The history of the Art Furrer Hotels
How a crazy Swiss changed Riederalp
The history of the Art Furrer Hotels is tied to the history of a young man from Valais – Art Furrer –, who tried his luck on skis at the end of the 1950s in America. He conquered the skiing world with wild jumps and lots of fun and became known as the "crazy Swiss", the father of ski acrobatics.
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Art Furrer's first house was built at the end of the 1960s
In 1967 Art Furrer built Haus Konkordia on the plateau on the mountain. It was made up of 14 vacation condominiums which he then sold. He then proceeded to build his second house, Haus Hollandia, with 18 apartments and a restauarant. One year later he he built the Hotel Valaisia – with a swimming pool and the Tenne Restaurant. His success continued and Haus Rhodania followed with 28 suites. Today theses houses are know as Hotel Art Furrer.
Art Furrer decided to pursue a career as a hotel director. He took over the outdated Hotel Alpenrose, invested in a new kitschen,new room, and new restaurants. Later he added the Casa Arturo and the Casa Andrea as well as the spa area and another restaurant.
He even annexed the oldest hotel in the Aletsch region, the Riederfurka built in 1884.
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This century: Hotel Royal, a dream project
After inheriting a piece of land in the year 2000, Art Furrer was able to realize a dream: 2 buildings in the best location – with luxury apartments and a first-class hotel with spa area and panorama restaurant.
The 4*S Hotel Royal is the most recent project of the Art Furrer Hotels. But the vision has not come to an end...
Art Furrer is no longer an active director of the hotels. His son, Andreas Furrer, has been a part of the family business since 1989 and is following in his father's footsteps.
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