The 76-key Corso Italia hotel will bring Zuma Cortina, Velo and a 1,000 sq m REVĪVŌ wellness facility to the Dolomites as The First brand expands beyond Rome.
A rendering of a junior suite at The First Cortina, the 76-key hotel scheduled to open on Corso Italia in Cortina d'Ampezzo on 4 December 2026.
- The First Cortina is scheduled to open on 4 December 2026 with 76 rooms and suites on Corso Italia in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
- The hotel will combine Zuma Cortina and a second Velo pasticceria with a 1,000 sq m REVĪVŌ wellness facility incorporating Starpool recovery technology.
- The opening extends The First luxury brand beyond its existing Rome hotels and forms part of The Pavilions Group's three-brand strategy alongside The Pavilions and REVĪVŌ Wellness.
- Current plans are larger and later than those announced in 2024, when the project was described as a 63-room hotel expected to open in late 2025.
(NEWS) CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Veneto, Italy, 2026-Sep-03 — /Travel PR News/ — The First Cortina is scheduled to open on 4 December 2026, bringing a 76-key luxury hotel to Corso Italia in the centre of Cortina d’Ampezzo and extending The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts‘ The First brand beyond its established base in Rome.
The opening is more than a new address for the Dolomites resort. For the Hong Kong-headquartered hospitality group, Cortina is being used to bring together three strands of its wider portfolio strategy: The First as its contemporary luxury hotel brand, The Pavilions as its upper-upscale experiential collection, and REVĪVŌ Wellness as its specialist wellness and longevity platform.
The current project is also notably different from the version first outlined publicly in 2024. Earlier plans described a 63-room hotel expected to open in late 2025. The latest scheme has grown to 76 rooms and suites and now has a firm December 2026 opening date, illustrating how the development has evolved in both scale and timing.
A luxury hotel built around dining and wellness
According to details released by the group, the hotel will pair Zuma Cortina with a second outpost of the Velo pasticceria concept, which first appeared at The First Dolce in Rome. The combination is intended to make dining a significant part of the property’s identity rather than a secondary hotel amenity.
Wellness will occupy an equally prominent position. The hotel is planned with around 1,000 sq m of REVĪVŌ spa and wellness space, extending a brand that has until now been most closely associated with REVĪVŌ Wellness Resort in Bali and a smaller spa presence at Château de Fiac in France.
The hotel’s current wellness programme combines REVĪVŌ treatments, yoga, fitness and thermal facilities with technology from Starpool, including the Zerobody Dry Float system. The group says the facilities are being designed around recovery and relaxation as well as conventional spa treatments, giving the property a year-round wellness proposition rather than one tied only to the winter ski season.
A central Cortina address with year-round ambitions
The First Cortina is located at Corso Italia 209, placing it on the resort’s principal central street. The property was designed by Studio Marincola Architects, and the hotel’s current accommodation information describes 76 rooms and suites using natural materials, contemporary Italian design and large windows, balconies or terraces intended to connect the interiors with the surrounding mountain landscape.
The hotel’s official travel information puts Venice Marco Polo Airport about 150 km away by road, with a journey time of roughly two hours, while Treviso Canova Airport is around 140 km away. Calalzo di Cadore, the nearest rail station listed by the hotel, is approximately 37 km from Cortina and can be connected by bus or taxi.
That accessibility matters because the property is being positioned for more than traditional ski holidays. The Pavilions describes The First Cortina as a year-round mountain hotel, combining winter access with the hiking, climbing and mountain-biking appeal of the Dolomites outside the snow season.
The First brand moves beyond Rome
The Cortina opening extends a brand that currently includes The First Arte, The First Dolce and The First Musica in Rome. It also gives The Pavilions Group another European property through which to combine its hotel, dining and wellness concepts in a single destination.
Gordon Oldham, founder of The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts, said the group wants its hotels to retain a strong connection to their surroundings, while Florence Wong, Chief Executive Officer, described The First, The Pavilions and REVĪVŌ as three separate platforms through which the company can pursue future growth across different destinations and market segments.
The group says it continues to look for ownership, management and franchise opportunities across Europe and Asia. Its current portfolio spans 13 hotels and resorts across eight countries, including properties in Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Mongolia.
Opening offer starts at EUR 663 per night
Bookings are already open for stays from 4 December. The group’s Cortina Premiere opening offer starts from EUR 663, approximately GBP 568, per night for two adults sharing and includes 15% off accommodation, daily breakfast and afternoon tea at Velo.
The offer is available for bookings made by 31 October 2026 and requires a minimum three-night stay. Eligible stay dates are 4-20 December 2026 and 7 January-3 April 2027, subject to availability and the published terms.
For travellers, the December opening adds another high-end option in one of the Dolomites’ best-known resort towns. For The Pavilions Group, its significance is broader: The First Cortina becomes the clearest demonstration so far of how the company intends to combine its luxury, dining and wellness businesses as it expands beyond the markets where those concepts were originally developed.
