If you’re as fussy as us about what to wear on the fluffy white slopes, the cōmodo, a newly opened design-led property in the upscale Austrian ski resort of Bad Gastein, will tick all of your boxes. For one, it’s high on style, and quite meticulously so, and also meets all the comfort prerequisites of today’s savvy traveller. Additionally, a stay here also comes with heaps of pleasant extras. The village has been known since the 11th century as a spa destination thanks to its medicinal springs, and unsurprisingly, the cōmodo occupies the former premises of a sanatorium and hospitality complex on the northern outskirts of town. Homey and intimate, the boutique hotel features just 70 rooms, and flaunts an alluring mid-century modernist interior design by architects Barbara Elwardt and Piotr Wiśniewski of Berlin-based design practice weStudio.
As said, the chosen aesthetic is high on style, but also welcoming and – dare we say? – homey at the same time, accentuating bold shapes and a palette of warm hues. Design highlights include a wall of local Austrian Sölker marble, as well as a curated selection of vintage finds from the makers’ own collection and their travels. The hotel lobby, being a buzzing living room and social space, sees a series of eye-catching design details, such as Italian architect and designer Mario Bellini’s iconic Camaleonda sofa and his peer Gae Aulenti’s collection for Knoll International. And that’s not all. Elsewhere, an Elda armchair by designer Joe Colombo sits pretty alongside his iconic arched Coupé standing lamp. The sense of style extends across the entire premises, including the guest rooms which come in eight different categories and sizes.
Each room is fitted out with all imaginable amenities, including the technology we can’t do without even during well-deserved downtime. As of the stylish furnishings, they’re custom-made, and include beds, side tables, lamps and counters to cabinets, buffets, and in some cases, also a bar. At 35 sqm. (377 sq.ft.), the Mountain Deluxe room arguably is the room for ultimate self-pampering on the premises, and as its name already implies, it comes with sweeping views over the surrounding Alps. Obviously, the cōmodo boasts a number of matching facilities that further boost the sense of relaxation and indulgence. The light-filled ground floor restaurant is beautifully appointed yet oozes a laid-back atmosphere, offering Alpine fare with a farm-to-table approach and a sustainable edge.
Ingredients are sourced fresh from local farmers and producers, each meal artfully assembled without sacrificing on flavour and creativity. The adjacent, well-stocked bar offers a cocktail menu with quirky takes on classic concoctions, including a unique interpretation of a sour—a tantalising, slightly sour blend of Korn liquor, plum and Penicilin, topped off with fresh egg white. As if honouring the building’s legacy and Bad Gastein‘s medicinal springs, the cōmodo also accommodates a full-fledged spa which features various treatment rooms, two saunas, and an indoor pool, and last but not least, a menu listing a wide range of tailored treatments, each performed using products of Saint Charles, an Austrian luxury cosmetics brand, and obviously, all the healing properties of the local natural spring water.
the cōmodo
Kaiserhofstrasse 18
5640 Bad Gastein
Telephone: +43 6434 30432
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
