... from a little guesthouse to a 4-star superior hotel
About the building:
In 1976, in response to an increase in tourism in the area, we extended the Rainer Hotel originally built in 1964. The aim was to develop a modern hotel that could accommodate 80 people, and it was with the following objectives in mind that Willi and Agnes Rainer approached a design office:
- That all the rooms should face south
- That the design of the hotel should break away from the "typical Tyrolean style"
- That the hotel should receive plenty of sunlight
The Rainers soon decided to hire Peter Thurner, a young Austrian architect who had just completed his studies at the TU (Technical University) of Graz and was able to design and create a hotel based on completely fresh and original ideas.
Gallery
First sauna in Sesto ...
A semi-circular terrace was created with laminated wood trusses. The entire ground floor and first floor were designed to be all open-plan and spacious. Only the kitchen and service areas were to be more limited in terms of space. 20 standard double rooms were located on the 1st and 2nd floors below the level of the road, while the rooms for families were located on the 3rd floor below the level of the road with access to the garden. All the rooms were to have a generous south-facing balcony or terrace. The first indoor swimming pool and first sauna in Sesto were created. Larch shingles were used for the façade in keeping with the natural surroundings.
The hotel was innovative at the time for its emphasis on plenty of space: a large hall, smooth transition between the bar and the restaurant, spacious corridors on each floor, rooms for families (!), bathrooms in different colours (grey, brown and blue), generous private balconies and, as mentioned previously, a swimming pool.
Below are opinions voiced by the press in this regard:
The hotel has continued to develop ever since. Renovation of the "Rainer Hotel" began in 1989. For financial but also for sentimental reasons, the original structure of the Hotel had always remained the same and we decided to go along with Peter Thurner's original and undoubtedly correct idea to retain the semi-circle. As a result we did not demolish the main building but carried out reconstruction work and a complete functional extension.
After the sad and untimely death of our friend Peter Thurner in 2007 we decided to entrust the new construction of the swimming pool and sauna area, which were rather too small, to the Plasma studio architecture practice. The design of the layout and façade was entrusted to the architect Markus Tauber who completed the restructuring project with a particular sensitivity for the form and materials. The top floor was extended in 2013. Plasma studio kept in mind the original concept developed in 1976, maintaining and making the most of the spaces and tones of colour. These changes now appear seamless in the areas that are completely new.
And the future?
... it stays exciting
We have made this our credo also for the future: the best and most unique features of Rainer's premises in 1976 must be preserved and developed. In the future we will without doubt "go a little way back in time" to ensure that Rainer's premises retains its status of architectural uniqueness which has been a hallmark for many a year.
This continues to give us great pleasure.
Rainer Hotel