Dolce Vita Hotel Preidlhof — Hotel in Burggrafenamt - Burgraviato

On friends’ recommendation, we spent the week between Christmas and New Year here. It was the perfect getaway at the end of the year, time to recharge and clear our minds.||||The complex is big and modern, clean and appealing. Every room has a dedicated parking space in the underground garage, the welcome is very friendly, and the check-in was simple and quick. During our stay, the reception staff wasn’t always the brightest and along with misleading or missing signposts made us miss some of the wellness activity on offer.||||But all in all, everyone was friendly and welcoming, without being too stiff. We did feel at ease always.||||Since this is a 5-star place, the expectations were high. And for the most part, those expectations have been met. However, it’s especially in the details that these places set themselves apart from other, lower rated accommodation. I would have loved to make this a 5-star review for a 5-star hotel and restaurant, but unfortunately it was especially the details that sometimes disappointed.||||Would we stay here again though? Yes, absolutely. But a 4-night stay might be enough next time.||||||||The Room||||Well designed and modern, our room felt slightly bigger than the pictures made it seem. Spotlessly clean on arrival and just very inviting. Really big balcony/terrace with news views across the valley and town.||||There’s some really nice and convenient touches to be found … The TV can be swivelled to allow viewing from bed. A convenient master switch for all the lights in the bed’s headboard. Recessed / hidden lighting. Super big walk-in shower with both handheld and rain shower, and clever mood lighting.||The rooms are really well sound-proofed. No noise whatsoever from the outside or, more importantly perhaps, from the neighbouring rooms or the hall.||||But also a few oversights that tarnished the 5-star claim: cheap kettle with lid almost falling off, wonky toilet flush button. And the aforementioned master switch in the headboard also turns off the power sockets where the phones were plugged in – not so convenient after all.||The daily room cleaning was generally very good, but they could spend more time on the details – hair dryer left lying around, used-up tea lights only replaced when positioned in plain sight, some rubbish and no longer required trays not removed.||||||||The Restaurant / The Food||||Really nice restaurant space, no matter what time of day. Buffet selection as well as served plates were always beautifully presented.||||The breakfast buffet was plentiful, huge selection of bread and rolls, as well as typical and local topping. Good selection of juices, yoghurts, sweet treats. The omelette was quickly prepared to order and always perfect. Generally hard to find a fault in the breakfast menu.||||The dinner menu consisted of around 5 to 10 courses, most days with up to 3 selections for each course and some courses (like salad and cheese) being offered as a buffet. The buffet selection was always really good and one could have easily filled up on that alone.||||However, there were a few let-downs.||The menu description sometimes seemed to omit important ingredients: one dessert came with loads of nuts, no problem for us, but nuts weren’t mentioned anywhere in the menu. Another anticipated course arrived in front of me to reveals more seafood than I had ever wanted. I didn’t expect crab or prawn and I do not like it, so I would have appreciated those things listed on the menu (and picked another option).||And since when does Eggs Benedict come with beef tatare and spinach?||Portion sizes sometimes seemed a bit random. We Schnitzel as an alternative to the menu options maybe three times in total, and the size of that things kept getting bigger and bigger.||||The restaurant staff was very friendly and for the most part very attentive. Shout out to Eveline during dinner time, she made wait times a bliss and seemed to remember the particulars of each table she was waiting. The one night she wasn’t on duty, everyone seemed super confused and lost – food took ages to arrive, courses or orders got mixed up, no-one asked for more drinks when empty glasses were sitting on the table for an hour, and then drinks took forever to be served. It’s a shame this happened on the last 2 nights, but maybe also fortunate that the holiday experience didn’t start this way.||||||||The Spa and wellness area||||Many, many saunas and several different pools. Everything very well maintained, spotlessly clean and just a pleasure to use. One of the main reasons for us to go here and we weren’t disappointed in the slightest.||Regular infusions in the saunas as well as scrubs in the steam room were good fun and well executed. Massage treatments were a bliss.||It’s perfect for clearing your head and recharge those...

Highly recommend, especially if you are looking to heal. If I could give 10 stars, I would. I arrived extremely sick from Covid vaccine related issues and did the 10-day Integrated Wellness Retreat lead by Dr. Angerer. Wow! What a difference 10 days can make! After nearly 2 years of feeling (and looking) crappy, and seeing 50+ doctors, dermatologists, gastro specialists, and even therapists around the world, I finally feel (and look) better! I’m running again and climbing rock walls?!

Preidlhof’s holistic approach to wellness has been the key to my miraculous recovery progress. Their Wellness Menu features gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free food that tastes amazing thanks to Chef Angelo and his talented kitchen team. The restaurant, managed by the accomplished Matteo, should be on the list to receive a Michelin star - it exceeds the few I’ve been to in both taste and presentation! If you are lucky, you might have the vivacious Simona as your waitress - bringing extra joy to every meal. The MedSpa team, led by fabulous Alessandra and Sabrina, is world-class and features a personalized and holistic approach to healing. The sauna tower is unlike anything I’ve seen before - be sure to catch Nadine in the Aufguss or join her for one of her fun fitness classes including my favorite: Aqua Gym! They have a thermal pool, rock climbing wall, and tons of events and activities to keep you entertained and fit. Or you can just relax and eat amazing cuisine - made to order with exceptional skill.

My tummy has gone from looking 6-months pregnant with bloating to being flat as pancake! My skin is glowing, my nails are growing and I am sleeping through the night for the first time in 10 years! I feel so blessed to have found this very special place. I plan on making this an annual event as it truly has changed my life.

Now let’s talk about the property: exquisite. (Shout out to the hardest working landscapers on the planet!). From the rose gardens and lemon trees that line the perimeter, to the apple orchards out front, to the floral gardens - all nestled in snow-capped mountain ranges: it’s simply breathtaking. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the flock of sheep (and the cutest little baby lambs!) neighboring the hotel! Oh my word! Wake up to church bells and bird songs, and end the evening with a phenomenal dirty martini from Katarina in the bar with love music and dancing!

PS: it’s an adult-only resort, making it even more relaxing!! Leave your kids, and your worries behind and come join me and the Preidlhof...

The wellness journalist who hailed Preidlhof as being the closest thing in Europe to an Ashram, has clearly had no experience of a real Ashram. And the travel agents plugging this place as a safe haven to heal and recover from trauma would do well to fully grasp the profound implications of trauma and it's very specific needs before casting it's customer into the pitifully unprofessional and unorthodox hands of the core members of the Spa team at Preidlhof. They are nothing less than Charlatans. The leading 'guru' of the pack began my first (and last - there was no way I was going to give this person a second chance) session by speaking for more than half an hour about his own pain and misery. Any attempts made on my behalf to speak of my own issues were immediately blocked by "at least you don't have..." The second so-called body worker I was assigned to turned out to be both highly unorthodox and unprofessional. I made formal complaints about this person too via the travel agency with whom I had booked, and was reimbursed 50% of the cost of my spa program. Preidlhof negates this as being any sign of admittance of any misconduct on their behalf. In addition to the tragic, traumatising experience I had at Preidlhof, this wellness hotel, set in a beautiful natural environment, allows it's guests to smoke both by the pools and on bedroom balconies. The stench of smoke from my chain-smoking neighbours was so over-powering, it meant I was never able to enjoy sitting on my own balcony during the entire 2 week stay. Meanwhile, they insist that the eggs they feed you at breakfast are reportedly locally sourced, and free range. In reality, the accutely visible European coding on the uncooked eggs piled up in a basket on the cooking counter screamed quite the contrary. This is a place interested only in pandering to the whims of individuals who are ostensibly blinded by an overdose of their...