choice but an upbringing. In a 2025 interview with Travelling for Business, he explained it wasn’t a moment of inspiration: “I was born into this world. Hospitality was part of my upbringing.”
He studied Revenue Management at Cornell University in New York, then built his resume across three continents over 20 years. The progression moved through major luxury brands:
Starwood Hotels & Resorts (2007-2010) as Director of Food & Beverage, managing dining operations across global properties.
Anantara Hotels, Bangkok (2010-2015) in the same role, adapting to Asian luxury hospitality where personalization matters more than Western markets typically demand.
Hotel du Vin, Brighton (2015) as General Manager, where he arrived with a stated goal: make it the city’s top hotel. He updated conference technology, revised menus, and trained staff around his philosophy that “the word ‘no’ doesn’t exist” for guest requests.
He also worked seven years in London and held positions with Marriott, Relais & Chรขteaux (as Maรฎtre de Maison at Chรขteau de Codignat in France), Minor Hotels, and Kempinski. Each role added either geographic range or deepened his food and beverage expertise, which became his specialty.
What Ended With Hannah Waddingham
The couple met through mutual friends in 2012. Their daughter Kitty arrived in 2014 after Waddingham overcame fertility challenges she’d discussed publicly.
When Kitty was three, doctors diagnosed her with Henoch-Schรถnlein purpura (HSP), a rare autoimmune disorder causing blood vessel inflammation. Waddingham has spoken about the diagnosis as horrific. At the time, she was filming “Krypton” in Belfast, far from home.
She asked what she calls “the universe” for work closer to Kitty. Two months later came the “Ted Lasso” audition. The show filmed 30 minutes from their South London home. Her Emmy acceptance speech in 2021 referenced how the role changed both her life and her daughter’s.
Their last public appearance together was at London’s Olivier Awards in April 2022. By March 2023, Waddingham introduced herself in a People magazine interview as a single mother. Neither has discussed reasons for the split. They co-parent Kitty, who is now 11 years old.
Waddingham told the Reign with Josh Smith podcast in late 2023: “My love life is dry. I’m so busy and just a bit picky.” She noted she’d rather spend time with friends than settle. Cugnetto maintains almost no social media presence and hasn’t publicly discussed the relationship or its end.
His Management Approach at Hotel Bellevue
Cugnetto took over Hotel Bellevue with clear priorities: blend international luxury standards with authentic local culture, focus on sustainability, and build personalized guest experiences.
The property’s 2,500-square-meter spa uses Loลกinj’s microclimate (recognized since the 1800s for healing properties) as its foundation. Wellness programs integrate the island’s pine forests, medicinal plants, and sea air. The hotel grows herbs in its own garden, which supply the kitchens.
At Matsunoki, Executive Chef Orhan Cakiroglu (who trained at Zuma and Hakkasan) works with local fishermen for tuna, sea bass, and squid. The menu merges Japanese technique with Adriatic ingredients. Wine Director Filip Veselovac built the awarded wine list emphasizing Croatian varieties, organic producers, and cold-climate regions.
LinkedIn recommendations from PR professionals who’ve organized press trips praise Cugnetto’s media understanding and ability to deliver experiences journalists can translate into compelling stories. They note his hands-on involvement and anticipation of details.
Why His Career Matters Beyond the Headlines
Hotel general managers at five-star properties in Europe typically earn between โฌ100,000 and โฌ250,000 annually, plus performance bonuses tied to occupancy, guest satisfaction scores, and revenue targets. Industry estimates place Cugnetto’s net worth between $2 million and $4 million, built entirely through hospitality work rather than celebrity association.
His appointment at Hotel Bellevue in June 2023 came with a specific mandate from Loลกinj Hotels & Villas: position the property among Croatia’s top luxury destinations while preserving the island’s character. The continuous spa awards and restaurant recognition suggest he’s delivering.
Croatia’s luxury hotel market has grown as travelers seek Mediterranean alternatives to overpriced Italian and French destinations. Loลกinj markets itself around wellness tourism. Hotel Bellevue’s approach (medical spa services, Michelin-level dining, sustainability focus) aligns with current luxury travel preferences for authentic experiences over generic five-star templates.
Cugnetto’s background gives him specific advantages. His Italian upbringing taught service as relationship-building rather than transactions. Cornell provided American business methodology. Twenty years across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East taught him how different cultures define luxury. His food and beverage specialization matters at properties where dining drives reputation as much as rooms and spas.
Where Gianluca Cugnetto Stands Now
At 50-something (he keeps his exact age private), the Italian hotel executive manages one of Croatia’s most recognized properties while co-parenting an 11-year-old daughter across international borders. Hotel Bellevue continues collecting awards under his leadership. The property added Croatia’s Best Hotel Spa 2025 to its collection just weeks ago.
His connection to Hannah Waddingham brought public attention, but his professional reputation existed long before and continues independently. Two decades managing luxury properties across three continents built skills that matter more in hospitality than name recognition: understanding what guests want before they ask, training teams to deliver consistent service, balancing local authenticity with international expectations, and turning operational details into memorable experiences.
Gianluca Cugnetto represents the type of hospitality professional travelers never see but always experience. The difference between a good hotel stay and an extraordinary one often comes down to someone like him making hundreds of small decisions correctly. Hotel Bellevue’s awards shelf suggests he’s doing exactly that.
