The ‹Maistra 160› hotel is full of surprises. From the outside, the building appears sober and understated, and the subtleties of the façade revealing themselves only upon a second glance. This makes the bright, warm interior, with its high ceilings on the first floor, all the more impressive.

Bettina and Richard Plattner have realized a dream with the four-star superior hotel in Pontresina and at the same time created a monument.

Collaboration With a Star Architect

Where the «Post» hotel once stood, the couple has created an impressive building in collaboration with star architect Gion A. Caminada. The most important key figures: 36 double rooms, a restaurant with a bar and alpine-oriental cuisine, eleven vacation apartments integrated into the hotel and a spa and wellness zone with an inner courtyard open to the sky, a cloister and much more.

The Hotel Maistra 160 in Pontresina. (Image: Montamont)

At the end of October, the «Hotel Maistra 160» received the Swiss Arc Award 2024 in the «Leisure & Lifestyle» category, while Gion A. Caminada received the «Lifetime Achievement Award».

The Maistra cost 35 milion Swiss francs to build. «You can never amortize something like that, it's too big on an investment», says Bettina Plattner. «The Hotel Maistra emodies everything my husband and I stand vor.»

View of a hotel room in the Maistra 160. (Image: Montamont)

From the Zurich Gold Coast to Pontresina in the Engadin

Bettina Plattner has lived in the Upper Engadine for 29 years. She lives there with her husband.

She grew up on Zurich's Gold Coast as the youngest daughter of Fritz Gerber, one of the most influential managers in the Swiss financial center. Gerber was one of the few people to hold a management position at two Swiss companies: as Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO at pharmaceutical giant Roche and previously in the same dual role at Swiss insurance group Zurich.

Instead of the financial industry, Bettina Plattner was drawn to tourism. It was in this field that she met her husband, Richard Plattner, a South Tyrolean who came to Switzerland as a young chef.

The two are now successful entrepreneurs in the Engadin. It all began in 1996 when they opened and managed the «Saratz» in Pontresina, as vice.chefs before taking over the management of the legandary «Castell» in Zuoz. The «Castell» has made a name for itself internationally with its art collection, including works by James James Turrell, Pipilotti Rist, Fischli-Weiss, Roman Signer.

Investing in What They Enjoy

A good ten years ago Richard and Bettina Plattner set new standards in the Engadin parahotel industry with their upmarket «Alpine-Lodging» vacation apartments.

Now, the «Maistra160» is also part of the Plattners' small empire. «It was alwaysclear to us», says the author of two specialist books, «that we would invest sensibly and sustainably in what we enjoy most and where we like to be most: the hotel industry and tourism in Engadin.»

Bettina Plattner not only shows determination, but also has strategic foresight: a vacation resort only has a future these days if it attracts guests all year round. «A 9-month season is difficult from a usiness point of view,» she says.

Making More of the Golden Fall in Engadin. (Image: Pontresina Tourismus/Romano Salis)

That's why the Plattners were early advocates of an offensive in the fall. «The golden fall is beautiful and transforms Upper Engadine into an enchanting region. It would be criminal if we didn't bring this closer to potential guests,» she says.

«Mind Body Medicine Weeks» Brought to Life

Setting a positive example, the Plattner couple launched the «Mind Body Medicine Weeks» at Hotel Maistra this fall. Mind Body Medicine is an integrative concept that connects the body with the psyche and teaches self-care. In collaboration with experts from the Department of Complementary and Integrative Medicine at the University of Zurich and the Swiss Mind Body Medicine Association, the hotel has set up courses to teach better stress management and a healthier lifestyle. The natural beauty of Engadin also plays a significant role in this initiative. A specialist congress was held at the end of November.

The «Mind Body Medicine Weeks» are not intended to be a one-off event, but will take place every year in the fall in future. «I am convinced that the topic will become even more important in the coming years, especialla in oua ltitudes», says Bettina Plattner.