Romantik Hotel Turm - Völs am Schlern, Italy
South Tyrol Introduction
Review: Hotel Rosa Alpina - San Cassiano
Review: Romantik Hotel Turm - Völs am Schlern
Review: Hotel Castel - Dorf Tirol
Restaurant-Check: La Siriola ** - San Cassiano
The most amazing route through the Domolites
That one was the one I was most eager to experience due to the recent renovation and the nonexistent pictures of the design outcome pre-stay. I normally want to know what to expect from a hotel and do these kinds of experiments very wisely. This time we had the choice between Bad Schörgau (Sarn Valley) and the Hotel Turm (Völs am Schlern). Both, Lukas and me went for the second one above the first due to the views and being inside the Dolomites area. Turns out that in the end it was the better decision as the weather changed and it was the most amazing sunshine we have had in these four days. Also, the views did not disappoint as we were overlooking nearly entire South Tyrol. Whereas the other option would have been a Michelin-starred dinner along a morning packed with spa treatments but no view. Since our plans changed and we scheduled the departure at 11 am - Hotel Turm was chosen wisely in regards to the spa treatments and lunch reservation at the other hotel.
Although the drive from Rosa Alpina began stunningly towards Val Gardena, the however rain passed our path half way. Interestingly we dried off when we finally arrived down in the valley. From there we were taking a less popular road towards Kastelruth (an amazing town with a soon completely renovated property, too). This road was simply OMG - I know South Tyrol pretty well, sometimes even better than locals, however, I was speechless of this views. I never saw the northernmost region of Italy from that point of view. You have the Etsch valley on your right and then you have the Seiser Alm massive - Dolomites at its best - on the left. From time to time you pass by another town until you continue to Völs. Right by the church in the heart of the town, you will find the Romantik Hotel Turm, a family-run boutique hotel that also claims to be a wellness property. There is no real indication that you are allowed to drive to the main entrance, but I think there is just no one that cares if you are allowed to or not (Hands up - it’s Italy after all so regulations aren’t taken too strictly, and that’s why I love that place). We parked our motorcycle in front of the main entrance the entire night and it didn’t seem to be an issue at all.
Check-in was alright, having handed over the IDs and being shown to the room - we missed a welcome drink as well as a tour of the hotel, especially since it was our first time at the hotel. Our room was on the first floor overlooking the church and the valley with a balcony that did not (maybe yet cause it looks like it is planned) any separation to the neighbors which was really awkward. Whenever we have a great evening we hang around on the terrace for a late-night cigar and another bottle so even, in this case, there was no possibility for the neighbor to not be disturbed. I mean ours didn’t seem to care about us so it was a fine situation but I would not want that someone can glimpse into my room at night. Also, I found it odd that there was no furniture on the spacious balconies, so we had to remove the armchairs from inside - again no problem but I can imagine that from time to time the floor won’t look as nice as without having to move the furniture from inside. On the other side, the beds look really nice as they are four-poster and come with quite a selection of pillows. While Lukas slept well, I felt that it was extremely hot inside the room so I opened the window a bit and within minutes it was alright.
In general, the room layout is open-plan so that it seems to be bigger than it actually is. The toilet is in a separated room with a bidet and totally new, while the shower is in the corner overlooking the town square. At first, I didn’t register the black-out curtain in the shower so I might have attracted a few odd looks from downstairs, at least Lukas was clever enough not to share his personal area with the town. Short interruption by a bathroom expert: the pressure was alright with a slight room for improvement, the hand shower could have an installation to hold it, otherwise I liked the romantic light in the shower and the hotel branded wine-based toiletries were also better than expected for a four-star hotel. I loved the design of the vanity desk as well as the two armchairs that were positioned towards the television. Plenty of wardrobe space came along with a minibar trunk where a selection of four wines was placed along the usual minibar items and a few magazines - I guess the trunk also serves as a writing desk.
Let’s proceed with the main highlight of the hotel which is the wellness area with a heated indoor- and outdoor pool. Actually, the spa came up to the expectations and the salt cave is really as impressive as on the pictures. Just lying there and relaxing in a room full of candles and water is really one-of-kind. The sauna area looks very authentic, too and everything seemed to be in good condition. To all my surprise we were the only ones in the sauna area and also once we headed to the pool where we made ourselves comfortable on two chic lounge chairs. By the time I woke up from the afternoon nap, the entire poolside was occupied and people seemed to have returned from the daily activity or hike. One of the things I liked most was the black tiles of the pool that gave the feeling to be swimming in an Aman pool and that view of the Rosengarten tough, I mean I couldn’t say this location didn’t impress me. While everything was good, it was very disappointing to see they do not provide any towels in the entire wellness area beside very small sauna towels. You are required to bring them along with your pool bag (there are two separate towels for the shower), however, we didn’t see them at first so I went to the spa reception where they immediately provided us with two pool towels and all was well.
Another thing Lukas and me were extremely excited for was the Aperitivo. Two glasses of Prosecco were ordered and a few hors-d'oeuvres came along with the typical Italian drink - just like it should be down here in Bella Italia. After our pre-dinner drinks, we had a seat on the romantic terrace of the hotel with an amazing view. There comes the biggest mistake of the stay: while we have booked half board, nobody ever informed us of what menu would be included or not. So I went for the creative menu while Lukas took the traditional one. In the end turns out that we have to pay 37 euros for the difference of the creative menu. This incident makes me as a guest slightly upset as I was never informed of the charge nor what the half board would be. Normally this would be a reason to not give the hotel a second visit. Lack of communication with the customer but charging rates that have never been communicated is really annoying. There is nothing wrong if the staff informs that there is a half board menu but you can choose whatever you want for a surcharge of (be specific). Interestingly our server even told us that we can choose whatever we feel we want to set up our own menu. While Lukas was all fine, I felt cheated. Anyway, the food was really good and we were even served a selection of South Tyrol’s typical Strudel as well as a cheese buffet in the stunning wine cellar. I started my menu with a variation of Foie Gras along with a herb soup - both were excellent and very tasty. Obviously, we went for a South Tyrolean wine that tasted just perfect in this nice setting. For the main course, we had venison and duck, a nice selection for an Italian restaurant.
I was impressed by the idea to serve the Strudel in a separate area and to turn the dinner into an experience where the guests have to walk. In addition to the main dessert, you had the choice between quite a few excellent sweet wines from South Tyrol. Later we climbed down the wine cellar but honestly did not have any space for cheese. A compliment to the owner who is still working in the kitchen and doing an excellent job being one of the region’s finest half board restaurants (or a la carte in my case). If they would have handled the pricing situation differently service would have scored better, otherwise, they were attentive. On the other side, the bar team was a blast with extremely good knowledge and great attitude. They arranged everything for a late night drink on our room balcony.
Breakfast is served in form of a buffet with all egg dishes being available to order (goodbye to artificial scrambled eggs on the buffet). While the buffet itself was on the small side with the bread and orange juice being not the tastiest ones, the scrambled eggs with herbs were just fabulous. It got so hot on that Sunday that I couldn’t believe which bad weather we had the days before. Actually, it was a sunny and delightful ending of our trip. All in all, Romantik Hotel Turm is a great Four-Star-Hotel for a weekend in South Tyrol with a great value for money. In order to return, I wish to be informed a bit better, however you now know the issue where you have to pay attention. And now enjoy your ride to the European Paradise!
The room was offered by Romantik Hotel Turm for editorial purposes, however all above written expresses our opinion and has not been influenced. We paid for all extras by ourselves.
