Hotel Piz Mitgel – Website Design & Development
THE HOTEL
Dating back to 1868, the “Kurhaus Piz Mitgel” was founded by the Wasescha brothers, initially catering to spa guests and becoming a flourishing destination amid the late 19th-century air health resort trend. The hotel’s journey has witnessed shifts, from the Albula Line’s impact on travel dynamics to a revival in the 20s and subsequent ski lift advancements in 1969.
Changing hands to the Waldegg family in 1961 and then Sepp and Regina Waldegg-Noseda, the hotel recently found new custodianship in the “Piz Mitgel Val Surses” foundation, preserving its historical significance while ensuring continued guest access and future cultural events in its Art Nouveau hall. A captivating account of the hotel’s history unfolds in a book authored by Peder Plaz, Romano Plaz, and Sepp Waldegg, published in early 2022.
NEW SITE IMAGE CAROUSEL:
ISSUES WITH OLD SITE
The old Piz Mitgel Hotel website faced a couple of issues. Firstly, the design didn’t capture the historical warmth and rustic charm that the over 100-year-old hotel exudes. Additionally, the look and feel were outdated compared to other hotels in Canton Graubünden. The site lacked the elegance, timelessness, and charm the actual hotel embodies through its paneled halls, wooden floors, and newly renovated rooms highlighting its historic features.
Secondly, the site’s functionality was flawed. It didn’t allow customers to easily find essential information about the hotel, like the restaurant’s weekly menu and arrival details. Furthermore, the site required English language settings for this information to be accessible, leaving users who preferred German or Italian unable to access it.
THE OLD SITE ROOMS PAGE:
NEW SITE – COMMUNICATE THE TIMELESS ELEGANCE
In shaping the new design, I tapped into a captivating brand guide crafted for the hotel some time ago. This guide boasted a color palette that exuded a vintage warmth, mirroring the tones found in the hotel’s very walls and furnishings. Pairing this palette with timeless serif fonts and sleek contemporary accents, using colors from that same palette, I forged a visual language that skillfully merged modern aesthetics with a creative nod to the ornate opulence reminiscent of 19th-century architectural marvels, much like the captivating essence of Piz Mitgel itself.
By utilizing striking, visually appealing photographs showcasing the hotel’s renovated rooms alongside my own images capturing both the hotel and its surroundings, I applied Lightroom filters using hues and gradients from the vintage color palette. The outcome effectively conveys the hotel’s sophistication within a contemporary design framework.
NEW ROOMS SECTION:
EXPLORE REGIONAL OFFERS
To cater to Piz Mitgel’s extensive partner network, I created dedicated sections on the site for the region and arrival information. These sections prominently showcase partner logos and feature excursion offers, presented as clear Call to Action (CTA) buttons. This enables customers to effortlessly explore the area at their own convenience, ensuring that the Piz Mitgel site is conveniently accessible whenever they wish to return.
REGIONS SECTION:
CLIENT
Piz Mitgel Hotel
ROLE
Design & Development
PLATFORMS
WordPress Divi Website
TOOLS
WordPress, Divi, Adobe CS: Photoshop, Lightroom, XD
METHODS
Discovery and customer research, IA, Prototyping & interaction design, Test & Deploy, QA & refinement
DURATION
Three weeks from design to launch, ongoing support
Challenge:
Amidst the enchanting backdrop of Savognin, Switzerland, Piz Mitgel Hotel’s director, faced an imminent dilemma: their website was set to go offline permanently within three weeks. Urgently needed was not just a new site, but a complete digital metamorphosis. The existing platform fell short in encapsulating the hotel’s charm, lacking updated imagery and ease of use for the hotel’s customers.
SOLUTION:
In response to the pressing challenge faced by Piz Mitgel Hotel, my design approach was swift, focused, strategic, and transformative. Leveraging an existing brand guide that echoed the hotel’s vintage charm, I harnessed captivating imagery to bridge the historical allure of the over 100-year-old establishment with a modern aesthetic. I crafted a visual language that resonates with the hotel’s rich legacy by harmonizing warm antique hues, classic serif fonts, and minimalist modern elements. This solution not only addresses the deficiencies of the previous site, which failed to showcase the hotel’s essence and lacked a good customer experience. The outcome is an innovative design that captures the hotel’s elegance and provides an enriched user experience in tune with its historic opulence, all within a constrained timeline.
SITE APPROACH: SINGLE PAGE
A single-page hotel website with scrollable sections and intuitive navigation buttons provides a seamless and engaging user experience. This layout ensures guests quickly access essential information like room details, amenities, dining options, and contact information as they scroll through neatly organized sections.
The mobile-friendly design maintains consistency across devices, while visual impact is heightened through vibrant imagery and well-structured content. With faster loading times, easy storytelling, and clear calls to action for reservations and inquiries, this approach is perfect for presenting a hotel’s features, services, and ambiance in a captivating and user-friendly manner.
