Tucked into the Alpine town of Martigny, where Roman ruins, thermal baths and mountaintop trails converge, Hôtel Borsari is a rousing new addition to Switzerland’s boutique hotel scene. A member of Design Hotels and Marriott Bonvoy, this former agro-industrial site has been transformed by first-time hotelier John Cretton and creative collaborator Shaun Evans (who together work as Drip and Drip) into a bold and atmospheric destination that marries heritage with contemporary design.
The hotel’s distinctive red brick façade, crafted using traditional Roman techniques, speaks directly to its past life as a wine storage facility. Inside, that industrial backbone has been retained and reimagined; raw concrete, rendered lime, granite and terrazzo set a grounded tone, while four floors of guestrooms reference the landscape outside with colour-coded themes of deep green, red, black and blue, symbolising foliage, grapes, minerals and spring water. Midcentury icons, Olivetti typewriters, and curated vintage objects weave a rich historical narrative, offset by a fresh contemporary art collection.
At the heart of the hotel is a Roman-style cobblestone courtyard, the central gathering space for Borsari’s restaurants and social areas. Here, Le Cercle offers local, seasonal dishes with an elevated, share-plate approach in richly textured surroundings, while La Saucithèque presents fine regional wines, craft beer, and exceptional charcuterie in a nod to the building’s vinous heritage. For lighter fare and healthy options, Alphonse, the sunlit garden café, rounds out the trio.
Borsari’s commitment to history continues underground in its extraordinary spa, where former 19th-century wine tanks have been converted into a series of thermal baths. Varying in temperature and atmosphere, they offer guests a deeply immersive wellness experience after a day of skiing, hiking or exploring the vineyards that surround Martigny.
With a town steeped in archaeology and art, and a design sensibility rooted in place and memory, Hôtel Borsari is seeking to shape Martigny’s rebirth. A celebration of the tactile, the local, and the historic, this is an authentic travel experience for those who savour the slow.
Hôtel Borsari Martigny Photography, courtesy Design Hotels.
