Aman Rosa Alpina: Quiet Mountain Rooms Framed by the Dolomites
Aman Rosa Alpina anchors a renewed chapter of hospitality in Badia, Italy, where the Dolomites rise directly beyond its timber-clad façades. Designed by Denniston Architects under Jean-Michel Gathy, the historic hotel becomes a contemporary Alpine retreat with 51 rooms and suites, new dining venues, and expanded wellness rituals. Guests move between glass-wrapped lounges, generous terraces, and rich stone-lined baths that keep the mountain village of San Cassiano always in view.
Balconies project toward the pale cliffs as morning light skims their faces and slips into the rooms. Inside, stone, timber and glass catch the glow and soften it into a quiet, steady warmth.
This hotel in Badia’s village of San Cassiano is reimagined as Aman Rosa Alpina, a 51-key retreat in Italy’s UNESCO-listed Dolomites. Denniston Architects, led by longtime Aman collaborator Jean-Michel Gathy, works from the existing heritage to craft interiors rooted in Alpine materials and calm proportion. The focus stays on how rooms feel to live in day after day: how wood, stone, fire and mountain views fold into one measured experience.
A long history guides the project while a precise contemporary sensibility sets its tone. The result is a mountain hotel where minimal lines, generous glazing and refined craftsmanship keep the Dolomites present from lobby to terrace.
Timber And Stone
Façades are dressed in timber, with dark metal accents threading along balconies and rooflines. That combination keeps the low-slung volumes grounded in the village while giving them a crisp, current edge. Inside, floors and walls lean on stone, textured plaster and Italian artisanal details so each corridor, stair and lounge feels connected to the mountain geology. The material rhythm is quiet: warm wood, cool stone, a hand-troweled wall catching light in the late afternoon.
In guest rooms, timber surfaces carry a clear grain and a natural finish rather than gloss. Stone slabs line bathrooms and frame generous basins, so the shift from bedroom to bath reads as a move from warm enclosure to cool retreat. Plaster walls take on changing daylight without distraction, letting the color of the peaks outside register more sharply.
Rooms Framed By Peaks
Floor-to-ceiling windows run across many rooms and suites, turning the jagged Dolomite skyline into a constant companion. Balconies extend that connection; guests step outside and feel the altitude in their lungs and on their skin. Inside, layouts stay legible and calm, with clear paths from entrance to bed, sitting area and terrace so movement feels almost instinctive.
Most suites build on this clarity with glass-enclosed working fireplaces, which draw the eye without crowding the room. Soft seating clusters near the fire and the window at once, creating a simple choice between reading, conversation and watching the weather move across the ridges. Several suites link together for families and groups, trading excess decoration for generous proportions and storage.
Fire, Water And Ritual
Bathrooms push the hotel’s sense of Alpine indulgence. Many ensuite rooms gain steam showers, some with soaking tubs positioned to take in sky or slope, turning daily routines into longer rituals. Stone underfoot and on the walls pairs with metal fittings and clear glass, so steam reads as another material in the room.
Walk-in wardrobes absorb luggage and outdoor gear, leaving bedrooms visually quiet and easy to reset after long days outside. In the Aman Suite, the hotel’s largest, two king bedrooms open to a dining area for six and a broad south-facing terrace. That terrace collects sun through the day and frames the peaks as they drift from pink to blue at dusk.
Light Across The Day
Throughout the hotel, interiors respond closely to the Dolomites’ shifting light. Glazing, balconies and terraces stack to catch low winter sun while still feeling sheltered in summer. Lounges, dining rooms and wellness areas lean on the same material palette as the suites, so moving between them feels continuous rather than abrupt.
By night, the fireboxes, warm stone and timber take over as primary sources of comfort. Guests return from the mountains to rooms that hold their glow, with the faint outline of the peaks lingering just beyond the glass.
Photography by Aman Rosa Alpina
Visit Denniston Architects
