Step inside and if you listen closely, you can hear it—the clink of glass, the shake of ice, the bursts of laughter, the roar of celebration. It’s a cacophony of cocktails…at one time a Strauss waltz, another a Herrmann score. Even if you wanted to resist it, the pull is too strong.
From the over-the-top opulence of the historic to the sleek and chic of the contemporary, hotel bars are magnetic. They attract out-of-towners and in-towners, haters and lovers, strangers and friends – all sharing secrets and stories over a masterfully made Martini!
This year, in association with Altamura Distilleries, I’ll be exploring some of the world’s most legendary bars—uncovering what makes them the beating heart of the hotel.
Our next stop is Corvara!
La Perla
It’s no surprise this small, sumptuous hotel is called La Perla. Pearls worn close to the heart, reveal their natural luster. Like every pearl, this one was formed by a precious speck of sand – its bar, the true heart of the hotel.
Founders Ernesto and Anni Costa inherently understood that a great bar makes a great hotel. When they opened La Perla in 1956, the bar was built even before the restaurant. That original bar still anchors the hotel, inviting one and all to partake in the party that is the Bistrot Music Club & Bar.
Working as both a plumber and ski instructor in Corvara, one of the cosy villages that dot Northern Italy’s famous South Tyrolean mountain range, Ernesto watched the Dolomites becoming more and more popular as a ski destination. Instrumental in building the town’s first ski lift in 1947, he knew those seeking to schuss would need sustenance and shelter, plus a few Sidecars after the cable cars closed for the evening.
So less than a decade later, he built a home for himself, adding a few additional apartments upstairs for those who’d braved the trip. Those few rooms grew into what is now La Perla or, as those in the know call it, La Casa Costa.
Friends and guests alike had an open invitation to be serenaded by Ernesto and his band downstairs in the bar. Their philosophy was that hospitality should be about having a great time and that welcome extended to not only hotel guests but to anyone who wanted to join in.
As soon as you walk into the hotel, it’s hard not to be pulled into La Perla’s iconic Bistrot Music Club & Bar. The doors are always open, and the bar’s circular design is key to its success. Conversations strike up spontaneously between not only those next to each other, but also across the bar, as passionate bartenders slalom past playful parley all night.
The Hotel La Perla bar is the heart of the house: a meeting point for guests and the local community. The atmosphere, enlivened by live music, creates a relaxed and fun environment, ideal for aperitifs and after-dinner drinks accompanied by classic cocktails. Fun, comfort, and taste are its essence. Michele Albertelli, General Manager
Then there’s the music, which was so important to Ernesto, adding that something special. Every night brings live music – different musicians, different styles – so no night is ever the same. Locals pop in to see if their favorites have returned. Even now, 95-year-old Ernesto often sits with his Anni at the bar, catching a tune or two.
Still family run, each of their sons has had a hand in reshaping the current hotel. Mathias oversees day-to-day operations, receiving guests as they arrive.
Le Murin, their dedicated après-ski bar sitting right outside the hotel entrance was the brainchild of Maximilian, who sampled Europe’s best après-ski spots in order to develop the best of the best.
The third son, Michil, recognized that a cocktail revolution was underway and set about bringing La Perla into the future, rethinking their entire bar experience including the glassware, ice, and most importantly the cocktails. His direction was to concentrate on the classics. Guests were to drink the best Martinis and Manhattans of their lives with no frills or furbelows.
On hand to lead the charge are the dynamic duo of Giulio Pagani and Mario Gambino. Originally from Le Marche region of Italy, Giulio arrived at La Perla seven years ago with a passion for mixology, born from watching the barmen before him.
The Bistrot Music Club, together with its bar, is the true heart of the hotel. We don’t just serve cocktails – we aim to make you feel the warmth and welcome that only home can offer. Giulio Pagani, Barman
Mario Gambino, a transplant from Sicily, joined Giulio just three years ago. Starting his career at a smaller hotel, he used to visit the Bistrot Music Club & Bar as a guest, longing to work there one day, entranced by La Perla’s “great music, and great cocktails.”
The bar is the heart of the hotel because it reflects the soul of Casa Costa: a harmonious balance of elegance, warmth, tradition, and innovation. Mario Gambino, Barman
Now like the Costa brothers, they work as a team, upholding the direction of the new menu they created, with an approach they like to call “evolving tradition” or innovation without destruction.
Journey Through Time explores the dilemma that both travelers and cocktail lovers share – the pull to discover something new or relive what has already been experienced. As the menu asks: “Will you revisit the past and uncover cocktails unfairly forgotten..or perhaps even step into eternity with timeless classics reimagined?”
The menu is divided into categories – Past, Present, Future and Eternity. The Past is made of pre-Prohibition cocktails you might not be so familiar with. The Lucien Gaudin is represented, named for the 1920’s French Olympic medal-winning fencer with its mix of London Dry Gin, red and dry Vermouth, Triple Sec, and Campari. The Tipperary also makes the list. Prepared here with Irish whiskey, red vermouth, Green Chartreuse, and a dash or two of Angostura bitters, this cocktail appears in Harry MacElhone’s 1922 ABC of Mixing Cocktails as well as Harry Craddock’s famous The Savoy Cocktail Book!
Leading the Future is the tantalizing Melinda, a perfect expression of their forward-thinking philosophy. The traditional Paloma is a simple mix of grapefruit soda and tequila. Mario and Giulio make their own soda, keeping tequila as the base and combining it with homemade ginger syrup, citric acid, and Melinda apples. A nod to this area of Italy being the largest apple-producing region in Europe, with Melinda and Marlene apples the most prevalent varieties.
Eternity pays reverence to the classics. The Martini Casa Costa made with their own signature La Perla gin distilled in Milan or Puglia’s Altamura Distilleries Vodka is as clear and crystal as the icicles outside. Their Aged Negroni begins with Campari and gin, and then surprises with four different types of vermouth aged in a barrel for two months.
The Present is a nod to seasonality. Don’t expect to find the strawberries in your Pimm’s Cup. In inclement weather, clementines will greet you instead. The Rocky Balboa is a blend of bourbon, sugar and the wintery pear. Likewise, forget that orange garnish in your Old Fashioned after a long summer’s hike. No one has complained so far.
The proceeds of a few items on both the drinks and food menu go directly to the family’s own charity, the Costa Family Foundation, which has supported over 56 projects worldwide since 2007. The Safe Zone cocktail is one of those. Either served alcohol-free or with Altamura Distilleries vodka, it’s their Moscow Mule made with homemade ginger beer and jasmine.
As Giulio and Mario say “Whichever path you choose, either discover or relive, you’ll taste the spirit of our casa: warm hospitality, refined elegance, and enjoy a touch of creative audacity.”
Creative audacity is what Ernesto and Anni possessed from the beginning – building a ski lift where there was none, growing La Perla from a few apartments atop their home, and creating a space where music plays, songs are sung, and the sound of Vives! can be heard (cheers in Ladino, the local lingo) above the clink of cocktail glasses.
This spirit not only permeates the bar, but fills La Perla. It was never clearer than when Giulio and Marco emerged from behind the bar, grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the make-shift dance floor in the middle of the bar saying, “You know you asked me why I think the bar is the heart of the hotel…well, this is it!”
A point of gravity, shaped in a circle, that draws you in and makes it hard to leave. A place where, whether you arrive alone or with others, you naturally become part of the atmosphere. Resistance is futile: you let yourself be guided by Giulio and Mario, by the music that invites you to sing and dance, by the smiles exchanged with the person sitting opposite you. The bar at Hotel La Perla is a round table. Here, you are never alone. Here, you meet many people – and perhaps, you come to know yourself a little better too. Marlene Zanotti, Marketing Manager
La Perla Team
