The Explorer Hotel Fischen is a Budget-Hotel for people who love sports. The House is designed in a modern style with clear lines and functional rooms. Rough wood cites the regional architecture and is used inside and for the facade. The color green isn´t just a design element, but represents also the ecological concept of the Explorer Hotel. Using renewable energies like biogas and electricity from solar and hydro power makes it a climate-neutral building. Enjoy an environment friendly vacation !

Country/Region: DE-Germany, Bavaria, Oberstdorf/Fischen
Name: Explorer Hotel Fischen
Scenery: Alps of Algaeu
Type of accommodation: hotel
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2010
Architect: architekten sieber-renn.de, Alfred Sieber, Hans-Martin Renn, Sonthofen
Press/Publication: ./.
Awards: artouro – Bayrischer Tourismus Architektur Preis 2011 (award for tourism architecture in Bavaria)
Homepage: www.explorer-hotel.de
Special Features: ./.

A home away from home. That’s the impression which welcomes guests to the Brücke 49 in the Swiss mountain village of Vals. The house is located next to the new Rhine bridge, which explains the name (Brücke = bridge). The house was once built as a villa with a French influence: A local builder constructed the house, but the plans were drawn up in Paris. The building combines a typical local style with (for Vals) unusually large and high rooms.
Ruth Kramer and Thomas Schacht took over the house in 2010 and carefully restored it. For the interior, they chose an eclectic mix of old and new, period furniture and iconic designs and quality in the details. The result is a bed&breakfast address for people with a passion for design, architecture and originality – and those who are in search of a fresh mountain breeze.

Country/Region: Vals, Graubünden, Schwitzerland
Name: Brücke 49
Scenery: mountain village
Type of accommodation: Bed & Breakfast
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2011
Architect: Ruth Kramer / Thomas Schacht / Paul Furger
Press/Publication: ./.
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.brucke49.ch
Special Features: The B&B is close to the Spa Therme Vals. Vals is also a good place for skiing.

Zumthor. It’s just this name and you start to think about spaces. Spaces with a surprising materiality and an outstanding atmosphere. These are the pictures you know about the spa Therme Vals. But there is more. The baths is just a part of a hotel complex with four other buildings.
The hotel was built in the late 1960s and is characterized by the style of this period. Parts of the houses were modernized. 60 rooms were redesigned by Peter Zumthor. 40 of them, called “Provisorien” (Temporaries) as a reference to the renewal process, can be found in the main building, where Zumthor also redesigned the restaurant and lounge. The other 20 rooms, named the “Stucco Rooms”, are situated in House Selva which is close by. But House Selva has not only rooms designed by Zumthor: Several were renovated in the 1980s and 1990s. And finally, there are rooms which are still in the original condition of the 1960s. These rooms have separated foldaway beds.
You can see that the Hotel Therme Vals is a place, which is successfully trying to renew itself without losing its origin. This makes a visit not only worth to experience contemporary architecture, but also to have a look back into architectural ideas of the last 40-50 years. But of course you can also simply enjoy the surrounding mountains.

Country/Region: Schwitzerland, Graubuenden, Vals
Name: Hotel Therme Vals
Scenery: alpine landscape, on the hillside overlooking the valley
Type of accommodation: hotel
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2006
Architect: Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner AG, Haldenstein
Press/Publication: many !
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.therme-vals.ch
Special Features: Vals also is a nice (but hardly known) ski area.
Pictures: Therme Vals

Maybe it is one of the most beautiful beaches of Norway: the Hosnasand beach on the island of Stokkøya. At this place the Stokkøya Sjøsenter is waiting for guest, who like to enjoy the exciting nature for things like sailing, kayaking, diving or hiking in the hills of the island. The Stokkøya Sjøsenter has several buildings and facilities. The oldest one, called Sjøsenteret, was originally the main building of a farm and is the origin of the resort. The other buildings, the family cottages, the Beach Bar and the subterranean house, are all designed in the style of contemporary architecture. The subterranean house, just called SUB, is the latest project. It is inspired by old earth cellars, rethought in a modern way. The house consists of several units with individual rooms, each with bathroom and sea view. And because it is dug in the sand, the impact to the surrounding landscape is minimal.

Country/Region: NO-Norway, Sør-Trøndelag, Stokkøya
Name: Stokkøya Sjøsenter
Scenery: right by the sea at the beach of a small bay
Type of accommodation: hotel, resort
Architecture: modern
Completion: Rooms 2009, restaurant 2006
Architect: Ogmund Soerli and collegues, Pir 2 Architects, Trondheim, www.pir2.no
Press/Publication: Newspapers, magazines, TV (NRK, NDR) , f.ex Wallpaper, Architonics, N70
Awards: Several
Homepage: www.stokkoy.no
Special Features: a lot of sport activities are possible

Visitors to the Villa Sjötorp enjoy a little time travel. The house, built in 1901 by the paper manufacturer Carl Emil Haeger, was prefabricated in his hometown of Lilla Edet and brought with two barges via Gothenburg to the property in Bohuslan. Here it is situated close to the town of Ljungskile, 65 kilometers north of Gothenburg, and offers an impressive view over the Havstensfjord. For the current use as a small hotel with 14 rooms, the villa was carefully and without major conversions restored, so that you can still feel the charm of the turn of the penultimate century in the rooms. Below the garden, you reach a small beach. The fjord is good not only for swimming but also for sailing and for fishing. Just minutes away is the local golf course. One more reason to come: The hotel also has a restaurant whose cuisine is one of the best in the region.

Country/Region: SE-Sweden, Ljungskile, Bohuslan
Name: Villa Sjötorp
Scenery: quiet, park-like landscape on the banks of Havstensfjord
Type of accommodation: hotel
Architecture: historical
Completion: 1901
Architect: Emil Haeger
Press/Publication: ./.
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.villasjotorp.se
Special Features: The house has a very good restaurant with local, ecological food.

Nefta is a small town in the south of Tunisia, an oasis near the Chott El Jerid salt lake and not far from the Algerian border. The Dar HI Hotel has opened in December 2010. It is a luxurious hostel for people who are interested in becoming acquainted with the Tunisian culture.
Located on a hill above the town, and only accessible on foot, the complex has been constructed following the traditional design: a group of houses, brick walls with the typical ocher color, roofs and doors are made from palm wood. The Dar HI offers 17 rooms, divided into different concepts: from introverted cave style types to rooms with views over the city.
Responsible for the design was the french designer Matali Crasset. Not only she has been inspired by the surrounding culture and landscape, also Hollywood knows the attraction of the area: Star Wars, The English Patient and other movies were filmed in the area.

Country/Region: TN-Tunisia, Nefta
Name: Dar HI
Scenery: on a hill overlooking the town and the desert
Type of accommodation: hotel
Architecture: traditional/modern
Completion: june 2010
Architect: Mohamed Nasr (execution), Matali Crasset (Designer)
Press/Publication: diseno interior (spain)
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.dar-hi.net
Special Features: natural source of hot water flowing under the basement, also used for the hammam and the pool.
HI offers two more design hotels in Paris and Nice

Photos : Jérôme SPRIET

The history of the monastery Drübeck can be traced back until the year 960. The site is now used for exhibitions, concerts and conferences. The “Domänenscheunen” (former barns of the monastery farm), an ensemble of small and large barn and the former stable, are listed buildings under heritage protection. Until 2009 they were converted and now offer a number of rooms for guests and for meetings.  The conversion has won 2 architectural awards.

Country/Region: DE-Germany, Saxony-Anhalt, Ilsenburg
Name: Evangelisches Zentrum Kloster Drübeck
Scenery: northern edge of the Harz, village-environment
Type of accommodation: hotel
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2009
Architect: Steinblock Architekten, DE-Magdeburg
Press/Publication:
Awards:  archtectural award of Saxony-Anhalt 2010, BDA award 2010 (nomination)
Homepage: www.kloster-druebeck.de | Domänenscheune (English Translation)
Special Features: exhibitions, concerts, convent garden
The monastery has offers other houses for lodging at the same place.

Pictures: Ulrich Schrader / Steffen Spitzner – www.steffenspitzner.de

The Tenbosch House, located in the heart of Brussels, is a place of serenity. Two town houses dating from 1906, built in the style of Art Nouveau, offer space for seven rooms and suites. The house is small for a hotel, but with its furnishing of various scandinavian designers from the mid-20th century, the Tenbosch House is a place for travelers who are looking for a quiet and individual accommodation. Furthermore the contemporary art displayed in the house is curated by well-known galleries from Brussels and changed regularly.

Country/Region: BE-Belgium, Brussels
Name: Tenbosch House
Scenery: located in central Brussels, in the quartier of Ixelles
Type of accommodation: hotel
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2010
Architect: Patrice Lemeret
Interior designer: Michel Penneman
Press/Publication: ./.
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.tenboschhouse.com
Special Features: changing exhibitions of contemporary art, furniture by scandinavian designers of the 20th century.

The ASI Lodge is surrounded by dense forest, green meadows and the peaks of the Limestone Alps, the lake Achensee is nearby.
The house was formerly known under the name Hotel Windegg: In 1989 the new building by architect Hans Peter Peter was regarded as a modern answer to the traditional Tyrolean hotel buildings.
Meanwhile, under new leadership, the old main house and the central building were demolished. A new wing expands the building with open, light-flooded rooms, a new lobby, dining room and bar. At the spa area, the landscape opens up to the valley.

Country/Region: AT-Austria, Steinberg am Rofan (Achensee), Tirol
Name: ASI Lodge
Scenery: Mountains, Alps. On a meadow glade in the valley of Steinberg, overlooking the idyllic Achensee.
Type of accommodation: hotel
Architecture: modern
Completion: 2005
Architect: Dieter Mathoi
Press/Publication: ./.
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.asi-lodge.at
Special Features: The Lodge is a good basecamp for hiking or snowshoeing.

Information about the history of the building (Hotel Windegg)

The sophisticated, slightly fusty imperial and royal charm that pervades the air at the former imperial spa of Bad Gastein in Austria, ends abruptly as you cross the threshold of the Regina. Its youthful manager, Olaf Krohne, a Gastein-enthusiast for many years, has awoken the hotel from what had been a seemingly eternal slumber. The design mixes furnishings reminiscent of the old Baroque with a spark or two of irony. The hotel also boasts a futuristic summit bar at an altitude of 2,161m.

Country/Region: AT-Austria, Bad Gastein. Salzburger Land
Name: DAS REGINA HOTEL
Scenery: In the center of Bad Gastein. With breathtaking panoramic views of the Hohen Tauern.
Lodging: hotel
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2011
Architect: Nora Witzigman Interior
Press/Publication: SZ-Magazin, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Sleek, Mini Magazin, Smart Travelling
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.dasregina.com
Special Features: This hotel is perfectly suited to young and young-at-heart individualists with or without children. Dogs are welcome. It is the ideal base for winter sports. The REGINA’s ski bar is situated at an altitude of 2,161m in Sportgastein in a spherical UFO-style (former) lift, designed by architect Gerhard Garstenauer. The Regina Café at Bad Gastein’s railway centre also belongs to the hotel. In summer, the REGINA Mountain Beach, on the southern side of the hotel, is a great place to relax. A wonderful base from which to experience the mountains, whether you enjoy walking or any other kind of mountain sport. The hotel even has its own little cinema with seating for 16.

Nora Witzigmann, the designer, says of the concept: “Everything had to be completed quite quickly. The first guest had already booked when the renovation work started, 6 weeks before he was due to arrive. And as we couldn’t let a guest down, there was no margin for delays.
So we gave it our all. The greatest challenge was clearing out the cluttered rooms and identifying what should stay, and how.
This conundrum resulted in a mix of old, transformed old, and deliberately unchanged elements. It might irritate some, but if you come to Bad Gastein with a touch of nostalgia (something I would definitely recommend!), then you will be right at home. It’s an “all-embracing” experience…”