PREIDLHOF, ITALY – Where the heart is

International wellness alchemist and spa director Patrizia Bortolin reveals how transformational retreats are attracting new guests to Preidlhof spa resort in South Tyrol, Italy

REPORT BY SARAH CAMILLERI (Main image: Nicola Cipriani)

Already an established and award-winning spa destination in Europe, Preidlhof Luxury DolceVita Resort has created an ambitious pathway to build its international reputation for wellness retreats. The jewel of The DolceVita Group, this adults-only wellness resort is lovingly run by three generations of the Ladurner family, offering 71 contemporary rooms and suites as well as an extraordinary 5,000sqm of dedicated indoor and outdoor wellness space for guests to explore and enjoy.

A guest looks out over the Italian Alps

Located in the picturesque Alpine village of Naturno, Preidlhof is just ten miles from the famous historic spa town of Merano in the South Tyrol and enjoys panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and valley. Basked in 315 days of sunshine each year, an unusually soft micro-climate for the Tyrol makes Naturno a mecca for hiking, skiing, nature lovers and wellness seekers. Protected by snow-capped mountains, the valley is also famous for its apples, supplying most of Italy and many international markets, as well as an abundance of olive and lemon trees and Mediterranean herbs and flowers.

Future vision Preidlhof’s owner, hotelier Klaus Ladurner, is passionate and progressive about delivering integrated wellness and luxury hospitality with a South Tyrolean twist. After leading the Preidlhof team for 20 years, together with his wife Monika and extended family, he decided to evolve the resort’s classical medi-spa offering, looking to supercharge its international appeal.

Klaus Ladurner, owner, Preidlhof

“We wanted to create a lifestyle offer that would blend hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing,” he explains. “As a family, we totally embrace the Preidlhof Way and it is so important to us that we create real benefits for our guests that they will experience even when they have returned home.

“We used lockdown to invest in the property, undertaking renovations to our spa, as well as creating a new outdoor Mediterranean pool experience and a Wellness VIP lounge. We also introduced our Transformational Wellness Retreats, a number of new signature rituals and treatments, a food philosophy, an updated fitness concept and our newly formulated Preidlhof cosmetic line.”

Patrizia Bortolin (right) at work with a client

Looking for the right leadership to realise this vision, Ladurner appointed spa director and wellness consultant Patrizia Bortolin back in 2019. Respected throughout the spa community for her outstanding contributions to leading wellness destinations, including Borgo Egnazia in Italy and the celebrated Euphoria Retreat in Greece, Bortolin returned to her home region to get creative.

“I saw the full potential of Preidlhof from the outset and guided the resort to reach this at the right pace,” says Bortolin, taking up the story. “It was important to focus on a number of key areas: alchemic recruitment, expanding the talents of the team, enhancing the treatments on offer and, most importantly, attuning the wellness offer into the extraordinary healing power of this location – really feeling into Preidlhof’s true potential.”

Calming outdoor hydrothermal and relaxation spaces

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A place like no other

Welcoming solo guests as well as couples and friends, the team at Preidlhof strive to deliver wellness at its best. Retreat guests booked onto its new Transformational Retreats can expect many luxurious touches, such as the care of a dedicated wellness concierge throughout their stay, a carefully curated programme of activities, access to the new dedicated Wellness VIP dining space and crafted wellness menus, as well as plenty of time to retreat and explore the resort and mountains.

At the heart of the resort lie ten swimming and hydrotherapy pools as well as a six-storey Sauna Tower complete with 16 different hydrothermal and relaxation experiences. Immunity-boosting daily aufguss sauna ceremonies have also been created by a collection of sauna champions and masters. Each 20-minute ceremony is accompanied by music and dance to show off the team’s mastery of combining heat and essential oils.

Preidlhof’s dedicated team are all experts in their field to deliver transformational results for guests

Another highlight is the Deep Sea Relaxation Room designed exclusively for Preidlhof. This unique, three-dimensional sensory experience, created by audiologist Daniel Lathan, combines light and specially composed ambient sounds to create an extraordinarily relaxing experience for body and mind.

The Preidl Med Spa itself is serenely quiet, beginning at a white reception area where guests can drink tea and meet their therapists. Beyond are nine treatment rooms as well as sound-healing and post-treatment relaxation rooms. Next door, the well-equipped functional fitness suite is available for personal training sessions. Therapists also often use the private outdoor massage area in the gardens, as well as a Yoga Pavilion for one-on-one and group classes.

Patrizia Bortolin Spa director, Preidlhof

Next-level wellness

Patrizia Bortolin’s ‘next-level’ approach to wellness is apparent in every interaction within the spa. Her team is experienced and committed to delivering every treatment in the best way they can for every guest.

“I’ve tried to create a pioneering wellness concept for Preidlhof that delivers consistent results, while keeping all human interactions between guests and our wellness team spontaneous and authentic,” she explains. “Our transformational Retreats are really the jewels of the Preidlhof offering, providing our guests with the opportunity to experience outstanding therapists.

A panoramic sauna at Preidlhof

“There’s also what I call a ‘high vibe’ here, which can be felt by both guests and my team. This feeling really creates a sense of community, to allow exceptional wellness experiences to unfold and a special synergy to be achieved between wellness practitioners and the guests.”

Central to all its wellness programming is the resort’s core philosophy, ‘the Preidlhof Way’. “Our philosophy draws inspiration from the latest neuroscience research and the complete definition of happiness, described as a balance of hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing,” explains Bortolin.

Guests are invited to reconnect with their senses

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“We are always aiming to establish the correct balance between ‘pleasure and enjoyment’ and ‘healing and value’. In fact, every aspect of our offer is designed to bring this natural flow that allows our guests to blossom. We want to help them discover a more mindful, meaningful and authentic way of living, to find more compassion for themselves, others and the environment,” she concludes.

At night guests are encouraged to try sleeping under the stars and every suite offers a private balcony with comfortable day beds that can be made up by housekeeping. WiFi is switched off between midnight to 7am to reduce EMF radiation and Preidlhof also offers medically supervised Sleep Retreats in its specially adapted Sleep Suite to help resolve even chronic sleep problems.

Transformational experiences with healing masters

Typically run across four to seven nights, the new Transformational Retreats offer a personalised schedule of daily wellness activities, designed to stimulate physical, energetic, spiritual, psychological, social and emotional balance. Sensory eating rituals, storytelling, sound healing, meditation, breathwork and the opportunity to participate in energy-balancing modalities, such as laughter and yoga nidra provide healing and relaxation.

The collective therapeutic experience of the Preidlhof team is quite outstanding. “Now especially, we need to let the senior therapists and experts lead the way in spa, as guests have more complex emotional and mental health needs,” says Bortolin. “Our healers at Preidlhof, supported by my team of creative holistic spa therapists, are trained to deliver signature experiential classes which really reinforce our holistic approach.”

Nature guide Irmgard Moosmair hosts a forest-bathing hike

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Preidlhof’s circle of healers includes internationally renowned master therapist Stefano Battaglia, also known as ‘the shaman’, who specialises in trauma touch skills and mindfulness; Martin Kirchler, specialises in ancient healing methods including TCM, Ayurveda and Hawaiian massage; and Dr. Med. Alexander Angerer, who specialises in complementary medicine and oversees and integrates all experiences.

They are joined by Shiatsu expert Andrea Martinelli, who focuses on energy work; resident psychologist Norma Jean Botticelli, who leads sensory food experiences and yoga nidra; and yoga teacher and fitness instructor Martina Huber, who teaches guests to tap into their own intuition and inner wisdom through dance, yoga fitness and sound healing.

Guests enjoy mindful eating on the Preidlhof Apple Journey

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Connecting guests to nature, Preidlhof’s charismatic nature guide Irmgard Moosmair hosts memorable forest-bathing hikes, full moon walks, and cleansing incense rituals to teach guests about the power of plants and how to reconnect with what matters most.

“The senior healers on our team have the highest concentration of wisdom, experience, vision, intuition, love and authenticity I’ve ever encountered,” says Bortolin. “I think serious wellness should be for people with a calling, those open to study, and those who really embody the wellness lifestyle or at least seek a healthier life through working in wellness. I also find it very beneficial to create multi-generational teams.”

A beacon for wellness travellers

Since international travel routes reopened, Preidlhof has already started to draw the attention of a new generation of wellness guests, looking to experience immersive retreats and the beauty of the South Tyrol. “We are finally realising our goal to attract more international guests. Before, our guests were mainly German-speaking, but now we are welcoming wellness seekers from many key markets including the UK, the US, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland – all seeking transformational retreats,” says Bortolin.

The Med Spa team is led by Dr. Alexander Angerer

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“I believe there is a real need for these kinds of retreats today. More and more people need trauma healing sessions, as they are looking for a new perspective on life. Some are directly asking for this service while others only come to realise it when booking. All are surprised by the results that they can achieve with us,” she adds.

Looking to the future, the commitment to deliver the very best wellness servtces is set to continue at Preidlhof. “Our retreats will all be upgraded and updated as we test them, also some new therapists will be joining our team too,” says Bortolin. “I’m working on developing our retail cosmetic line that promises to be a jewel of ‘Made in Italy’ clean beauty. Also, we will continue to improve the Wellness Healing Gourmet Menu and our eating philosophy for the year ahead.”

Gong baths and water bed relaxation are part of the resort’s unique treament experiences

Resort development also continues at pace to ensure that Preidlhof guests have the very best. “In the past two months, we have excavated one of our indoor pools to facilitate thermal water, as we are about to be certified to offer medical thermal baths. Importantly, we will continue to invest in training our wellness team – this is always a priority for us,” concludes Klaus Ladurner.

SPA STATISTICS

www.preidlhof.it

Owner: Klaus Ladurner Architect: Ghetta Spa director: Patrizia Bortolin Medical team leader: Dr. Alexander Angerer Spa investment: €8 million (£6.6 million) Spa size: 5,000sqm Treatment rooms: 9 Hydrothermal experiences: Panoramic event sauna, olive sauna, wine sauna, steam bath, five element sauna, Schwarzbrenner sauna, salt lounge, deep-sea room, vitamin lounge, outdoor Jacuzzis Pools: Panoramic sky-infinity sports pool, infinity solepool, two outdoor pools, ‘The Fifties’ pool Fitness facilities: Gym supplied by Technogym, aerobic and yoga studio, Suppliers: Köck+Bachler (furnishings), Pooltech (hydrothermal experiences and pool) Product partners: Su-man Skincare, Terme di Comano, Ariadne Athens, Geomedical Health