In various ways hotel practice reflects different realities of the culture it exists within. Thus the motel concept reflected the US passion for individual travel and the car, whilst in Europe many variations on the Coaching Inn occur. Briefly I looked previously at one such variation in Germany (see the link at the end of this article). This year I was impressed by a variation I enjoyed in Titians birthplace, an Italian town in the Dolomite Mountains. The Hotel Di Sole in Pieve di Cadore is a small family owned and run hotel with a regular clientele plus passing trade from travellers through these stunning mountains.

Again this hotel illustrates the variation on standards of which the traveller should beware. Rated a four star within the Albergo standards set by the Italian tourist board, the hotel has comfortable en-suite rooms and interesting public areas. Despite being some 150 miles south of the German hotel and with three mountain ranges in between, it shares some common Alpine characteristics.

The use of local woods, especially pine, is marked. Low beamed ceilings, timber partitioning and public areas split into smaller room sets for easy heating create a feeling of intimacy and warmth often missing from more modern hotels. This kind of floor plan as an alternative to larger open plan spaces favoured by many modern designers schooled in the minimalist architectural style or driven by cost, has been successfully used by modern hotel groups such as Shire Hotels.

Another device is the focus on a hearth as a part of the interiors scene setting, used in the new Intercontinental Berchtesgaden (see Review). In the Di Sole the hearth is a large ceramic stove in the bar area, whilst the dining room still contains the roasting hearth typical of an Alpine cucina, and similarly present in Titian’s house, emphasising the links with the past.