Hotel Tofana — South Tyrol, Italy
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
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Micurà de Rü 63
San Cassiano
Alta Badia
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Yves Béhar gives striking shape and form to this new hybrid-electric catamaran concept
Solsea is a concept catamaran from Italian shipyard Rossinavi, blending zero emission cruising with design by Yves Béhar
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
La Vie en Rose: can the Jaguar Type 00 reset the narrative surrounding the brand’s reinvention?
This is the Jaguar Type 00, the first physical manifestation of the reborn brand’s new commitment to ‘Exuberant Modernism’. We take it for a semiotic spin
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The RIBA House of the Year 2024 winner is a delightful work-in-progress
The winner of the RIBA House of the Year 2024 is Six Columns in South London - the home of architect and 31/44 studio co-founder William Burges
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
2,734 metres above the sea, a northern Italian hotel ensures peak happiness
Designed by Senoner Tammerle Architekten, hotel Santnerpass Hütte offers the perfect off-grid retreat amid a Unesco-protected landscape
By John Weich Published
-
Retreat to Lecce’s reborn Palazzo Zimara, a baroque gem from 1557
Architect Raffaele Centonze transforms the 16th-century Palazzo Zimara into an 18-room boutique hotel in the historic city centre
By Andrew Wasserstein Published
-
Stella D'Italia is a Renaissance haven that tells a story of Florence
Stella D’Italia is the Florentine boutique escape by local hoteliers Matteo Perduca and Betty Soldi to know
By Melina Keays Published
-
Experience Cardo Roma, the contemporary Roman holiday you didn’t know you needed
Cardo Roma, the inaugural property of Cardo Hotels, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s Autograph Collection, caters to those seeking to merge business and pleasure
By Tianna Williams Published
-
La Pergola, one of Rome’s most coveted reservations, gets a sumptuous renovation
Jouin Manku re-envisions La Pergola, the acclaimed restaurant atop Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel
By Hannah Walhout Published
-
Surrender to these six swim-perfect outdoor hotel pools
Discover the best outdoor hotel pools, from Amankila’s aquatic triptych by Ed Tuttle to Nicolas Party’s swimmable artwork at Le Sirenuse
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Serenity reigns at Porto Ercole’s La Roqqa hotel
Studio Palomba Serafini has designed La Roqqa, a new hotel in Italy’s Porto Ercole, with retro nods, Tuscan flair and contemporary luxury
By Nicola Leigh Stewart Published
-
New hotel Palazzo Cordusio is a tribute to Milan’s enduring panache
Palazzo Cordusio, Gran Meliá’s Milan hotel debut, is set within a neo-classical icon moments from some of the city’s best-known landmarks
By Sofia de la Cruz Published