Stone, Steam and Stillness: Inside the Spa Sanctuary at Maistra 160

In Pontresina, where the Belle Époque glimmer fades into the rugged quiet of the Bernina range, Maistra 160 stands as an ode to the elemental. Designed by the revered Swiss architect Gion A. Caminada, this design hotel is carved not just from stone, but from a philosophy – one that finds sanctuary in simplicity and stillness, one that listens closely to place.

Nowhere is this more powerfully expressed than in the hotel’s minimalist spa – a mountain-bathed sanctum where fire flickers, water flows, and silence is almost architectural. This is not a spa of surface gloss, but of depth and breath – a cloistered space that opens to the sky, where wellness isn’t added on, but etched into the stone.

Set across two levels and anchored by an open-air courtyard, the MAISTRA Spa is sculpted from Bodio Nero gneiss and finished with pink-red Arzo marble, Swiss pine and blue-black basalt. Caminada’s approach – rooted, reverent, refined – lets the Engadin’s alpine air and elemental drama seep into every corridor. Snow drifts through the circular oculus above the courtyard pool; steam escapes like a mountain sigh.

This isn’t just about architecture – it’s about atmosphere. The atrium glows with firelight. The Finnish and bio saunas, set at 85°C and 60°C, offer deep detox. The basalt steam bath, designed by artist Reto Müller, is a sensory immersion in volcanic shimmer and heat. In the relaxation room, the scent of Swiss pine lingers – calming, cocooning, age-old. A yoga and fitness room – complete with the latest Technogym kit – rounds out the space with movement and flow.

But the real soul of the spa is found in its rituals – tailored, tactile, and rooted in deep care. Treatments begin with a bespoke aromatic ceremony, drawn from ancient cultures of India, Arabia and the Mediterranean – a sensory cue to shift gear, drop deeper.

Here, the ancient Japanese technique of shiatsu becomes a grounding force. Through skilful acupressure, it releases built-up tension and unblocks energy paths, resetting both body and breath. The hot-stone massage goes even deeper – using warmed stones from the Bernina mountains themselves, placed and pressed into muscle layers with slow, intentional rhythm. It’s as if the landscape itself is working on you.

The Lomi Lomi Nui massage, borrowed from Hawaiian healing traditions, flows like water across the skin in wave-like motions that soothe the nervous system and melt away resistance. It’s one of the most emotionally attuned treatments you’ll ever experience.

Rooted in place, the herbal stamp massage draws on alpine botanicals gathered from the surrounding mountains. Heated and applied to the body in rhythmic pulses, the herbal pouches release natural oils and earthy aromas – a treatment that feels like a forest inhaling around you.

For those frayed by overstimulation or sleeplessness, the Tranquility Pro-Sleep Massage is pure balm. Developed with neuroscience in mind, it blends low-frequency touch and calming oils to coax the body into deep rest – an antidote to city static.

Then there’s the Aromasoul Ritual – part journey, part escape. It combines the healing properties of essential oils with massage techniques inspired by ancient civilisations, creating a sensory voyage that travels far beyond the Engadin.

Yoga, naturally, forms part of this holistic constellation. Guided by the URSINA team, group classes run three times weekly in the studio space – or, for those who prefer silence and focus, private sessions can be arranged. Whether it's a sunrise salute or a grounding flow after a mountain hike, each class feels like a return to self.

The spa is not separate from the hotel, but entwined. Maistra 160 itself is an architectural expression of restraint and reverence. With interiors by Molteni&C, Fritz Hansen and Lee Broom, and a palette literally mined from the Bernina stone, everything whispers of place. The terrazzo floors – flecked with jade from Valposchiavo – took four months to create. Even the carved carnation flower motifs that bloom across ceilings are a nod to native flora.

What Caminada and the Plattners have built is a space that feels lived in by nature. Set at 1,800 metres and just 7km from St. Moritz, Maistra 160 offers a kind of wellness that doesn’t feel commercial – but quiet, crafted, and completely at home in the Swiss Alps.