Design climbs to the top

Once upon a time, there were small wooden chalets, basic bivouacs, and rustic chalets. Today, instead, there are futuristic structures that challenge the heights and offer avant-garde lines, facades that blend into the landscape, wellness centers immersed in the snow, interior design projects and gourmet restaurants in the peaks. It is the new generation of mountain hotels: modern architectures signed by famous designers or historic icons of luxury hospitality revisited in a modern key that combine tradition and innovation to bring the design to high altitude. Between structures directly on the slopes, romantic chalets for two and old stations transformed into resorts, here are 5 hotels in Italy and Switzerland for a stay of comfort, design, and nature.  

Lefay Resort & SPA Dolomiti, Pinzolo (Trento)

A 5,000 square meter spa that combines East and West, over eighty suites, private residences, two restaurants and various services dedicated to luxury and sustainability. It is the Lefay Resort & SPA Dolomiti: five-star address in the Madonna di Campiglio ski area, the largest in Trentino. Integrated into the surrounding landscape, with the levels of the building following the natural course of the land, the structure is an example of bio-architecture and reinterprets the traditional mountain buildings of the region in a modern key.  

Adler Spa Resort Dolomiti, Ortisei (Bolzano)

Historical address of mountain hospitality, with a structure dating back to 1810, the Adler Spa Resort Dolomiti is a 5-star hotel in a panoramic position in the center of the village of Ortisei. Directly connected to the slopes of the Alpe di Siusi and the Sellaronda, it has a space dedicated to the wellness of about 3500 square meters, with a panoramic spa, indoor and outdoor pools and a Finnish sauna in red cedar. The structure combines modern design and traditional elements of the area.  

Chalet Levissima 3000, Bormio (Sondrio)

Fall asleep at 3,000 meters in the highest suite in Europe, in the heart of the Central Alps in the mountains of the Stelvio National Park. It happens at the Chalet Levissima 3000: a high altitude refuge on the peak of Cima Bianca, in Bormio, reachable only by cable car. Designed for two people, it is built with a trend for sustainability and furnished with Flexform design furniture. A project by the company Levissima to enhance the area from which its water that flows from Cima Piazzi is born, right in front of the chalet.  

The Hide Hotel Films, Films (Switzerland)

Bold colors, designer furnishings, hi-tech lighting and natural materials that allude to the mountain come together at The Hide Hotel Films: Alpine resort in the Grisons Canton, Switzerland. Designed by the visionary Erik Nissen Johansen, from the Swedish studio Stylt Trampoli AB, he mixes the classic Nordic warmth with a hyper-contemporary style and metropolitan details. Among the services, direct access to the ski slopes and a space of about 2000 square meters reserved for children in which all kinds of activities are held, from exhibitions to cooking or robotics laboratories.  

Hotel Chetzeron, Crans-Montana (Switzerland)

An old cable car station renovated and transformed into a 4-star design hotel. Thus the Hotel Chetzeron in Crans-Montana in Switzerland was born. Overlooking the Rhone valley, it is 2,112 meters high and can be reached only with the snowcat, off-road vehicle, on foot or skis. In addition to the location and the breathtaking view, it stands out for its particularly environmentally-friendly structure, with pellet heating, sustainable materials, and solar and photovoltaic panels.

Article written for Mohd and signed by Ilenia Carlesimo, La Repubblica contributor journalist.

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