Vigilius Mountain Resort

Inspired by a fallen tree and the surrounding beauty of San Vigilio’s mountaintop landscapes, vigilius mountain resort rewrites the architectural blueprint for an eco-design hotel, reached appropriately only by cable car from the village of Lana, in Italy's South Tyrol region.

A collaboration between owner Ulrich Ladurner and Italian designer and architect Matteo Thun, Vigilius is a sustainable ode to nature that was designed in response to Ulrich’s daring line: “You will not be able to create anything more beautiful than this place already is.” Taking up the challenge, architect Matteo Thun & Partners took great care and respect to design a refuge where nature and not man is understood as the “creator”. Wood and large expanses of glass are the construction elements of this first A-class ClimateHouse hotel in Italy, where exterior and interior merge successfully. A symbiosis of modern design and natural comfort, completed in 2003.

Blurred within San Vigilio’s incredible mountaintop vista, the design manifesto was to be at one with nature with an intense landscape experience as the build follows the contours of the mountainside, rooting the build into the topography. Vigilius Mountain Resort lies amidst the larch forest as if itself a fallen tree, a wooden-clad bastion of seamless and oh-so-comfortable style, built upon the admirable ethos, ‘eco not ego’. An out-of-the-ordinary eco-design den of streamlined wood and pure simplicity, at Vigilius Mountain Resort, nothing is too ‘overdone’ and yet comfort, design, and style are all present in abundance. Larch wood-panelled bedrooms mirror their forested neighbours, and heated stone opens up to swathes of panoramic glass views overlooking meadows, a violet-darkening sky and the Dolomites, the proximity of which will make you want to blink and rub your eyes.

Feel snug amid raw clay walls as a clean, natural palette is splashed with sophisticated accents of burnt amber and tactile, cosy fabrics.

Your mountain-top design hotel dripping with eco credentials and sustainable awards, ranging from Wallpaper Design to Eco Hotels of the World, vigilius mountain resort represents a conscientious, natural palace placed in Italy’s soaring skies, an ‘A-class ClimateHouse’ and winner of Gold EarthCheck award.

Lying in bed in one of Vigilius’ rooms or suites is akin to lying in the midst of nature with only a glass frontage in between. It’s here that you can fall asleep cocooned by nature and coordinate your rhythm in tune with it. As you might imagine, there are no televisions in the rooms and Wi-Fi is religiously turned off at 11pm. It’s a place without distraction to help you connect right into your environment.

Décor-wise, the rooms use natural materials such as locally sourced wood and natural clay which make up walls dividing the bathroom. It’s here you’ll find bathtubs accompanied by South Tyrolean products. Comfy sofas and carved wardrobes and chests, originally South Tyrolean farmhouse furniture, create the rest of the minimalist interior design, where all eyes are drawn to the outside.

Creative, organic, healthy and tasty foodies will certainly enjoy their culinary journeys through the bountiful region of Monte San Vigilio. It tastes best if it comes from the region. That sounds simple, and yet it is anything but a matter of course to create culinary highlights from regional flavours so that every element can reveal its very own personality in a dish: pure, unadulterated, natural and authentic. It’s all about indulgence – pure and unadulterated.

Enjoy a cosy alpine breakfast or starlit evening in vigilius mountain resort's panoramic Restaurant 1500, modelled on a classic hay barn and crowned with a raised timber gable roof. Based around regional flavours and local, organic produce, from fresh wild herbs sourced in Monte San Vigilio to the special taste of local potatoes – celebrated each year in their very own festival (yes, really), the kitchen has a sixth sense for manipulating the addition of such herbs and veg, every time making each dish its own. With a hotel-wide focus on wellbeing, Restaurant 1500 offers gluten-free options as well as a vegetarian menu, and even has a special alpine menu.

Indulge in a valley-famous breakfast at Restaurant 1500 before a mountainside walk, perhaps, abundant in gluten-free loaves of bread, different muesli and sweet pastries, or go for some cosy vibes in the beautifully welcoming Stube ida. A traditional ode to the region’s past, Stube ida is warmed by the stunningly tiled 100-year-old South Tyrolean stove and presents hearty, meaty dishes, perfect for post-ski socialising. Or chillax on the sunny terrace with coffee, homemade cake and Vernatsch wine in hand, all overlooking the silhouette of the glowing Dolomites.

For the cosiest of vibes head inwards into the heart of vigilius mountain resort, and their secret, snug wine cellar. Stuffed with a collection from Italy’s best growers - the Mediterranean climes of South Tyrol are famed for the flavour and vivacity of their wines – enjoy with a plate of nibbles in a classic atmosphere of chilled, secluded calm.

Aquiléia is the hotel's statement spa and wellness zone covering 1200 square metres and is equally evocative of their surroundings, and the architecture serves to complement both the environment and well-being. Up atop a mountain in breath-taking San Vigilio, where the air smells fresh with the scents of larch trees, alpine roses and mountain pines, it’s hard not to get in touch with nature, body and soul. Indulge in some chillaxing in a pamper-filled spa sesh, or work up a stylish sweat with some active mountainside sports – either via vigilius mountain resort's free ‘move and explore programme’ or spend an afternoon, a day, or a week, with a personal trainer all of your own.

Like the rest of this ‘naturally’ charming hotel, the spa effortlessly blurs distinctions between the inside and out. From the transcendent infinity pool with inside panoramic views of the Dolomites, which guides you out into the open-air whirlpool, connected through a glass door guarded by a little wood of fragrant larch trees, to the local herbs and flowers used in each of the healing spa treatments, the energy of this mountaintop setting makes it so much more than just a spa.

Indulge in some pampering of the holistic kind, with mountain pine peels to hay baths, and enjoy the use of local, organic produce, with juniper which detoxifies, to the larch tree’s anti-inflammatory properties, to the use of hay flowers, St. John’s wort and arnica, all of which are grown in the direct vicinity.

Hop into the Finnish sauna or sweat it out with a steam bath, or indeed, just keep it simple, and wake up with a gentle morning workout, The Five Tibetan Rites®, prepared to get you ready for your nourishing day ahead.

San Vigilio in Italy’s South Tyrol sits 1,500m above sea level overlooking the incredible Dolomites. Take the second-oldest cable car in Europe up to this secret alpine meadowland of aromatic fragrances and ancient Ladin culture, immersing yourself in the magic of South Tyrol’s San Vigilio.

Blurred within San Vigilio’s incredible mountaintop landscape, vigilius mountain resort lies amidst the larch forest as if itself a fallen tree, a wooden-clad bastion of seamless and oh-so comfortable style, built upon the admirable ethos, ‘eco not ego’. 

A pioneer and a maverick, owner Ulrich Ladurner has had a special connection with San Vigilio, and the vigilius mountain resort plot, since he was a child. 

Connected to the environment around him and wholly aware of the area’s incredible healing energy, he shifted his idea into a dream, and his dream into a reality, and with the help of superstar architect Matteo Thun, created vigilius mountain resort, a very special – and indeed, out of the ordinary – kind of hotel. Today, the hotel is in the hands of his daughter and present-day owner, Ingrid Ladurner. Equally as passionate about the hotel, architecture and design, Ingrid guides vigilius to the next chapters of sustainability and deep connection to nature.