In Arosa, Switzerland, a two-hour train ride from Zurich, the Valsana Hotel is a lovely place to live out your Heidi fantasies. Anyone who has enjoyed the classic children’s novel by Johanna Spyri about a joyful child who goes to live with her cantankerous grandfather in the Swiss Alps, will love the Valsana.
Facing the striking Weisshorn mountain, surrounded by Obersee Lake and a lovely forest, the hotel brings the outdoors in with a rustic but elegant vibe. The sustainable Alpine-inspired decor offers naturally tactile and textural touches that incorporate upcycled materials: leather, wood, copper and iron, as well as hand-drawn botanical wall murals.
Designed by Carlo Rampazzi, who also created whimsical interiors for the Tschuggen Hotel Group’s other properties, the Valsana’s comfortable living room—with a huge fireplace and shelves filled with books—is a perfect spot to enjoy Swiss wine tastings from a wine dispenser. Twist, the casual restaurant, features glass walls that frame the mountains, with a fresh, simple menu that is mostly sourced locally. The charming Valsana Spa Arosa features organic products from The Organic Pharmacy, a relaxation pool with a view of the mountains, fitness studio and yoga room with panoramic views, steam and an old-wood sauna.
The Valsana, as well as all of the Tschuggen Hotel Group properties, has been Green Globe Certified and is 100 percent climate-neutral. To take sustainability a giant step further, the hotel relies on an “ice battery” for geothermal heating, waste water recovery, hydroelectricity generated in the Alps and more.
The tone for the casually luxurious experience is set by the energetic General Manager Claudio Laager, who loves to create thoughtful local experiences for guests—which he sometimes guides—that tap into the local landscape and the new Moving Mountains program, a holistic journey with five pillars: move, play, nourish, rest and give. Whether you choose to hike, ski, taste cheese with local dairy farmers, go mountain biking and more, the Valsana offers the perfect way to seamlessly reconnect with the outdoors—and yourself.