The entrance embodies simplicity: a whitewashed façade, a stone ramp paved and engraved, and, near a glass door, the simple word “pensiun” in all caps and in Romansh – the fourth official language of Switzerland, alongside Italian, German and French. Having just opened in December 2025, Chesa Marchetta was the second hotel created by Iwan and Manuela Wirth, co-founders of the well-established Hauser & Wirth art gallery, who were already behind the Fife Arms in the Scottish Highlands.
To house their new, intimate-scale venture, the couple chose the historic heart of Sils-Maria, a village in the Swiss Alps located in the canton of Graubünden, clustered around traditional houses and upscale hotels. Beneath the beams of a house (chesa, in Romansh) and barns with foundations dating back to the 16th century, the property offers 13 rooms and a restaurant seating around 50 guests.
The extensive renovation was carried out by architect Luis Laplace, who was constantly careful to avoid ostentation. The Argentine, based in Paris, whose sense of nuance and sensitivity has charmed the upper echelons of the contemporary art world for years – he notably designed interiors for gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin and artist Cindy Sherman – applied his craft of “almost invisible architecture” here, from floor to ceiling.
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