My Arbor - Dolomites — Hotel in Eisacktal - Valle Isarco

Our first visit to MyArbor was June of 2025. Hopefully, that will be the first of many visits to this fabulous property.||We have visited 10 different European “Spa Resorts” in Germany, Austria and Italy. MyArbor is our very favorite.||It is stunning architecturally. The remote hillside setting is fabulous with a great view of the town below and the hills. The facilities are extraordinary and the service impeccable. The clientele are mostly couples of all age groups. MyArbor is adults-only with no guests under 18. Every single staff member we encountered spoke English fluently. Signage is great as well.||We took a taxi form the Bressanone train station to MyArbor. It was a winding road and almost 60 Euros. So going into town for a change of restaurant was going to be pricey. However, dining at MyArbor was extraordinary and we felt no desire to leave.||On arrival, we were met by a very professional staff member who escorted us to a fabulous veranda overlooking the valley and provided a snack and a terrific welcoming drink.||We were then escorted to our room facing the mountains. The room was a “Nest Suite” and was large, spotless, and attractively appointed. A “Nest” sitting area in the window faced the mountains and provided a great sitting, reading, napping alternative. A balcony provided private outdoor seating. The room was very private; we never closed the curtains. ||MyArbor gets our 5-star award for “Best Robes”. Two different color, plush, hooded robes were great for in-room and Spa visits.||The property is adjacent to the Plose Mountain ski area. Once we found the proper walking path to the tram station, we went to the top and spent a few hours hiking. The views were breath-taking. The trails are well-maintained and water and resting spots are along the trails. One caution is that “Easy, Family Trail” can be misleading. ||We had the half-Board plan and that was a great decision. Each day started with a wonderful breakfast with the big European buffet and egg dishes prepared to order. One of us has a food allergy and we never had to ask or remind anyone. Once told.no problem. Staff communication is clearly very good. We had the same table each day with the same staff in attendance. ||At breakfast each day, we received a menu that foretold the dinner choices each evening. Dinner was a seven-course meal with recommended wines. Clearly this is 5-star cuisine and service. Each course was wonderful with different main course choices. The Sommelier was gracious and on point with all of his recommendations. ||We were on our “Great Euro Spa Tour 2.0” and the spa/sauna was simply fabulous. The clothed pool area and a sauna are on the -1 floor and the textile-frei sauna area is on -2. Elevators and stairs lead directly to the spa. Each floor opens to the outdoors and grassy areas. Large relaxation areas with large loungers are plentiful indoors and outdoors. || A large steam (Dampfbad) is indoors along with other sauna varieties. A courtyard leads to the Panoramic sauna for Aufguss sessions. A program of different offerings includes different sauna heat levels. At the conclusion of each session, fresh chilled fruit is presented. Sauna Meister Kiki led a small group on a morning dewy grass walk, meditation, tai chi session ending with a mild sauna infusion. It was a fabulous experience. We did it twice.||The Aufguss sessions were extraordinary led by Manuel and Kiki and Roland with infusions of citrus and herbs onto the heated rocks. The presentation is impressive. Clearly the MyArbor guests during our stay were experienced sauna enthusiasts. The Aufguss sessions were well-attended, by European couples and singles, but the large sauna complex never felt crowded. ||A very large outdoor infinity Whirlpool and a very large, walk-in Ice Plunge are in the courtyard. Large stacks of fluffy white towels are plentiful.||We enjoyed every moment of our MyArbor experience and look forward to return visits on our next...

Overall Housekeeping: 5 Wellness: 5 Service: 4 Food: 4

Housekeeping The housekeeping staff was absolutely the most impressive part of our stay. The room was always spotless - the staff constantly went above and beyond our expectations. Refilling the minibar, cleaning the balcony, folding laundry - fast, invisible, and nearly always flawless. Although they often seemed sad when meeting them in the hallways, these people were the backbone of our experience at My Arbor. I can only hope management treats them as well as they treated us. Without the housekeeping staff, this review would be a star lower.

Food The dining experience was the biggest misalignment of expectations on our visit. It’s clear that a great deal of effort goes into the planning and execution of meals at the hotel, but the staff lack the experience (or maybe the incentive) to deliver on all the promises they make.

Although the quality of ingredients is fantastic (many are local to the region), they’re wielded with a kind of thoughtless nonchalance that was often disappointing. Food would arrive at the table unsalted and unseasoned, and the rusted-shut salt and pepper shakers required a pipe wrench to operate. Plain flavors dominated the menu every night. “Nut foam” was ubiquitous. Potatoes, meat and other hearty yet bland fare filled out the cast of culinary characters. Tomatoes, spices, and acid were barely in attendance.

To be fair, the hotel is wellness-focused and many seasonings and strong flavors are incompatible with some medical needs, so I understand if this is their general rationale for the menu. However, I still think a few options for those with punchier appetites could be accommodated.

Service Regarding dinner service, the front of house in particular needs leadership - orders were regularly misunderstood, even after multiple explanations. One server was so pushy about our refusal to order alcohol (which I don’t drink) that he simply resorted to smirking and saying “really?” until we insisted that he go away. Claudiu (a server we met at breakfast once or twice) is a massive exception to this - he was professional, fast, conscientious, kind - and he deserves to be singled out for his excellent work.

Service outside of the dining room was also hit or miss. Reception staff, depending on who you get, can either be incredible or border on patronizing. One day, when we returned to our room after a walk, we found a lovely bouquet of flowers with a handwritten message about our honeymoon. I called down to reception to thank the staff, which they accepted graciously. It wasn’t until my mother sadly asked if we had received her flowers that we realized that the hotel didn’t send them at all - they had simply omitted any mention of where the flowers were from or who sent them. To be blunt, this pissed me off.

Wellness The spa experience can’t be overstated - the amenities and general ambiance of the two wellness floors was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I wasn’t a big fan of sauna before I went to My Arbor, but I get it now. Steam sauna, wood sauna, bio sauna, inside/outside pool, jets for your back and booty - what an incredible adult playground. The housekeeping and spa staff worked together flawlessly to keep the shared wellness spaces spotless and relaxing. We spent most of our time outside the room making use of their hospitality. The massages were also very good. We did have one incident where the spa forgot to bring something to our room and, when reminded, simultaneously suggested we had never asked for it in the first place and blamed it on reception. Strange, but an anomaly considering our...

Beautiful Hotel, Poor Execution – Service and Food Nowhere Near 5-Star.

We spent 8 nights at My Arbor in August for a total of around €10,000 (including €2,000 in extras for dining and spa services). Needless to say, our expectations matched the advertised standing: a five-star property, nestled in the mountains, promising comfort, fine dining, and impeccable service.

The arrival is promising: the hotel is stunning, perfectly integrated into the mountainside, with an open view over the valley. Outdoor areas are spotless, the sauna facilities are beautifully designed, and the “Sauna Infusion” sessions run by external staff are a genuinely enjoyable touch. Breakfast makes an excellent first impression: organic bread from a small local baker, fresh butter and jams, high-quality porridge. The location is ideal for hiking and mountain biking.

However, behind this beautiful façade, the experience quickly begins to crack. The most expensive suite lacks warmth and privacy: the garden looks directly onto the rooms above, the outdoor jacuzzi smells so strongly of bleach that we didn’t use it, and the absence of fixed air conditioning makes the room stifling in summer (portable units are noisy and ineffective). Indoors, the atmosphere is dark and somewhat gloomy, lacking the light and freshness you’d expect in August.

When it comes to food, the contrast is striking: while the raw products are excellent, the culinary creations fall short. Breakfast pastries and cakes are uninspired, and at lunch and dinner, the cuisine is decent but nowhere near the gastronomic standard expected at this level. Overcooked pasta, bland dishes, tiny evening portions—even when ordering double servings (which often need to be requested again because they’re forgotten or misunderstood).

Service swings between distant politeness and poor organisation. Activity and restaurant bookings are mishandled (paragliding reserved for one person instead of two, no offering of alternative for a restaurant closed on the day de wanted to visit), simple orders are executed incorrectly (two bottles of sparkling water requested, only one delivered), and there’s a constant lack of anticipation. At the restaurant, we once waited over ten minutes to order while the dining room was nearly empty, the waiter choosing instead to clean salt and pepper shakers. When pointing out that the organic bread—excellent when fresh—was not fresh that day, it was replaced… but with the kind of look that says, “you’re being difficult.”

A few other things to know: dogs are allowed in the rooms, smoking is permitted on the terrace during lunch service, and several pools are exclusively nude, which is not clearly stated at booking. The overall atmosphere is heavily German-speaking, with little Italian warmth, and English proficiency among staff is inconsistent.

In summary: My Arbor is a beautiful, clean, and well-designed hotel, ideally located with great sauna facilities and some genuinely high-quality elements at breakfast. But service lacks consistency, anticipation, and warmth, and the cuisine does not match the expectations of a five-star property—especially at this price point. With proper staff training and a genuine attention to detail, the experience could be exceptional. As it stands, the value for money is...