Mountain Magic

JAPAN
Rice paddies, forests, and mountains envelop Satoyamo Jujo, located in a 150-year-old building in the city of Minami-Uonuma in the Japanese region of Niigata. Sited in the middle of the Osawa mountain pass, guests can indulge in endless outdoor sporting opportunities—including skiing and snowboarding as well as foraging and hiking—alongside geothermal wellness treatments. A cedar forest embraces the hotel’s rare, open-air sodium chloride/bicarbonate hot spring bath, with stunning views of Japan’s famous Mount Makihata. Inside, the surrounding forests are reflected through Zelkova and pine wood flooring and ceiling beams, as well as a sculpture crafted from a massive camphor tree trunk by artist Ryuichi Ohira. As Original Toru Iwasa says, “I want to expose people to the benefits of an organic lifestyle in a more authentic way.”

GEORGIA
In Stephantsminda, Georgia, in a former Soviet-era workers’ resort perched 1,800 meters above sea level, Rooms Hotel Kazbegi puts the Caucasus Mountains on the map. A geometric structure with balconies and a sun terrace fashioned from steel, glass, and timber mimics the local woodlands, while raw wood floors, local carpets, fireplaces, and an abundance of couches and bookshelves create a rustic-chic character. Towering, striking rockfaces surround the hotel, providing a plethora of trekking routes through alpine meadows and forests, gorges, ridges, and snow-covered slopes—or guests can lose themselves in the powdered peaks on horseback, riding as locals do through the rolling mountain landscape. 

GREECE
Once a sanatorium and now a luxury mountain sanctuary, Manna is set in a secluded natural paradise, a haven for wellness and outdoor adventure. Specifically, it is nestled within Arcadia, a forested village situated at an altitude of 1,200 meters on Greece’s mainland in the region of Peloponnese. Since ancient times, Arcadia has been considered an earthly paradise, and it was given a utopian name due to its infinite natural beauty and pureness. Today, Manna’s neoclassical building is engulfed by the fir forest of Mount Mainalo, and the hotel’s timeless interiors extend the feeling of nature with an earthy color palette like chestnut wood, rattan, wool, and linen. From the hotel’s doorsteps, guests can enjoy countless hikes or skiing, as well as rafting and canoeing in the Lousios River, one of Europe’s cleanest and clearest rivers. 

AUSTRIA
In the quiet village of Bad Gastein, located in the heart of the Austrian Alps, the cōmodo boasts an alpine resort design with 1960s nostalgia and elements of Viennese café style. Yet the region’s stunning natural landscape flows seamlessly inside through large, panoramic windows that open onto expansive mountain vistas. The historic spa town is known for the healing qualities of its thermal waters, which also serve as the root of the hotel spa’s philosophy and many treatments, while natural wood flooring and organic textiles further reflect the surrounding landscape. Nearby is the Bad Gastein waterfall, with water dropping 340 meters through the center of town, alongside celebrated toboggan and ski runs, thermal springs, cycling routes, hiking paths, and golf courses. 

SWITZERLAND
A stunning cubist property at the base station of Laax, Rocksresort is impressively constructed with 500 tons of 40-million-year-old quartzite stone—blending into the towering Swiss Alps beyond. Several of the resort’s 11 structures are arranged around a central square at the bottom of a ski slope, while others nestle up to the edge of a forest. Winter here equates to 224 kilometers of slopes—70 percent of which are between 2,000 and 3,000 meters—as well as four snow parks with 28 facilities, adding up to some of the world’s best skiing, sledding, and snowboarding. Summer, meanwhile, is all about losing oneself in dense green forests, swimming in crystal-clear lakes, and climbing spiring rock walls. 

Also in Switzerland, Giardino Mountain is a contemporary escape in Champfèr, St. Moritz. The resort’s seven buildings propose modern takes on the deep roots of Engadin architectural traditions, with thick parchment-colored walls keeping out cold mountain air and small recessed windows with natural wood frames letting in streams of light. The onsite restaurant Ecco boasts two Michelin stars, with another, Stüva, presenting comforting alpine cuisine. Additional floor-to-ceiling windows look out to unending mountain views, and the sparkling waters of both Lake St. Moritz and Lake Champfèr are only minutes away—alongside infinite opportunities for winter and summer adventures in the Alps.

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