Suspending time in a cinematic atmosphere, the Drei Berge Hotel in the Bernese Oberland Alps of Mürren, Switzerland, can only be the creation of Ramdane Touhami. The French-Morrocan creative polymath is a master of reinvention, responsible for Cire Trudon and the historic beauty brand L’Officine Universelle Buly, which he co-founded with wife and partner Victoire de Taillac. Drei Berge is no different, reinvigorated from a stale local hotel dating back to 1894 to a place of bright color, Swiss woodwork, vintage furniture, and typographic layering. Let’s take a look inside.
Photography courtesy of Drei Berge Hotel.
Above: The two-tone olive green and cream hotel exterior mixes raw pine balcony with shutters painted in diagonal stripe.
Above: At an altitude of 1638 meters, the Drei Berge Hotel is not accessed by car, but only by gondola.
Above: The hotel faces three mountains (drei berge means “three mountains” in German): the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.
Above: A detail of the exterior design displays the commingling of original wood shutters—complete with cutout hearts—and a graphic update.
Above: Somewhere between past and future, the hotel design, down to its vintage accents, retains a sympathy for the hotel’s historic roots.
Above: The hotel lobby is anchored with custom carpet depicting mountain flags, designed by Touhami’s Paris-based art direction agency, Art Recherche Industrie (ARI).
Above: The front desk is exemplifies Touhami’s respect of material while adding a contemporary vision.
Above: A Martin Visser sofa is one of many vintage midcentury furniture pieces sourced by Touhami, many of which were directly pulled from his own collection. Also from Touhami’s own collection: a JBL 4350 speaker.
Above: To the left are two vintage wooden masks from the Lötschental carnival, channeling the Tschäggättä witches of the Swiss mountains.
Above: The rooms are equipped with handmade wooden beds designed by ARI and monogrammed linens from Beltrami, an ultra-fine and lesser-known Italian company responsible for the bedding at the Ritz Paris. (Impressed with the quality of linens, Touhami later bought part of the Beltrami company.)
Above: One of the 19 guest rooms is designed with a ski-themed vintage poster, camping chairs, a Charlotte Perriand LC4 chaise, dark walnut furniture, and forest green walls.
Above: Drama by way of woodwork, custom carpet, and a red ceiling.
Above: One of two bedrooms designed in collaboration with fashion brand Bode. The room, titled US Top 10, is named after a champion horse and features a design based on a fictional equestrian trainer. It’s decorated with dark brown-painted wood, vintage furniture, Bode throw pillows, and a wall of show ribbons and awards. The custom bedding is inspired by midcentury American horse blankets.
Above: The restaurant at Drei Berge is painted green with custom tables and chairs designed by ARI mixed with vintage Tyrolean folk chairs.
Above: Mountain flags and a 1960s Hans Kögl wall lamp.
Above: Italian Tyrol paintings and hanging fabric fish in the pine-coated dining room.
Above: Touhami (middle) is joined with Aaron Aulja and Emily Adams Bode Aujla of New York fashion brand Bode, who collaborated on the design of two guest rooms working with Aujla’s interiors brand Green River Project LLC.
Above: An outdoor cafe provides ski slope support in the winter, and hiking refreshments in summer.
Above: The back of the hotel is equipped with a large terrace for outdoor seating in all seasons.
Above: Touhami purchased the hotel in its former state back in 2022 out of a love of mountains and mountaineering stemming back to childhood. The hotel is specifically designed to nurture an outdoor culture, by way of design and fashion.
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