A Breath of Fresh Air

A beloved lodge has been transformed into an Aman resort—just in time for the Games.

- Kelley Manley

PAOLO PIZZININI, the longtime owner of Rosa Alpina, a legendary chalet opened by his father in 1939 in the northern Italian village of San Cassiano, was known for handing out pear grappa to guests. He believed it would restore weary skiers after a day on the slopes of the surrounding Dolomites. His son, Hugo Pizzinini, who took over the hotel in the mid 2000s, has carried on a similar tradition—he serves hot apple cider.

This type of intimate hospitality inspired a devoted following among Rosa Alpina’s guests. So it came as a surprise when, in 2020, the hotel announced a partnership with Aman, the luxury hospitality group known for the sleek design—and air of exclusivity—of its 36 properties around the globe. Aman had never taken over an existing hotel, but Vlad Doronin, chairman and CEO of Aman Group since 2014, had succumbed to the Rosa Alpina’s charms when he stayed there years before. To him, the partnership made perfect sense. “This was never about acquiring just another hotel,” Doronin said, “but about carefully evolving a property that already carried the spirit of Aman into something timeless.”