HOTEL AURORA
Photography: Giulio Ghirardi
Artwork | Bas relief: Ursula Huber
EXTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHY: TSCHINKERSTEN
In an Italian Mountain Town a Hotel With a
Modernist Edge
Laura May Todd for THE NEW YORK TIMES
Laura May Todd for THE NEW YORK TIMES
When the architect Hannes Peer was growing up in South Tyrol, a province in the Italian Dolo-mites, the nearby Hotel Aurora loomed large. "It's one of the most important hotels in the region," Peer says, citing its reputation as a celebrity haunt in the 1970s and '80s. Founded in 1964, it sits at the riverside entrance to the medieval village of Merano, a spa town favored by the Austrian royal dynasty the Hapsburgs in the mid-19th cen-tury. Its third-generation owners, the siblings Melanie and Philipp Aukenthaler, asked Peer to oversee the 59-room property's recent renovation alongside the firm Feld72. They left some decorative elements intact, like the stepped bas-relief in the dining room by the local craftsman Herbert Kinkelin. But for the most part, Peer redesigned the space, channeling Californian midcentury modernism with built-in concrete benches in the lobby (inspired by John Laut-ner's Sheats Goldstein resi-dence) and cherrywood-and-mirror walls in the Listening Bar, where guests can play records and unwind with a cocktail after a day of hiking or skiing in the mountains. Peer commissioned his mother, the artist Ursula Huber, to create an abstract concrete wall panel for the hotel's entryway. "My mother was born in Merano, so it was a homecoming for her," Peer says.
The renovation is the first phase of a multiyear project; Peer plans to redesign more guest rooms and add a rooftop pool in
2027. hotel-aurora-meran.com.
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The New Face of Hotel Aurora in Merano:
Hannes Peer Reimagines an Icon of 1970s Alpine Modernism
Asad Syrkett for ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST
For nearly sixty years, under the stewardship of the Aukenthaler family, Hotel Aurora has been a cornerstone of Merano’s social life, overlooking the city’s most prestigious promenade. Now, under the leadership of the third generation, siblings Melanie and Philipp Aukenthaler have embraced this legacy with the ambition of transforming Aurora from a beloved hotel into a true cultural platform, where hospitality, architecture, and social life coexist in perfect harmony.
More Than a Hotel: A Destination for Design and
Culture
The historic hotel on Merano’s Lungopassirio, owned by the Aukenthaler family since its foundation, has reopened following an extensive renovation designed by Hannes Peer Architecture and feld72. The project marks a new era for the property, evolving it from a traditional hotel into a destination dedicated to hospitality, design, and culture. The first phase includes the complete redesign of the public spaces, the renovation of 18 of the hotel's 59 guestrooms, a new architectural envelope, the ARTÈ restaurant, and a Listening Bar. The interiors combine Alpine influences, 1970s modernism, and Californian references through a rich palette of materials including brass, travertine, Lasa marble, and fine woods, while carefully preserving and celebrating the building’s original architectural features. The transformation will continue through 2028 with the addition of a panoramic swimming pool, a rooftop bar, and the restoration of the remaining guestrooms.
Hotel Aurora Merano: Three Generations of
History
Working alongside Hannes Peer, the architectural studio feld72 has reinforced Aurora’s architectural identity through a new aluminium façade that wraps the building with elements of varying depths and widths. Symbolically representing three generations of the hotel’s history, this new architectural skin frames the existing building as something to preserve, reveal, and reactivate.
Arrival
The project’s new architectural language becomes immediately apparent at the entrance. A ceramic artwork conceived by Hannes Peer and created in collaboration with Officine Saffi is composed of more than 2,000 handcrafted tiles in over thirty different shades. Beneath visitors’ feet, a bespoke terrazzo floor made with locally sourced stone guides guests from the riverside promenade into the reception, rooting the project in the geological identity of South Tyrol. Suspended above the reception desk, a sculptural Murano glass chandelier by 6:AM captures and reflects Merano’s distinctive Alpine light. Defining the entrance is also Horizon, a monumental concrete bas-relief by South Tyrolean artist Ursula Huber, Hannes Peer’s mother, bringing a Brutalist-inspired artistic language into the hotel lobby. The curved reception desk, crafted by Rier—also responsible for all bespoke furniture and timber elements throughout the hotel—in richly toned mahogany wood becomes the sculptural focal point of the arrival experience, introducing a sense of warmth and sensuality.
Beyond reception, Aurora’s lounge unfolds as a fluid, permeable social landscape inspired by John Lautner’s Sheats–Goldstein Residence. Travertine flooring, generous seating areas, and a central fireplace evoke the spirit of 1970s Californian modernism, while horizontal timber blinds introduce rhythm and intimacy. Mirrored interventions designed by Hannes Peer Studio subtly fragment reflections and continuously reshape the perception of space.
On the ground floor, the ARTÈ restaurant has been entirely reimagined through the careful restoration and integration of its original 1970s interiors, originally commissioned by the Aukenthaler family from South Tyrolean master carpenter Herbert Kinkelin.
Within the lounge, the space opens into a new Listening Bar defined by a darker, more intimate atmosphere and Pompeian red tones. Deep-pile carpeting, smoked mirrors, mandarin-stained cherry wood, lacquered surfaces, and bespoke brass wall sconces evoke the glamorous language of Gabriella Crespi. Custom walnut cabinetry conceals a fully integrated high-fidelity sound system, seamlessly embedded within the architecture. Weekly DJ sets and live performances transform Aurora into a place dedicated to music, encounter, and cultural exchange. hotel-aurora-meran.com.