Swiss developer plans 381-metre hotel tower in Alpine village

Swiss property investor Remo Stoffel has unveiled plans to build the world’s highest hotel tower in the Alpine spa resort of Vals.

Stoffel’s 7132 AG company is investing CHF300 mln (€285 mln) in the Therme Vals development, the high point of which will be the 381-metre, 82-storey Femme de Vals, a five-star facility with 107 rooms.

The needle-thin tower, with a base of just 18 by 31 metres, has been designed by Thom Mayne of Los Angeles-based architectural firm Morphosis and is expected to take three years to complete, opening in 2019.

The redevelopment of the resort also includes a 30,000 m2 park by the Japanese landscape architect Tadao Ando.

Stoffel bought Therme Vals in 2012 for €6.5 mln from the municipality, seeing off a rival bid from celebrated local architect Peter Zumthor, with a commitment to invest at least €41.5 mln in developing the resort.