The First Cortina will open on 4 December 2026, bringing a new five-star hotel with 76 rooms and suites to the centre of Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Located at Corso Italia 209, the property will place guests close to the ski lifts and the boutiques, cafés and restaurants of Cortina’s main thoroughfare. Every room and suite will have a private balcony overlooking the UNESCO-protected Dolomites.
The opening will introduce Zuma Cortina alongside Velo, the hotel’s signature Italian restaurant and pasticceria. A 1,000-square-metre REVĪVŌ Spa and Wellness facility will add a panoramic pool, treatment rooms, thermal facilities and selected recovery experiences adapted for the Alpine setting.
The hotel also takes The First brand beyond Rome for the first time. Its arrival forms part of The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts’ expansion in Europe and its shift towards a portfolio organised around three complementary brands.
Contemporary Italian design shaped by the Dolomites
The First Cortina occupies an existing building that has been completely renovated by Studio Marincola Architects, with conservation and wellbeing guiding the transformation.
The design uses clean lines and a restrained material palette to keep attention on the surrounding peaks. A continuous ribbon of glass panels will draw daylight into the property while framing the mountain landscape from within.
Dolomia stone and fir wood bring natural texture to the shared spaces. Inside the accommodation, oak parquet and Saint Laurent marble bathrooms are paired with tactile leather details. Selected rooms will also have ornamental water-vapour fireplaces.
“We have always believed that the most compelling hotels have a strong sense of individuality and belonging to their surroundings,” Gordon Oldham, founder of The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts, said in the group’s announcement. “The First Cortina brings that philosophy to one of the world’s great alpine destinations, creating a contemporary social address shaped by design, dining and wellness.”
Open-plan bathrooms and generously sized showers will reinforce the spacious, uncluttered approach. Floor-to-ceiling glazing will make the changing colour and weather of the Dolomites part of each room’s atmosphere.
Rooms and suites with private mountain views
The hotel’s 76-key collection ranges from 21-square-metre Deluxe View Balcony rooms to family accommodation and spacious wellness suites. All categories are designed around their outlook, with a private balcony or terrace facing the mountains.
Grand Deluxe rooms add a lounge area, while Junior Suites measure between 35 and 40 square metres and include separate space for relaxing. The larger Suite View Balcony category offers a distinct bedroom and living room, plus a walk-in wardrobe.
The approximately 40-square-metre Jacuzzi Suite View Balcony places a private Jacuzzi inside the room, positioned for views towards the Dolomites. The 44-square-metre Wellness Suite Terrace View offers a different kind of retreat, with an in-room sauna, steam bath and private mountain-facing terrace.
At the top of the hotel, the Enrosadira Penthouse will be the most private option. Named after the sunset phenomenon that turns the Dolomite peaks rose-pink, the 140-square-metre residence can be arranged with one, two or three bedrooms.
Its 50-square-metre terrace provides an elevated viewpoint over the mountains. Inside, guests will have a sauna, Turkish bath, fully equipped kitchen and separate living and dining areas. Private-chef dining will also be available for guests who prefer to remain in the penthouse.
Zuma Cortina and Velo join Corso Italia
On the ground floor, Zuma Cortina will bring the restaurant group’s contemporary Japanese cooking to the heart of the resort. The venue will open for aperitivo and dinner before moving into live music and DJ sets later in the evening, centred around a prominent bar table.
Its location on Corso Italia is intended to give Zuma a role beyond the hotel itself, creating a new dinner and late-night option for visitors and Cortina residents.
Velo will offer a calmer, light-filled setting built around Italian gastronomy. It will be the concept’s second location after Velo at The First Dolce in Rome, extending the pasticceria and restaurant brand into the mountains.
Breakfast will be served with Dolomite views, followed later by afternoon tea. Artisanal pastries and chocolates will be made in-house. The space will serve as a morning dining room and an elegant daytime stop on Corso Italia.
The two venues serve different parts of the day at The First Cortina. Zuma will focus on dinner and late evenings, while Velo will cover breakfast and relaxed daytime dining.
A two-floor REVĪVŌ spa with a panoramic pool
Designed by Gherardi Architetti, the 1,000-square-metre REVĪVŌ Spa and Wellness facility will extend across two floors. Natural textures and refined finishes will give the spa a calm, landscape-inspired interior.
The main panoramic pool will sit on the first floor and continue slightly outdoors through sliding glass doors. An open-air terrace with sun loungers will stand beside the exterior section, offering a place to rest with mountain views when conditions allow.
Further facilities will include treatment rooms, a sauna and a traditional hammam. A fully equipped gym will support more active sessions, while the wider wellness offering will cover a hair salon plus nail and beauty treatments.
REVĪVŌ is The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts’ brand specialising in wellness and longevity, rooted in its resort in Bali. The Cortina spa will adapt selected parts of its six-pillar programme for mountain stays, combining established healing traditions with evidence-led approaches to wellness and recovery.
The facility follows the introduction of a smaller REVĪVŌ Spa at Château de Fiac in France. In Cortina, the larger footprint allows the concept to become one of the hotel’s central features.
Ski services and year-round mountain access
A dedicated Ski Room will provide secure storage for ski and mountain equipment. The hotel will also connect guests with Alpine guides and instructors, with rental equipment available for winter and summer activities.
Planned equipment will include skis and snowboards, together with clothing for hiking and trekking. A dedicated electric mountain bike will provide another way to explore the area outside the ski season.
For international arrivals, Venice Marco Polo Airport is around 150 kilometres away, with an estimated driving time of two hours. Treviso Canova Airport is approximately 140 kilometres from the hotel and can be reached in about one hour and 40 minutes.
Calalzo di Cadore railway station is 37 kilometres away. The onward journey to Cortina takes around 40 minutes by taxi or approximately one hour on the Dolomiti Bus.
The First expands beyond Rome
The opening gives The First, the group’s contemporary luxury brand, its first address outside Rome. REVĪVŌ will continue to lead its dedicated wellness business. The Pavilions remains its brand for experiential hotels and resorts.
The group has previously transformed historic properties for The First Rome and Casa Almagro, Madrid by The Pavilions. Its wider portfolio also includes purpose-built resorts in Phuket and Bali.
For Cortina, the approach centres on renovating an existing Corso Italia property, giving guests access to central Cortina without the need for a new mountain resort outside town. That position gives guests immediate access to central Cortina while retaining views towards the peaks from every room.
The opening package, called The Cortina Premiere, starts from €850 per night. It includes breakfast, afternoon tea at Velo and a complimentary room upgrade subject to availability. Reservations and further hotel details are available through The First Cortina’s official website.
