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Panoramic wellness facilities as an integral part of the resort’s architecture

Until a few years ago, wellness in hotel projects was seen primarily as a set of individual facilities – a swimming pool, a sauna, a steam bath, several massage rooms and a relaxation area.

However, this idea is gradually changing in contemporary resorts. Wellness facilities are found on hotel rooftops, emerge from sloping sites, open out towards valleys or visually connect with the distant horizon through the surface of the water. The aim is not just to create an attractive backdrop for photographs. Panoramic wellness facilities are increasingly becoming part of the architectural identity of the resort itself.

The reason for this change is fairly straightforward. Nowadays, hotel guests are not just buying accommodation and the opportunity to use a spa. They are looking for an experience that is linked to a specific location. It is precisely wellness that can offer a very natural way of actively incorporating the surrounding landscape into it.

Wellness is no longer a separate room. It is becoming part of the hotel concept

Instead of a traditional spa based primarily on treatment rooms and a pool area, hotel projects are featuring more comprehensive wellness programmes that extend to various parts of the resort. These include hydrotherapy, saunas, fitness, yoga, outdoor activities and various types of relaxation zones. At the same time, the role of the architect is also changing.

It is no longer possible to simply place the wellness area in a part of the layout that remained unused when designing the hotel. Fundamental decisions must be made at an early stage of the project:

– where the guest first comes into contact with the landscape,

– in which direction the water surface will be oriented,

– which parts of the wellness programme should take advantage of the panoramic view and which, on the other hand, need a greater degree of privacy,

– how the wellness area will connect with the hotel rooms, the exterior and the surrounding landscape,

– how the individual areas will gradually open up to the guest during their stay.

A well-thought-out wellness design therefore does not begin with the selection of a specific sauna or a decision on pool technology. Its foundations are laid during the creation of the urban and architectural concept of the entire resort.

Landscape as one of the materials of architecture

In a panoramic wellness centre, the view is not just a pleasant consequence of the use of large windows. It can become a fully-fledged part of the composition, much like light, water or the materials used.

The architect works with the mountain horizon, the view of the valley, the coast, the forest or the body of water, and determines at what point, from what place and in what way the guest will see the surrounding environment.

An example of this approach is the Hotel Milla Montis in the Dolomites. The view of the mountain panorama here is not reserved solely for the hotel rooms. The bar, restaurant and spa also face it. Studio Peter Pichler Architecture describes the individual views of the surrounding landscape as paintings that are framed by the architecture.

The building itself thus does not seek to create another attraction in front of the landscape. On the contrary, its task is to allow the landscape itself to become the main visual experience.

The view is not just an aesthetic added value

This approach is also supported by environmental psychology.

A meta-analysis published in 2025 evaluated the results of 28 studies that examined the effects of views of nature through windows. Overall, the results showed a positive relationship with wellbeing, including lower levels of stress, a more positive emotional state and some favourable physiological indicators. At the same time, the authors point out that the magnitude of these effects varied significantly between studies.

However, it is the principle itself that is most important for wellness design. If a spa is to help guests slow down, reduce the number of stimuli in their surroundings and create an environment conducive to regeneration, contact with nature can be one of the tools that contributes to this goal.

Panoramic glazing therefore does not have to function solely as a striking design feature. It can become a functional part of the entire wellness experience.

The swimming pool as a visual connection with the horizon

One of the most striking elements that can be used in a panoramic wellness centre is water.

Its ability to reflect the surrounding environment, the sky and light makes it possible to create a relationship between architecture and landscape in a way that is difficult to achieve with other materials.

A striking example is the Hotel Hubertus in South Tyrol. When the resort was being extended, Studio NOA designed a 25-metre-long swimming pool jutting out over the valley, which also connects the original and new parts of the hotel. Thanks to its concealed edges and dark cladding, the water surface gives the impression of continuing directly into the surrounding landscape. The glass front further enhances this feeling of openness.

Here, the pool is not an element added to the architecture.

It is an integral part of it in terms of construction, layout and the resulting visual impact. This principle was even more evident in the next phase of the same resort – the Hub of Huts wellness centre. The new platform is suspended approximately 15 metres above the surrounding terrain, and the saunas, whirlpools, swimming pool and relaxation areas are arranged in such a way as to offer guests different views of the mountains. The different orientation of the individual volumes allows the surrounding landscape to be viewed through 360°.

The panorama here is therefore not just an addition to the wellness programme. It is one of the main factors that determine its layout.

Above all, an infinity pool must respect its specific location

In recent years, the infinity pool has become almost a symbol of luxury resorts. However, the mere implementation of an infinity edge does not in itself create a panoramic wellness experience.

The way in which the water surface, the surrounding horizon and the position of the person interact with each other is crucial. The negative-edge achieves its strongest visual effect when it naturally follows the composition of the surrounding landscape – for example, the line of the sea, a mountain ridge or a distant valley.

The Mohr Life Resort in Lermoos, Austria, illustrates this principle well. The new wellness centre, covering an area of approximately 600 m², faces the Zugspitze massif. The pool runs along the entire glass façade and its water surface reflects the mountain in front of the building. At the same time, the reflective façade mirrors the surrounding environment and reduces the visual dominance of the building itself.

Here, the water surface almost takes on the role of another architectural surface. In a single image, it connects the interior, the façade and the distant horizon.

The panoramic concept does not mean glazing everything completely

This is where a certain paradox arises.

The more attractive the surrounding view, the stronger the desire to open up all spaces with floor-to-ceiling glazing. At the same time, however, a wellness facility needs to work with an alternation of open and more intimate spaces.

A panoramic pool can offer an unobstructed view of a wide horizon, while a sauna will only make use of a narrow, precisely framed view. The relaxation area can be completely open towards the valley, while the relaxation room intended for use after a sauna session can work with an almost enclosed environment and subdued lighting.

The relaxation zone uses the view differently from the pool

It is also important to take into account the different uses of the panorama when designing the layout in detail.

This is because each part of the wellness centre uses the view in a different way.

When in the pool, the guest watches the landscape in motion and his eyes are relatively low above the water surface. On a relaxation lounger, on the other hand, they can remain in practically the same position for dozens of minutes. In the sauna, the position of the eyes is affected by the height of the individual benches, and a guest sitting in the whirlpool has a completely different viewing height.

When designing, it is therefore not enough to check the view only from the perspective of a standing person. It is necessary to take into account at least the viewing height of a swimmer, a seated person, a lying guest and also a person sitting on the upper and lower benches in the sauna.

It is only on the basis of these viewing levels that the height of the parapets, the position of the infinity edge, the size of the glazed areas or the arrangement of the relaxation loungers can be correctly designed.

Even a difference of a few dozen centimetres can determine whether the guest will have an unobstructed mountain panorama in front of them, or mainly the railing of the terrace. In this respect, architectural detail can be very uncompromising.

The wellness centre can change the way the entire resort is oriented

Panoramic wellness facilities can also play a specific role in the renovation of hotel buildings.

In some cases, a newly built wellness centre can change the entire way in which a resort interacts with its surroundings.

When the Olympic Spa Hotel in the Dolomites was being extended, one of the main principles of the design was to shift the hotel’s centre of gravity away from the road and towards the rear slope, the forest and the stream. The new hotel rooms and sauna were therefore oriented towards the landscape. Wellness thus became part of a broader change in the hotel’s relationship with its location.

A similar approach can also be used for older resorts, whose historical orientation and main façade were determined primarily by the access road to the hotel, parking areas or surrounding roads.

A newly designed wellness centre can give such a hotel a second face – this time facing the countryside.

Architecturally distinctive wellness facilities can strengthen the identity of a resort

In the field of luxury hospitality, wellness can play another important role. It can create a distinctive and easily recognisable element that guests will associate with the entire resort.

In essence, there are two different concepts:

– wellness as a distinctive landmark,

– wellness as an almost invisible part of the surrounding landscape.

Neither of these approaches is automatically better than the other. The appropriate solution always depends on the character of the location, the resort itself and its brand.

An urban boutique hotel may need a distinctive rooftop pool to serve as its hallmark. Conversely, a mountain eco-resort may benefit more from architecture that almost blends into the surrounding landscape.

Investing in high-quality wellness also has economic implications

Of course, even a very high-quality architectural design does not automatically guarantee a return on investment. However, current data help to clarify why wellness is becoming increasingly prominent in development and hotel projects.

According to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness tourism was worth approximately $894 billion in 2024. At the same time, international wellness tourists spent an average of 38% more than other international tourists.

CBRE states that, in the luxury hotels analysed, in-house spa operations accounted for an average of 4.2% of total hotel revenues in 2024. In the case of resorts, the figure was 3.5%. At the same time, however, CBRE points out that the resulting financial performance depends significantly on the operating model, capacity utilisation, the structure of the services offered and the associated costs. The mere presence of a spa does not, therefore, in itself guarantee that the operation will be profitable. This is where high-quality architecture can play an important role.

If a wellness facility can offer an experience that a guest won’t find in the other ten hotels in the area, it ceases to function merely as a mandatory item of hotel equipment. It can become one of the main reasons why a guest chooses a particular resort.

What needs to be addressed in the initial study

The design of a panoramic wellness facility is usually more demanding than that of a conventional spa located inside a building. Extensive glazing, pool technology, open terrain and, in many cases, also challenging mountain climatic conditions create a number of potential conflicts that should be addressed at the very start of the project.

Together with the designers and the wellness specialist, the architect should, during the study phase, examine, above all, the orientation of the building to the cardinal points and the path of sunlight, the risk of overheating in the summer months and glare, condensation on glazed structures, the thermal-technical solution for the pool hall, airflow near the façades, acoustic conditions, the degree of privacy for guests, service routes and the connection of the technical facilities to the pools and saunas.

In addition, outdoor panoramic areas must take into account wind, rain, snow and frost. The project should therefore not reach the stage where a perfect visualisation of the infinity pool is prepared, but only subsequently is a place sought for the storage tank, the plant room or the air-conditioning system.

Pool and wellness technologies must be coordinated with the architecture from the earliest stages of the project.

Landscape design doesn’t end at the pool

No less important is the way in which the wellness facility connects with the outdoor environment. In the case of a panoramic resort, the garden, terrace, pool and building itself should not be created as four separate projects that are only linked together shortly before completion.

For similar projects, it therefore makes sense to coordinate the architecture of the building, the landscape design, the pool design, the wellness technology and the lighting right from the outset.

If each of these elements is designed separately, the result may be a hotel with a high-quality swimming pool. However, if they are created together, the possibility of creating a truly integrated resort space opens up.

The panorama as part of the resort’s value

Panoramic wellness cannot be reduced merely to the trend of large-format glazing and infinity pools. In fact, it reflects a more profound change in how hotels and resorts approach the very role of wellness.

What was originally an isolated hotel service becomes an experience in which architecture, water, light, the surrounding landscape and the way in which the guest moves through the individual spaces are all linked.

For the architect, this means taking the view into account when designing the structure of the building and its layout. The developer should view wellness as one of the important components of the hotel product, not as a facility that can be added to the project at the final stage.

For hoteliers, a well-designed panoramic wellness centre can represent something that competitors can only imitate with great difficulty – an experience that is inextricably linked to a specific location.

A competing resort can build a similar sauna, use similar stone or install the same type of pool.

However, it cannot create the same view.