Riders Hotel: The green hotel is now also open in summer

Since 2001, the Riders Hotel has been one of the most important winter hotspots in LAAX. Like no other place in the destination, the sports, music, and art scenes come together here and blend into a colorful cultural mix. However, the minimalist yet stylish interior, the restaurant with its sophisticated vegetarian menus, and the cozy lobby have been reserved for winter guests until now. From Friday, June 26, 2020, the Riders Hotel will enter a new era and welcome guests for the first time in summer.

"We are looking forward to balmy summer evenings on the sun terrace with delicious vegetarian bistro fare. But we are also looking forward to creative tinkering in the bike workshop set up especially for our guests. Overall, we are delighted to finally be able to welcome guests in the summer," says hotel manager Roger Heid.

The Riders Hotel becomes a bike hotel

Whether on a snowboard, skis, or mountain bike, everyone gets into the flow in LAAX. The dynamic yet relaxed atmosphere of the destination is contagious. And that's exactly how the Riders Hotel presents itself. The opening for mountain bikers and the addition of infrastructure is therefore a logical conclusion. With bike washing stations, repair service, attractive conditions for rentals at LAAX Rental, and secure storage facilities for two-wheelers, the Riders Hotel leaves nothing to be desired this summer. Added to this is the ideal location: the valley station of the cable car to Crap Sogn Gion is just around the corner, and the shuttle bus to Nagens, where a new trail awaits from the end of July, stops right outside the front door. This makes it easy to explore the destination's 330-kilometer network of bike trails.

A green future thanks to Greenstyle

And to preserve the surrounding nature, the Riders Hotel is an important part of the Weisse Arena Group's Greenstyle concept. Greenstyle is the Weisse Arena Group's response to the global challenges of climate change and species loss. Two strategies are being pursued: on the one hand, existing structures are to be improved, and on the other, new structures are to be designed as sustainably as possible. In line with these principles, the flat roof of the Riders Hotel was renovated in a pilot project for dual use.

Vertical solar power system with green roof

When it opened in 2001, the Riders Hotel was the first design hotel in the Alps to be built to the Minergie standard. A good 19 years later, the existing flat roof needs to be renovated. And not just for protection, but also to promote climate protection and biodiversity as much as possible. In keeping with the motto of artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who once said: "Man must give back to nature on the roofs what he has taken from her below when building houses." An innovative pilot project with a dual purpose was developed and implemented on the previously unused roof. Firstly, after renovation, it was to provide a habitat for insects and birds in the form of a green roof. Furthermore, the roof was also to contribute to climate-friendly, renewable solar power production.

Since electricity demand is higher in winter and conventional photovoltaic systems are often covered with snow, a vertical photovoltaic solution was the obvious choice. In collaboration with Solarspar, Solpic, and Zinco, one of the first vertically mounted, bifacial solar power systems was created, combined with a green roof. Bifacial modules use solar radiation on both sides. Thanks to the snow in winter, the high reflectivity improves the yield. The system produces around 40,000 kWh of electricity per year. This corresponds to around 22% of the hotel's total energy requirements. The remaining energy is covered by electricity from hydropower.

monitoring

The daily output and energy yield of the system can be viewedhereby interested parties. The system efficiency is also indicated in kilograms of CO2 emissions saved, as well as in the equivalent number of trees planted.