From inn to design hotel
The story of our family-run hotel in South Tyrol
Sometimes special places are not born from a plan, but from the simple decision to stay. This is how the story of our family-run hotel in South Tyrol began back in the 1960s. Grandmother Frieda purchased the Bellavista Inn, a modest guesthouse with just a few rooms high above Bolzano. “Too remote,” many said. But Frieda stayed - and made the house known far beyond the borders of Bolzano. Her husband was a veterinarian, and so medicine quietly wove its way into the story of the house from the very beginning.
Frieda’s son continued to run the business until his tragic death in an accident in 2008. His wife Renate suddenly found herself facing a defining decision. She stayed - and took over responsibility for the house.
A few years later, love entered her life once again. She met a doctor from Munich, Dr Hans Leonhardy, who regularly stayed at the hotel for professional reasons. Hans specialised in Traditional Chinese Medicine and ran a practice in the heart of Munich. Initially, he came as a consultant to develop a health concept for the hotel - but love made him stay. Together, Renate and Hans decided to carefully develop the Belvedere.
“History is what emerges when responsibility is passed on through generations - and sometimes when one simply decides to stay.”
From a former small guesthouse, a luxurious five-star hideaway gradually took shape. The hotel evolved over several construction phases, never impulsively, but always with foresight. In contrast to much of the conventional hotel industry, where expansion is often rushed, the owners chose a gentle evolution and a holistic vision: a family-run accommodation that harmoniously combines tradition, design and nature. In collaboration with the architecture studio bergmeisterwolf, they dared something truly extraordinary: instead of adding another building, they built directly into the extremely hard porphyry rock - a bold and visionary solution.
Despite all this development, the Belvedere has remained what it has always been: a family-owned hotel, where respect for the mountains, the history and the people is deeply felt. For over 65 years, the hotel has been run as a family business, soon perhaps already in its third generation. Son Valentin will complete his final school exams in 2026 and plans to study hotel management thereafter. Daughter Teresa keeps her options open: patisserie, singing, or perhaps medicine.
Perhaps this is exactly what defines our family-run hotel in South Tyrol: not striving for perfection, but for harmony and authenticity. Here, history continues because people have chosen to stay – with their guests, with their family and with themselves. We warmly invite you to discover this special place for yourself. A place where you can find peace, recharge and feel the desire to stay just a little longer.
