Schgaguler Hotel — Hotel in Salten-Schlern - Salto-Sciliar

We recently visited the Shcgaguler Hotel in Castelrotto, Italy after our daughter had raved about her experience there, and every aspect of our stay was superlative!||The hotel is family owned and operated and was built in 2018 on property that had been in the family for many years. The design and execution of the build was flawless. The vibe is very Scandinavian, with warm chestnut everywhere, exquisite yet very subtle lighting, poured resin flooring, and plenty of glass. Fabulous fitness center, indoor pool and spa as well as an outdoor hot-tub, saunas, etc, etc. Every inch of it was spotless, and it all felt brand new. ||Furthermore, having designed, built, and furnished a similar-vibe home in Nashville, we were keenly aware of how much was spent on the myriad of furnishings, lighting, décor, and other details … it was all top-notch and a VERY expensive renovation!||The Area: The setting in Castelrotto and surrounding villages is nothing short of spectacular. If you have never been to The Dolomites/South Tyrol, you simply MUST visit. The Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the entire area offers a quintessential Alps experience ... adorable buildings (some dating back to the 13th century), lush green fields, tinkling cow bells in every pasture, vineyards, apple orchards, and berry farms on hillsides throughout the area, rich dark forests above, and awe inspiring mountains rising in every direction. Having spent time in the Rockies, I thought I knew what mountains were, but I was fully unprepared for the breath taking scenery in every direction. THESE are mountains!||The driving is very easy and so enjoyable. We visited in mid-October, and the weather was lovely (sunny and 60s/70s) every day. The hiking experience in The Dolomites is unparalleled, and I imagine the skiing is as well. An equally important/appreciated aspect of the area is that it does not feel like a tourist destination. It clearly is, as the vast majority of buildings are small hotels and restaurants, but you don’t feel at all that you are in a tourist area. The whole area is so incredibly authentic and you feel as though you’ve stepped into The Sound Of Music (I know … Austria, not Italy)||The Food: We purchased a half board plan which included breakfast and dinner. This proved to be a perfect choice as it allowed us to fuel up in the morning, head out for a day of hiking and exploring, return to the hotel for a drink and/or some spa/hot tub time on the deck (with majestic views all around) and then enjoy THE MOST amazing dinner experience. The dining room offers floor to ceiling glass overlooking bold mountains and a quint village. The five course dinner menu was different every evening, offering several choices for each course, and the preparation, focus on local ingredients, attention to detail, and presentation was off the chart. The food was outrageous … including local porcini raviolis, Octopus ragu, exquisite home made pastas and local salads, as well as a bounty of local meat dishes for those who prefer. Each course was colorful, and indescribably delicious. Breakfasts were equally outstanding with an amazing display of fresh breads, cakes, croissants, yogurts, jams, cereals, fruits (the local strawberries are incredible) and juices. Followed by a breakfast menu including local eggs, meats and cheeses, all prepared in any way you might like. Best of all, the hotel seamlessly accommodates any dietary need/preference without so much as a blink. Our daughter can not eat gluten and my wife is vegetarian. We mentioned that once in a pre-arrival email, and without ever mentioning it again, when we sat for dinner, a plate of gluten free rolls was set in front of our daughter, and each printed menu with that night’s menu options had been curated to address their specific dietary requests. ||It felt like 9 perfect strangers in that in that every staff member knew our exact needs/requests without us ever having to mention them. The attention to detail was astounding.||The Staff: No resort/hotel can survive on aesthetics and food alone … the staff is a critical component to the experience, and here again, The Shcgaguler excelled. Every staff member was smiling, friendly, perfectly attentive without being in the way, comfortable in multiple languages, happy to converse if we wanted, and truly seemed as though they loved being there doing what they were doing. Peter the bartender is a talented mixologist and a pleasure to chat with. Sondra the sommelier/server is a hoot and so fun to have bouncing around the dining room. Literally every staff member we interacted with brought joy to our visit. A+ to The Shcgaguler for recruiting/training/retaining fantastic people to welcome us and provide an outstanding stay.||The Value: Our daughter loves to chide us that we have “Champagne Taste with a fizzy-water budget”. We paid sub-$600/night for a two bedroom/two bath family suite for three, with deck overlooking the mountains, including incredible breakfast and dinner each day for three. The only added expense we incurred was for cocktails and wine with dinner (BTW … fabulous wine list featuring some amazing South Tyrol wines … just ask Sondra :) I would challenge anyone to find a similar experience in the states for less than 2X – 3X what we paid. Even w/airfare I feel we were half the cost of comparable domestic stay.||Summary: I have exhausted all of the superlative that I know, and this hotel deserves every one. The Shcgaguler Hotel has been our most exceptional travel experience to date. The most discerning travelers will feel completely at home here, and yet the experience is available to budget conscious travelers. PLEASE consider at trip to The Dolomites in general, and The Shcgaguler Hotel in particular. I guarantee you will be equally...

We recently visited the Shcgaguler Hotel in Castelrotto, Italy after our daughter had raved about her experience there, and every aspect of our stay was superlative!||The hotel is family owned and operated and was built in 2018 on property that had been in the family for many years. The design and execution of the build was flawless. The vibe is very Scandinavian, with warm chestnut everywhere, exquisite yet very subtle lighting, poured resin flooring, and plenty of glass. Fabulous fitness center, indoor pool and spa as well as an outdoor hot-tub, saunas, etc, etc. Every inch of it was spotless, and it all felt brand new. ||Furthermore, having designed, built, and furnished a similar-vibe home in Nashville, we were keenly aware of how much was spent on the myriad of furnishings, lighting, décor, and other details … it was all top-notch and a VERY expensive renovation!||The Area: The setting in Castelrotto and surrounding villages is nothing short of spectacular. If you have never been to The Dolomites/South Tyrol, you simply MUST visit. The Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the entire area offers a quintessential Alps experience ... adorable buildings (some dating back to the 13th century), lush green fields, tinkling cow bells in every pasture, vineyards, apple orchards, and berry farms on hillsides throughout the area, rich dark forests above, and awe inspiring mountains rising in every direction. Having spent time in the Rockies, I thought I knew what mountains were, but I was fully unprepared for the breath taking scenery in every direction. THESE are mountains!||The driving is very easy and so enjoyable. We visited in mid-October, and the weather was lovely (sunny and 60s/70s) every day. The hiking experience in The Dolomites is unparalleled, and I imagine the skiing is as well. An equally important/appreciated aspect of the area is that it does not feel like a tourist destination. It clearly is, as the vast majority of buildings are small hotels and restaurants, but you don’t feel at all that you are in a tourist area. The whole area is so incredibly authentic and you feel as though you’ve stepped into The Sound Of Music (I know … Austria, not Italy)||The Food: We purchased a half board plan which included breakfast and dinner. This proved to be a perfect choice as it allowed us to fuel up in the morning, head out for a day of hiking and exploring, return to the hotel for a drink and/or some spa/hot tub time on the deck (with majestic views all around) and then enjoy THE MOST amazing dinner experience. The dining room offers floor to ceiling glass overlooking bold mountains and a quint village. The five course dinner menu was different every evening, offering several choices for each course, and the preparation, focus on local ingredients, attention to detail, and presentation was off the chart. The food was outrageous … including local porcini raviolis, Octopus ragu, exquisite home made pastas and local salads, as well as a bounty of local meat dishes for those who prefer. Each course was colorful, and indescribably delicious. Breakfasts were equally outstanding with an amazing display of fresh breads, cakes, croissants, yogurts, jams, cereals, fruits (the local strawberries are incredible) and juices. Followed by a breakfast menu including local eggs, meats and cheeses, all prepared in any way you might like. Best of all, the hotel seamlessly accommodates any dietary need/preference without so much as a blink. Our daughter can not eat gluten and my wife is vegetarian. We mentioned that once in a pre-arrival email, and without ever mentioning it again, when we sat for dinner, a plate of gluten free rolls was set in front of our daughter, and each printed menu with that night’s menu options had been curated to address their specific dietary requests. ||It felt like 9 perfect strangers in that in that every staff member knew our exact needs/requests without us ever having to mention them. The attention to detail was astounding.||The Staff: No resort/hotel can survive on aesthetics and food alone … the staff is a critical component to the experience, and here again, The Shcgaguler excelled. Every staff member was smiling, friendly, perfectly attentive without being in the way, comfortable in multiple languages, happy to converse if we wanted, and truly seemed as though they loved being there doing what they were doing. Peter the bartender is a talented mixologist and a pleasure to chat with. Sondra the sommelier/server is a hoot and so fun to have bouncing around the dining room. Literally every staff member we interacted with brought joy to our visit. A+ to The Shcgaguler for recruiting/training/retaining fantastic people to welcome us and provide an outstanding stay.||The Value: Our daughter loves to chide us that we have “Champagne Taste with a fizzy-water budget”. We paid sub-$600/night for a two bedroom/two bath family suite for three, with deck overlooking the mountains, including incredible breakfast and dinner each day for three. The only added expense we incurred was for cocktails and wine with dinner (BTW … fabulous wine list featuring some amazing South Tyrol wines … just ask Sondra :) I would challenge anyone to find a similar experience in the states for less than 2X – 3X what we paid. Even w/airfare I feel we were half the cost of comparable domestic stay.||Summary: I have exhausted all of the superlative that I know, and this hotel deserves every one. The Shcgaguler Hotel has been our most exceptional travel experience to date. The most discerning travelers will feel completely at home here, and yet the experience is available to budget conscious travelers. PLEASE consider at trip to The Dolomites in general, and The Shcgaguler Hotel in particular. I guarantee you will be equally...

I booked two rooms, a family suite and a gable suite. The family suite was great, the gable suite was not. It’s a two level room with two twin beds upstairs and a king bed downstairs — all good there. The issue was the open shower (no door) facing the stairs to the upstairs. No matter what kind of group you are sharing the space with (most likely kids), there is zero privacy. The stairs were shallow, steep and dangerous, especially for kids but really for humans of any age. The sink for this bathroom is basically in the entry of the room and is challenging to use in tandem with another person or navigate the space when someone else is using. It’s just a terrible design that necessitated people in our group showering in shifts while others waited in the lounge area of the hotel. A Gable Suite floor plan should be posted on their website and the hotel should double check that potential clients understand its design flaws. ||Another issue is the dinner. We elected half board. The dinner menu made no sense, paired ingredients that were comical and perplexing; risotto with candied orange, juice as a first course — yes, juice like you would have in the morning, salad swimming in yogurt, calamari with Mexican beans, green goop they said was avocado but as someone from California I can tell you it was not an avocado or avocado product. On our last night we discovered a vegetarian or pescatarian menu was possible but we would have had to give the kitchen advance notice. Wish the hotel had communicated this to me. ||Ok, a high point was the breakfast. Aside from the tea made with tepid water (but it’s Italy so not surprising), the offerings were plentiful and the fruit selection fantastic. The dinner desserts were also excellent (wish the pastry chef took over the savory food helm). The hotel service was also great — everyone we interacted with was helpful and friendly. The aesthetic of the place is awesome, rooms and common spaces. I would stay at Schgaguler again — with the right room and no dinners it would have been...