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A Revolutionary Boutique Hotel Brand Launches in Italy’s Dolomite Mountains with Next Level Interiors by Achille Salvagni 

The Galerie Creative Mind conjures Le Graal’s first property in Cortina d’Ampezzo by taking cues from the region’s rich alpine heritage

By Jill Sieracki
Mountain village with chalet-style houses, surrounded by tall trees and rocky peaks in the background.
View from Le Graal Cortina. Photo: GIULIO GHIRARDI, COURTESY OF LE GRAAL

Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, paints an unforgettable tableau with brightly colored Austro-Hungarian-style buildings backed by the towering pink rock of the Dolomite mountains. This picturesque village particularly resonates during ski season, having lured the Olympics to its scenic valley for the winter games in 1956 and earlier this year. “When you ski in Cortina, you feel like you’re the king of the mountain because the scenery is just breathtaking,” says Italian architect and designer Achille Salvagni, whose second monograph, Achille (Assouline), debuted in May.

It’s here that Salvagni is giving shape to Le Graal Cortina, the inaugural property of a new hospitality brand cultivating boutique hotels and private clubs with interiors defined by a sense of place and appreciation of culture. Best known for his visionary yacht interiors, residences, and galleries in New York, London, and Palm Beach, offering his limited edition furniture and lighting, Salvagni aimed to reimagine a former historic hotel without being constrained by Cortina’s customary alpine tropes. “I didn’t want to play this game with any nostalgia,” says Salvagni. “I am a man of the future.”

Cozy hotel room with wooden furnishings, a writing desk, books, a vase of flowers, and an open door leading to a seating area.
At boutique hotel Le Graal, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, designer Achille Salvagni re-created the silhouette of the Dolomites in a multidimensional border near the ceiling. Photo: GIULIO GHIRARDI, COURTESY OF LE GRAAL
Modern room with green lounge chair, wooden dresser, wall art of flying figure, floor lamp, and decorative panels.
A bespoke angel sconce pays homage to the Venetian influence on Cortina. Photo: GIULIO GHIRARDI, COURTESY OF LE GRAAL
Elegant study with wooden desk, classic portrait, decorative lamp, and framed photographs on wood-paneled wall.
In a junior suite, a 19th-century portrait hangs beside vintage photographs celebrating the village’s history. Photo: GIULIO GHIRARDI, COURTESY OF LE GRAAL
Luxurious bedroom corner with elegant lamp, decorative statuette on nightstand, and plush bed with white pillows.
Salvagni devised custom decorative accents with motifs including mountains, deer, and other fauna. Photo: GIULIO GHIRARDI, COURTESY OF LE GRAAL

Rooms are crafted from plaster with swirling bas-reliefs and a brushed oak indigenous to the region. “We prefer the theme of calm, serenity, and whispered elegance,” says Salvagni, who reorganized the property’s floor plan to construct 30 spacious accommodations, of which 13 are suites; three restaurants; an ethereal spa with a plunge pool; and a Surrealist-inspired lobby that greets guests with a curvy desk, sofas, and custom sconces shaped like skis beneath a starburst chandelier.

The bespoke lighting is far from Le Graal’s only nod to Cortina’s culture. Silhouettes of skiers decorate the ceiling and rugs. Suites filled with clever winks to regional charms and customs are encircled with molding carved to echo the peaks and valleys of the mountain range seen from the window. Yet Salvagni decidedly looked to avoid clichéd chalet aesthetics, instead leaning into the softness and undulating edges of the Jugendstil—a decorative movement that was a counterpart to Art Nouveau and a precursor to Art Deco—and “the clean, understated grandeur of the Viennese empire.”

Scenic view of towering mountains with a forest and houses in the foreground under a partly cloudy sky.
The view across the valley to the Dolomites. Photo: GIULIO GHIRARDI, COURTESY OF LE GRAAL

Regional references abound: An elongated trumpet used by area shepherds is translated into sconces. A hat worn in local 18th-century costumes begets tall, cylindrical lampshades. Bronze-plated hinges on lacquer screens are cast with images depicting local folklore and wildlife.

“It’s all a little story of Cortina,” says the designer. “These referential elements are not done in a loud way, but all together they form a harmonic picture.”

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Late Fall Issue under the headline “Peak Sophistication.” Subscribe to the magazine.

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