Hotel: 5 stars Restaurant: 4 stars…read more Hotel services and facilities are impeccable. If you stay at the hotel, they offer €20 dinner for the guest (salad bar + 5 courses). It is a super great deal especially you don't have to drive outside after sauna. The food looks modern. My only complain is that there are no soul in their food. The plating looks amazing, but the sauces on the plate feels so disconnected. I feel like some of the ingredients are only put on the plant for presentation. And not every ingredients are meaningful on the dish. The morning breakfast bar however, was really great. Lots of local ingredients to choose from and they have a great selections of honey. I would recommend staying at this hotel and try their dinner. Just don't be expecting a Michelin Star meal then you should really enjoy this place.

Loved the hotel amenities and the spa. Service was universally solid, together with the dining…read moreoptions. I would qualify the Alpina hotel experience as a solid 4-star superior. The spa was one of the best I've experienced and every bit deserving of its five-star rating. The alpine ski has miles of mostly blue runs. But what this high plateau lacks in grade it makes up for in high altitude expanse. One of the highlights for me was Nordic skiing. There are extensive trails running throughout with something for every skill level. Next time I'll book it as a Nordic skiing and spa vacation.

Gayle and I had a wonderful stay of 3 nights here. Cavallino d'Oro is right on the Main Square…read more(Piazza Kraus) and features a welcoming Tirolean character and superb service by Stefan, Suzanne, and their very attentive staff. This is one of those review situations where Gayle and I could add a 6th Star. It's easy to be charmed by Castelrotto/Kastelruth, which has an appealing village character, mountains in the background, a traffic free center, centuries of history, friendly and engaging locals, and small town family feel. That last point further emphasized at the nearby central bus stop that was across the street from a school. In the morning when we were heading out, parents were walking their kids to school, while in the late afternoon when we returned, our public SAD bus dropped us off and immediately loaded up with lots of happy children as a school bus to take that group home. The center of Village action is Piazza Kraus, that includes a cool bell tower (with Chapel), a Catholic Church that seems plain on the outside, but is amazingly appointed and spiritual on the inside, and the Cavallino d'Oro. There were many highlights during our stay including: - A nicely appointed room, with lots of space to move around or hang out, a good strong hot shower, and comfortable beds. - An exceptionally good restaurant. We had Dinner there one night on their half-board plan, which was not only "Kick Ass", but a great value for the money. The breakfasts were also excellent and the Dining Room itself almost begs you to stay a little bit longer (especially at our table that had the alpine view). - A comfortable lounge area where Gayle and I would sit in comfortable chairs, with a drink from the bar, and hang out. A good Wi-Fi signal is available throughout the Hotel, but it almost seemed like a shame to use it in such relaxing and romantic circumstances. - Free laundry machines in the basement. Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to use the steam room and sauna just across the hall. - Great Advice. The Hotel has lots of available literature on tourist choices in the area and Hotel staff were very accommodating with various inquiries. I witnessed one teenage guest who had a question about leather bags being sold as part of the Thursday morning market on the Square. The person at the front desk accompanied her out to several of the booths and helped her decide on a choice. I was interested in buying a cow bell, which I thought was the perfect and authentic Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm momento. Stefan was quick to suggest the local Coop, which had a wide variety of these genuine items. I'm not sure when Gayle and I would have the next chance to visit the South Tyrol of Italy. Maybe we should come during the Winter Holidays featuring the Castelrotto Christmas Market, the appearance of Krampus, or a performance by the Kastelruther Spatzen folk music group? If that happens (God willing), we'll surely be staying at the Cavallino d'Oro.

This is a really lovely place to stay!…read more * The rooms are beautiful (we stayed in a "superior suite" with its own little garden for two nights, and then moved to a smaller room on the third floor after that (as the amazing suite was already booked...) * The baths are big enough for two people to soak in after a long day hiking/climbing mountains * The food is simple, but really good quality. Our breakfast *and* dinner was included in the price. The dinner consisted of lovely three or four course meals every evening. They get you to choose what you'd like to eat for dinner at breakfast, so it stops them wasting food as they know what they'll need to cook. * The wine they suggest to go with the daily menu was lovely, and cheap as chips. * There is a sauna and steam room that you can book for a bit of private relaxation (free) * They even have a washing machine and dryer that you can use for free (which is perfect if you've already been travelling for a while before you get here...) * All the staff seem to be multilingual. I was impressed by their speedy switching from German to Italian, but everyone had excellent English too. * The wifi works well, although it is a little slow. I would be happy to stay here again.

From the owner: L’hotel 3*Tschantnaihof si trova a Collepietra in Val d’Ega e offre una vista spettacolare sulle…read moreDolomiti. È situato su 1.100 metri di altitudine e dista ca. 15 km da Bolzano. L’alloggio offre camere dal design personalizzato e arredate in modo confortevole con mobili in legno naturale di alta qualità e un balcone o una terrazza. La mezza pensione dell'hotel comprende un'ampia scelta di piatti, tra cui la leggera cucina mediterranea e le sostanziose specialità altoatesine. Al mattino gli ospiti vengono viziati con una ricca colazione a buffet con torte e brioches fatte in casa. La sera invece viene servito un menu di 3 o 4 portate con buffet di insalate. Su richiesta vengono preparati piatti vegetariani e pasti per persone con allergie. L’hotel dispone anche di un bar. Una volta alla settimana viene organizzato un aperitivo con finger food. In estate gli ospiti possono godersi delle serate barbecue settimanali. Inoltre, gli ospiti ricevono la Mobilcard per 7 giorni per tutto l'Alto Adige. Per i bambini sono disponibili un parco giochi e animali da accarezzare.

I had to talk Gayle into this Summit Hike of Schlern (AKA the Witch's Mountain) on Day 2 of our…read morevisit to the Alpe di Siusi or Seiser Alm. We started at the top of the Seiseralm Bergbahn at Compatsch, continued up the Spitsbuhl Chair, meandered through the Saltner Dairy Farm, and then went straight up ~2000 feet (with switchbacks) just past the Saltner Hutte. Gayle still calls this the Death March, as this 12 mile (round trip) journey went slow but sure up the Hill. The ultimate insult was near the top, where a small grey dog passed her up while giving her a dismissive "look". Gayle also didn't appreciate lagging behind while her "mountain goat" husband clamored up the mountain (without poles). The payoff was the Rifugio Bolzano, where we were able to go inside, get warm, and enjoy a good meal and an adult beverage. Tip: Stick to the German selections rather than the Italian options. The sausage, bread, and potatoes are really good in the South Tyrol and you can always have pasta in other parts of Italy at another time. Service was good and I left the Schlernhaus with a real appreciation on what it takes to keep such a remote sanctuary seasonally going. You can stay overnight here too and maybe continue on to the next hut (Alpe di Tires), but suggesting that would have been seriously pushing my luck. From this dramatic setting, we also enjoyed the stunning views of the Rosengarten range. Oh Wow! was a repeated understatement. We walked down the mountain happy and with a real sense of accomplishment. That good will evaporated at the bottom, when Gayle discovered that we had about 5 km left to walk to get back to Compatsch. At that point, my dear Wife started jabbing her poles into the air, while shouting "Stupid Stupid Stupid!". Yet, with the beauty of Seiser Alm, we continued on and with the promise of another good meal in Castelrotto/Kastelruth and our comfortable room at the Hotel Cavallino d'Oro waiting for us to enjoy and cherish our experiences.

We were stoked when we finally made it here to Rifugio Balzano, as we had hiked around 10 miles…read morealong the ridge of the mountains above Seiser Alm by the time we finally made it here. It was pretty packed when we showed up, and we were lucky enough to snag a table just as another party was leaving. There's a smaller, more intimate room that we were in, as well as a larger dining area that had higher ceilings and was filled up. Like most of these spots, you simply need to get the waiter's attention, and they will bring over menus and eventually grab your order on their electronic tab-keeper (not sure that's quite the right word for it). The waiters were quite nice and able to accommodate requests (e.g. one of our friends wanted an egg on the side for her salad), and the food did some out relatively quickly. That said, I will say that we were pretty disappointed in the food here, especially since we had passed up a rifugio several miles back because the food here was apparently better. The speck was brought out simply as a chunk, forcing us to slice it by hand (not easy, given how thick it is) and definitely degrading our enjoyment of it, as our rough, thick slices were nowhere close to the soft, pillowy slices produced by a proper cutting machine. We noticed another party complaining about the presentation when it was brought out, so this was not something particular to us. As for my main, the spaghetti al pomodoro was very uninspired, with the biggest issue being that the pasta was soggy and cooked just like it would be in the U.S. Even at the cheap eats in Italy, my experience had been that the pasta was still prepared in excellent fashion, but at least here, it was cooked like the place knew they were serving hungry tourists. The tomato sauce was very bland, and the cubes of mozzarella were rubbery and devoid of flavor. The house red wine was too jammy and uninspiring, just like the rest of the meal. In all, while this might be a great place to hunker down if you are staying overnight, this was by far the worst meal we had during our time in the Dolomites, whether at a rifugio or at a restaurant. You don't have many other choices (you are on top of a mountain ridge, after all), but I would certainly have given Rifugio Alpe di Tires (the one we stopped by earlier) a closer look instead.