When Günther and Verena Frena commissioned Network of Architecture to reimagine the hotel building that had been in the family since 1933, they probably can’t have envisioned the striking pile the South Tyrolean practice dreamed up.
There is a surreal quality about the new incarnation of the 35-room Hotel Tofana in the northern Italian outpost of Alta Badia – the craggy silhouette of the surrounding Dolomites forms the palimpsest for the building’s jagged edged floors that are massed like a mountain: a layered structural landscape, as the architects describe it.
The interiors are Escher-like in their complex interlocking stairs and ramps, whilst broad terraces, balconies and capacious windows draw Alpine sunlight into rooms furnished in larch, linen and stone.
In this part of the world, hiking and skiing are de rigueur – the Frenas are avid mountain bikers and ski and snowboard instructors – though we confess to a more sedentary weakness for chef Paul Mittemair’s homemade ravioli stuffed with beetroot, and speck dumplings.
Meanwhile, the fifth-floor spa features Asian-based treatments, among them an Ayurvedic massage based on pouches of warm herbal poultices, and front row seats to the panorama of the changing colours of the Dolomites.
INFORMATION
Website
ADDRESS
Micurà de Rü 63
San Cassiano
Alta Badia
-
'Design at its most ambitious': meet the 2025 Royal Designers for IndustryThe Royal Society for Arts announces the five new Royal Designers for Industry as well as two Honorary Royal Designers for Industry
-
A new art museum brings colour, quirk and a celebration of creativity to DohaLawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum is awash with colour and character, courtesy of Indian architect Martand Khosla and the Qatar Foundation
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThis week, the Wallpaper* team had its finger on the pulse of architecture, interiors and fashion – while also scooping the latest on the Radiohead reunion and London’s buzziest pizza
-
Experience the cradle of the Renaissance in a new light at Florence’s W hotelFlorence’s palazzi, basilicas and baptistries groan with history. But the city’s new W hotel poses an alternative perspective – one that is distinctly modern
-
Fall in love with the Dolomites at this serene retreatIn South Tyrol, the refreshed Forestis hotel raises the bar for high-altitude calm
-
Langosteria Montenapoleone is the new multi-level dining destination to know in MilanCrowning the top three floors of the recently opened Palazzo Fendi, the Langosteria group unveils its most ambitious venture yet
-
Check in at Aman Rosa Alpina, a modern Alpine cocoonSan Cassiano’s historic hotel has been reborn as a pared-back Aman refuge in the heart of the Dolomites
-
Mediterranean dreams come true at this radiant Puglian hotelA former convent has been converted into Vista Ostuni, a plush bolthole inspired by the landscape and heritage of the Puglia region
-
Stay in a pastel-hued Puglian palazzo as it starts a new chapterA haven for the design-minded, Palazzo Daniele reopens following a thoughtful restoration by Milan-based Studio Palomba Serafini and GS Collection
-
This Italian palazzo-turned-café adds a dash of drama to your morning espressoDesigned by studio AMAA, Caffè Nazionale brings new energy to a 19th-century former town hall in the northern Italian town of Arzignano
-
Pierre-Yves Rochon celebrates ‘the great tradition of Italian design’ in Four Seasons Hotel Milano refreshThe sophisticated hotel’s 118 rooms and suites have been redesigned by the acclaimed designer and long-time collaborator of the brand
