High in Maranza, a village in South Tyrol's Alpi Siusi area, a well-known alpine hotel has been given a complete rethink. The former Lärchenhof Hotel has reopened its identity as Hotel AUI — the name comes from the local dialect word for 'up' — after a redesign led by architect Gottfried Gruber and South Tyrol-based studio Lains Architects.
The project kept the original load-bearing structure but touched nearly everything else: a new exterior, reworked communal areas, part of the spa, and most of the hotel's 26 rooms and apartments. Green is the thread running through it all, from the façade to the fabrics. The new outer skin unifies what was previously a patchwork of balconies into one continuous plane, clad in coarsely brushed spruce with a two-layer glaze. The repeating pitched-roof silhouette nods to traditional South Tyrolean timber buildings — and, as Gruber puts it, gives each guest the feeling of having their own private chalet.
One of the most practical changes for guests: there is no conventional reception desk. The ground floor has been opened up around a long boomerang-shaped table that handles self-check-in, sits next to a small stube and doubles as a communal dining spot by the breakfast buffet. Around it sit a trust shop and community kitchen. Flooring shifts signal the mood — larch wood where you're meant to linger, ceramic where you pass through.
The new pool is placed where the sun actually lands. Gruber ran light simulations through the day to find the sweet spot, and the indoor-outdoor layout, with mirrored surfaces, frames the surrounding mountains from the water. Upstairs, the 26 rooms and apartments make clever use of compact space: custom spruce furniture, small kitchens in the apartments, and sofas that convert into extra beds — a format well suited to families or groups who want more than a standard hotel room.
Why it matters: AUI reflects a wider alpine trend away from formal hotel formality and towards flexible, apartment-style hospitality with a communal heart. If you're planning a Dolomites trip and want a base that works both as a social hub and a self-catering-style retreat — with a spa and a sun-optimised pool thrown in — this is the kind of property to watch. Maranza itself sits at around 1,350 metres, handy for the Gitschberg-Jochtal ski area in winter and hiking in the warmer months.
