Preidlhof is a multi-award-winning spa hotel located in Naturns, South Tyrol, Italy. Privately-owned by the Ladurner family, Preidlhof offers exceptional wellness programmes alongside the hospitality, accommodation and services of a 5* hotel.

Under the stewardship of Klaus Ladurner for the past twenty years, Preidlhof has carved out a first-class reputation as a holistic, preventative and medical health retreat for adults-only. Preidlhof remains steadfast in its commitment to research and to the continual innovation and investment in its staff, facilities and services.

Investment in new technology and talent saw Preidlhof honoured with Destination Deluxe Awards 2020: Winner “Holistic Treatment of the Year” with Glowing Flow, Tatler SPA Guide 2020: “Best for Unleashing Joy”, Tatler SPA Guide 2020: Stefano Battaglia among the “5 Best International Healers”, Condé Nast Traveler (US) Reader’s Choice Awards: “Best 30 Spa Resorts of the World”, Condé Nast Traveller (UK) SPA GUIDE: Best Spas in the world and The Top Ten Energy Healer Awards 2020: Winner – Stefano Battaglia. Preidlhof is the first wellness spa and resort in the world to be certified ISO 17679-2016

LOCATION

South Tyrol as an autonomous region in Italy is remarkable for its history and its blend of Germanic, Italian and Ladino cultural and linguistic influences. Guests often like to report on ‘the Austrian-German efficiency, service and results, being delivered with Italian passion and intuition’. As with all things South Tyrolean, it is however much more nuanced, explains the Spa Project Manager Patrizia Bortolin, and indeed, the personality, style and techniques available at Preidlhof are as diverse and rich as the landscape itself.

Located in Naturns, which is blessed with a magnificent year-round Mediterranean climate, Preidlhof is nestled on a hillside interspersed with cypresses, palms and olive trees, as well as surrounded by apple orchards for which the Merano province is particularly famed. This is a rich and abundant land set in the foothills of the Texel Group Nature Park. Covering around 31,000 hectares, this is the largest Nature Park in South Tyrol, most of it situated within the Ötztal Alps.

An endless array of hiking and biking trails, fitness and outdoor adventure possibilities stem from Preidlhof’s very doorstep.

TRANSFORMATIONAL WELLNESS FOR 2020 & BEYOND

The appointment in September 2019 of renowned Transformative Health Coach and “Glowing Flow” co-Creator, Patrizia Bortolin as Spa Director heralds the introduction of an innovative new spa concept and treatment programme. Patrizia’s Glowing Flow co-Creator, Stefano Battaglia - a highly-acclaimed holistic healer, therapist, trainer and mediation teacher, has also joined the team.

Preidlhof’s new spa programmes offer a multi-disciplinary therapeutic approach, further integrating the complementary, medical and preventative health experts and services already available in-house. Embedded throughout, is a greater emphasis on transformational health – the healing journey - and a focus on mindful movement, mindful eating, and joyfulness.

New Transformational Wellness Programmes include:

· Integrated Healing – A Path to Resolution & Reconnection

· Menopause - The Wonder Of You

· Holistic Fitness - Body And Mind In Perfect Harmony

· Glowing Flow - Contemporary Healing Retreat

THE PREIDLHOF WAY: A NEW APPROACH TO WELLBEING

The new wellness philosophy takes Preidlhof’s long-established ‘Dolce Vita’ approach to wellbeing and further defines this in embracing the dual ‘hedonic’ and ‘eudaimonic’ concepts that complete Aristotle’s definition of “wellbeing”. It is about striking the right balance between pleasure, fun and external appreciation (the hedonic) and self-acceptance, resolving past issues, self-development and finding meaning (the eudaimonic).

“After many years of research, Klaus Ladurner, a true visionary with a very serious interest in wellness, was ready to take this already successful spa hotel to a higher level. What we are doing together is very exciting! We have developed a truly integrated and multi-generational approach to wellbeing, healing, and emotional transformation. I have applied my Glowing Flow method across the whole Preidlhof guest experience. I wanted to achieve that essence of flow, to alchemically balance and fully integrate the hotel and the spa.” Says Patrizia.

There is also a greater emphasis placed on mindful eating, slow food, more plant-based recipes, and more workshops, with enjoyment remaining an essential ingredient.

Patrizia’s arrival also heralds a phased refurbishment of the spa reception and treatment rooms, to be fully completed by March 2020.

EXPERT THERAPISTS

Passionate about hospitality and wellbeing, Klaus Ladurner and his wife, Monika, are the second generation of the family to run Preidlhof. Their two daughters are also involved in the hotel business and Klaus’ parents Josef and Maria are regularly in the hotel or out on the hotel’s farm. Here, speck ham is smoked, fresh fish is caught and schnapps is distilled. “Preidlhof has offered warm hospitality and the highest quality at all levels for generations,” says Klaus Ladurner. The three generations tirelessly work to further develop their hotel and to create and introduce innovations. “Our aim is to be a pioneer in the spa and wellness arena and to provide our guests with a wholly transformative and memorable experience.”

THE PREIDLHOF WAY TO HEALTHY EATING

Preidlhof’s approach to nutrition is fervently anti-diet as this is too short-termist and usually self-defeating; many people simply end up putting on more weight once they finish and cutting out certain foods often leads to nutritional, and physical, emotional and mental imbalances. Preidlhof advocates a balanced approach with enjoyment a key factor in securing more sustainable and long-term results. In short: happy people make healthier food choices and they also move much more.

“I don’t know about you, but the mere thought of a weightloss diet awakens the hedonist in me!” Says Patrizia. “Dieting and rigid weightloss programmes aren’t a recipe for long term health and happiness. Nor is being too purist and eudainomic about it. Where’s the joy in that? At Preidlhof, we like to mix it up! We teach our guests the importance of mindful eating and we teach the fundamentals of a varied, more plant-based approach to eating, the importance of diversity for optimum gut health. Gut health feeds into emotional and mental health. However, our guests are ultimately free to make their own choices and we certainly don’t lock them away in a side room – how does that help them when they get back home?!” Patrizia explains.

Instead of rigidly focusing on what you eat, the Preidl Way is to focus on the very act of eating: Do you chew your food properly? Are you tuned into your body? Are you listening to what it is telling you? How do you feel? How do your emotions influence your food choices? Are you indeed aware of how your food choices also influence your emotions?

“We are all trained in mindful eating, sensory analysis and other specific techniques taught by slow food experts, scientifically based to create an approach to food that is then integrated by Dr Angerer into his specialities and knowledge for specific cases.” says Patrizia.

AWARD-WINNING CUISINE

Preidlhof has been awarded two toques by Gault Millau for its restaurant. The team is very proud of this achievement as Chef de Cuisine, Vlastimil Stava, consciously prepares dishes using only the highest quality, fresh ingredients, most of which is sourced locally, including from Preidlhof’s own farm. Preidlhof’s home grown produce includes Speck, prepared and smoked by the senior Ladurners, Pinot Noir, fruit liquors, jam and honey.

All meals at Preidlhof are included in the price of the stay including:

An extensive buffet breakfast served daily including a wide variety of hot and cold options, an organic selection, a vast array of teas as well as a health food corner and a “vitamin bar” with a host of fruit juices.

A healthy buffet lunch served daily from 2:00pm – 5:00pm, enabling guests to fit this around spa treatment schedule and fitness and outdoor activities.

A seven-course gourmet dinner every evening. Guests are spoilt with choice from three different menus.

The restaurant offers vegetarian, vegan and low calorie choices and the overall offering is rich and diverse. The Chef incorporates Northern European, Italian, ethnic, and regional South Tyrolean cuisines and specialities. Guests are spoiled for choice with a different theme every evening.

LUXURY ACCOMMODATION – A NEW SENSE OF SPACE

Preidlhof has 71 rooms and suites and every room offers breath-taking views of the valley and mountains. A luxury upgrade programme (unveiled in April 2017) has seen the renovation of 41 of the 70 guest rooms. Overseen by the Austrian interior designer, Reinhard Köck, 27 of these are contemporary suites and another five, luxury penthouse suites. All the suites feature spa loggias and some have their own whirlpool and private sauna. The penthouse suites each have an outdoor cinema and the Luxury Penthouse Suite Dolce Vita Premium Star also has a private pool.

The rooms all embrace the exterior: “This is a must given the 315 days of sunshine a year,” says Klaus Ladurner. Therefore all rooms are equipped with an outdoor living room on the balcony or terrace providing the opportunity to sleep on daybeds. All the high-quality furniture is made from local wood.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP
“A good night’s sleep is the most important factor in being able to relax on holiday,” believes Klaus Ladurner. He consulted a sleep expert in order to provide guests with the best possible sleep support and comforts.

“We have a choice of special mattresses with fitting mattress pads and cushions.” Sleep well tea bags, earplugs and a sleep mask are supplied as standard in each room. “During the night, we switch off our WLAN so that nobody is disturbed in their sleep by the radiation. Only the light in the toilet goes automatically on in a dimmed mode, when needed.” Several rooms also offer the possibility of sleeping outside in the fresh clear air.

For the ultimate night’s sleep, guests want to check into the Preidlhof Dream Well Suite: Spa and wellness was build into the very fabric of its in-room architecture and design and it was recognised with an Innovation Award at the European Health and Spa Awards.

Guests staying in the Dream Well Suite can gently awaken to a slow-starting bird concert and sunbeams finding their way through treetops, or fall asleep to a sunset at a small mountain lake, or choose the perfect sound of silence in an expansive space, to ensure the deepest, most relaxed and regenerative state of sleep possible.

Designed by Daniel Lathan at SONAMI AG, the Dream Well Suite features a special acoustic ceiling, which significantly reduces the reverberation time and echo in the room and thus creates the optimal condition for a restful sleep. Exceptionally high quality sound is reproduced via specially developed speakers. The room acoustics were developed and modeled on nature: the result is a highly complex ceiling element that absorbs certain frequencies in the forest and/or reflects them in different directions, similar to the treetops (leaves, branches, free space).

Controllable colour LEDs simulate sunrises and sunsets, all controlled via touchpad. The focus is on the acoustic stimulus, rather than concrete visual triggers (real images) and so real natural sound images (recorded by special SONAMI microphones) prompt individuals to formulate their own images or dreams. This process is supported by the interaction with coloured light, which follows natural harmonies (colour, intensity and time).

"The goal was to create a completely authentic space that was as close as possible to the acoustic environment of a deciduous forest," says Lathan. Multiple combined sound and light programmes selectable via a touch panel allow for an optimized sleep and wake up process”.

AN ACTIVE HOLIDAY
Take a deep breath and switch off from the everyday hustle and bustle. Reconnect with nature. Activities such as hiking, mountain biking and Nordic walking are easy to access and you are right on the doorstep of the Texel Group Nature Park.

There are more than twelve guided biking tours (from easy to challenging) and four guided hikes weekly.

Nordic walking equipment is available free of charge including backpacks, rain protection, GPS devices, mountain, racing and trekking bikes, helmets, water bottles etc.

Preidlhof’s coaches and guides are all highly experienced and this inclusive programme is free of charge for guests.

FUN VEHICLES TO EXPLORE
South Tyrol is famous for its spectacular scenery. What better way to discover the wonderful landscape and its numerous stunning views than by renting Preidlhof’s sporty yellow Porsche Cabrio? There are also quads and trikes for hire, as well as the iconic and complimentary yellow Vespas!

PREIDLHOF BEAUTY CONCEPT

Preidlhof offers a selection of three types of facial treatments that correspond to the nuances of its Wellness philosophy. All rich in products of natural origin, result-oriented and technologically advanced:

• “The Preidlhof Way”, the new cosmeceutical line produced in South Tyrol that guarantees surprising results thanks to products rich in active ingredients and precision technology, elements of natural origin;

• World premiere: for the first time in her brilliant career, Su-Man Hsu, celebrity facialist and beauty guru, teaches her famous method to Preidlhof’s Team. This to confirm the deep interest of the Resort for Asian philosophies

• In collaboration with the nearby Terme di Comano, internationally recognized for the healing power of its thermal water, a spa cosmetic line that aims at providing comfort, relief and visible results for reactive, problematic and sensitized skin.

RECENT AWARDS

- Destination Deluxe Awards 2020: 3rd “Wellness Retreat of the Year”

- Destination Deluxe Awards 2020: Winner “Holistic Treatment of the Year” with Glowing Flow

- Tatler SPA Guide 2020: “Best for Unleashing Joy”

- Tatler SPA Guide 2020: Stefano Battaglia among the “5 Best International Healers”

- Condé Nast Traveler (US) Reader’s Choice Awards: “Best 30 Spa Resorts of the World”

- Condé Nast Traveller (UK) SPA GUIDE: Best Spas in the world

- Active Hotel Awards 2020: “Best Mountain Sport” category winner

- The Top Ten Energy Healer Awards 2020: Winner – Stefano Battaglia

- Preidlhof is the first wellness spa and resort in the world to be certified ISO 17679-2016