Despite the comfort of our suites, furnished with healthy, fragrant Swiss stone pine, we get up early, following the call of the mountains. Sunshine and blue skies invite us to get active and enjoy South Tyrol's mountain world to its fullest.
We have a vitality breakfast in the panorama restaurant, where the morning sun can fill us with some additional energy, warming our skin and our hearts. The vitality breakfast buffet awaits us with a wide selection of delicious and healthy regional products, including freshly pressed juices, locally produced bread and cheese made on the Schliniger Alm, a shepherds' hut in the mountains. There is no doubt: This is the perfect start for our holiday in South Tyrol, and it's all included in Gerstl's Half-board Package.

Our tour guide and senior host Martin takes us to the Schliniger Alm by bus. Here, our four-hour tour starts. While we slowly gain height with every step we take, Martin informs us about lots of interesting facts. What a delightful hike! The landscape is breathtaking and varied: Lush snowy meadows and mountain pastures contrast with majestic mountain peaks. The fresh mountain air fills our lungs

Arrived on the rustic Kälberalm, Martin cooks us a warming barley soup after his secret recipe. It just tastes great. While we stand up here and enjoy the fabulous view, we realize: We have discovered the ideal hiking hotel in South Tyrol for us!

Upon our return from the hiking tour, we cannot wait to explore and relax in the vast wellness area of our hotel. Our legs, tired from the hike, find some soothing relief in the new sauna world and the 17-metre-long infinity pool, which invites us on a relaxing swim. The absolute highlight, of course, is the view: The entire wellness area overlooks the valley below. The water world of Alpin & Relax Hotel Das Gerstl is truly versatile with its infinity pool, the outdoor pool and the super-elegant indoor pool made from the famous local white marble, the so-called Laaser Marmor.

After a wonderful hike in fresh air and the quality time spent at Gerstl's water world, we start to feel hungry again. We sit down comfortably on the panorama-terrace and choose a delicious cake creation from the daily offer that is served at the table. This is the perfect ambience to thinking back over the adventurous day and to enjoy the free view to the Venosta Valley.

Since we love being pampered and looked after, we have chosen the Alpin & Relax Hotel Das Gerstl as our perfect wellness hotel in South Tyrol. The hotel offers a great variety of massages and cosmetic treatments for face and body and exclusively uses regional products for that. Anna, Silvia, Sonja and Jana, who are part of the Sesvenna Spa Team, inform us well. In the end we opt for a fragrant Swiss pine massage, which we book as a couple massage, so both of us get pampered at the same time and we can enjoy the moment of relaxation together.

The grand finale of our fantastic day at the Alpin & Relax Hotel Das Gerstl is the 5-course menu in the evening. A vast choice of delicacies awaits us. The culinary highlights make our taste buds tingle. Here, creative ideas mingle with traditional, regional South Tyrolean cuisine. Rafael, the chef, and his team surprise us daily with new creations and fantastic dishes. Through the large windows, a sea of lights can be observed, coming from the numerous villages in the valley below, beautiful and romantic to behold. We are happy to have found the perfect gourmet hotel in South Tyrol.

Although we know that a beautiful suite with a soft, cosy bed is waiting for us, we do not want to call it a day just yet - there is too much to enjoy! At the hotel bar we meet some of the people who did the morning hike together with us and we start chatting. Lukas, our host, and his mother join us and ask us about our day, so we tell them how much we had enjoyed breakfast, the hike, the cake buffet, the wellness area, the massage and the great gourmet dinner. Later, Martin, the senior host, also joins us at the open fire and we all sit together, talk and enjoy a good glass of local wine.

Time for bed. At the end of a marvellous day, we are looking forward to spending a relaxing night of healthy sleep in the super-comfortable, fragrant suites furnished with Swiss stone pine. We were looking for - and have found - a room to fall in love with... and in. Tomorrow, we will feel all new and be ready for another day full of adventure at the Alpin & Relax Hotel Das Gerstl. We have already decided to spend the day by skiing in the sunny ski area “Watles” and we want to attend a wine tasting with Sonja, the sommelier. We are glad that our stay isn't over yet because there is still so much to do and see and try out. We plan on relaxing and deciding each day what we want to do and experience.