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Hot off the heels from skiing in Italy’s beautiful South Tyrolean Mountains, Monocle’s recent Travel Top 50 Awards launched our thoughts back there again as one of our favourite hotels, Miramonti Boutique Hotel, won one of Monocle’s coveted Travel Top 50 Design Awards.
Avid readers of Monocle, will already be aware that owner Tyler Brûlè has set up second-home roots in South Tyrol and become thier unofficial global ambassdor - and who can blame him. With the dreamiest of microclimates, South Tyrol is Italy’s hidden oasis; surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Alps it has the tropical, jasmine-scented town of stylish Merano nestling peacefully below.
Head upwards; in to South Tyrol’s snowy mountain range - the Italian Alps, no less - and you will come across the second The Aficionados winner from the Monocle Travel Top 50 Awards, Miramonti Boutique Hotel, featured under Best Hotel Architects.
Nestled amongst lush alpine woodland Miramonti has been designed with a carefully considered simplicity and a paramount amount of style. Crafted by the incredible Heike Pohl, co-founder of illustrious Italian studio, Arch-Tara, her understanding of Miramonti’s location and spirit shines right through: “It was about completing what’s already there: the panorama and the cordial hosts.”
An ideal trip to Italy’s South Tyrol would therefore be to flit between the two, from the verdant green, tropical foliage at Villa Fluggi to the peaceful mountain views of forested Miramonti.
In a microclimate and location that defies the imagination, the style, design and beauty found in each hotel make them more than worthy of their place on the Monocle Travel Top 50 Awards (but we are still rather pleased!).
Discover South Tyrol with our 23 fabulous hotels - From its perch in northern Italy, South Tyrol, or Alto Adige as it is also known, is a jewel of ancient cultures set in the mighty crown of the Alps. Nestled among the Dolomite mountains (a UNESCO World Heritage site) a marriage of languages and cultures comes together in the area’s healing spa towns, medieval hamlets, fairytale castles, wine trails and foodie destinations.
Known primarily for skiing, South Tyrol is also a year-round home to hiking, mountain biking and strolling through the botanical gardens at the base of its snow-capped mountains. At the end of the day, cap it all off with a signature hay bath or a dip in the healing thermal waters. This hidden Alpine part of Italy is well worth travelling to.
This is the South Tyrol where Austria snugs up to Italy.
The "Südtirol/Alto Adige" is all about a marriage of culture, language, tradition and nature, for this small pocket of Northern Italy shares more than just a border with Austria, this is an Alpinista lifestyle that flirts with Dolce Vita, where extreme sports junkies fuse with foodie aficionados and mother nature cradles the spectacular of the Dolomites.
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Adventure cycling through the Alps is in itself a wondrous experience – pedalling the heights through the UNESCO Dolomites is the peak (no pun intended) and is surely on every cycle-adrenalin-junkies’ bucket list.
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Wrapped by the Dolomites, this modern eco-resort pairs mountain lifestyle with simple elegance and luxury wellness vibes. An authentically pastoral location accented with the local Ladin culture that feels at once both holistic and fun.
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Rising up like delicate meringue-whipped peaks, mirroring the Dolomites panorama that surrounds it, the architecture and design of Hotel Milla Montis create an impact.
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With mountain eye-candy stretching out in every direction, this nest egg of casual style is the perfect bolthole for urbanites who love the rural idyll framed by modernity and crowned by its fabulous rooftop infinity pool of sheer wow.
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A project in the making by Snøhetta, winner of an international design competition, with remarkable modelling by Zoa Studio, this project has been brought to life with a combination of renderings and real-life drone, video and photography footage.
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A design refuge for those that like their head in the clouds but feet firmly placed in architectural modernism, set at 1850 metres, the hotel is lofty enough to be able to ski straight out of its door, as well as hiking in summer.
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History, design, calmed wellness and an interior of modern heritage make this hotel-apartment refuge close to Merano the perfect pitstop for some downtime and closeness to nature.
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Fabulous holiday apartments with panoramic views and an interior palette that borrows from the surrounding beauty and captures the purity of nature with a modernist hand.
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An architectural-statement, this minimalist hideaway in the Dolomites is the perfect basecamp for those who appreciate design, food, comfort and doorstep nature.
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Austere beauty and chunky grandeur are the inaugural hallmarks of this 15th-century castle and glacial-grey monolith perched on the slopes of South Tyrolean village Villanders / Villandro in northern Italy.
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A photography exhibition 'Messner meets Messner' by Lumen opens this winter at the heart of the South Tyrolean Mountains and Dolomites on the top of Mount Kronplatz.
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Get the insider news and lowdown on what we've been up to, where we've been, and who we've met along the way. Be the first to discover new places and get the scoop on our favourites.