Off The Beaten Path: Life-Changing Wellness In The Italian Alps

27.02.2024 - 19:33 / forbes.com

At its best, a visit to a destination spa or wellness retreat can be life-changing. Of course, that is often the hope, especially when there are deep-seated goals you want to work toward. Too much of the time, however, the reality doesn’t quite match up. But under the guidance of award-winning Italian spa and wellness visionary Patrizia Bortolin, the transformational wellness retreats at Preidlhof Luxury DolceVita Resort, in the Italian Alps near the Austrian border, not only meet expectations, they exceed them.

Set in a picturesque corner of Alto Adige, the wine-growing region of the South Tyrol, Preidlhof is one of the most authentic wellness spas in the world. You would certainly never know it from the lobby, which has a bit of a 1970s disco vibe. But Bortolin’s wellness programs, collectively known as The Preidlhof Way, are truly innovative, and set the bar for what wellness should be.

Her approach is based on the belief that health and happiness stems from finding balance between the Aristotelian ideals of the “hedonic” and “eudaimonic,” or, simply put, balancing joy and pleasure with a deep knowledge of who you are and what your purpose is. “It may be hard,” she says, “but hard doesn’t mean impossible.”

Along the way, she integrates the latest neuroscience research into a range of programs that lean into a team of gifted experts and an 18,000 square-foot spa with 10 gorgeous pools, Mediterranean-style gardens, an 80,000 acre nature park with beautiful hiking trails and a nearby forest, a yoga pavilion, a new 5000-square-foot rooftop wellness space with a third infinity pool and whirlpool, and, the piece de resistance, a six-story Sauna Tower. It is truly a wellness playground.

Retreat offerings include the classics: programs for menopause and women’s health; holistic wellness, healthy eating and weight loss (with a special wellness healing gourmet menu served in the glassed-in Wellness Lounge). New bespoke retreats such as the Glowing Flow, with award-winning trauma therapist and meditation teacher Stefano Battaglia, include detailed consultations, meditative bodywork, and intuitive techniques geared toward releasing emotional blocks, anxiety and imbalance related to various types of trauma. The Transformational Journey and Integrated Healing retreats are highly personalized, and focus on emotional and mental well being. The Integrated Wellness Retreat with Dr. Angerer, an MD and homeopath educated in Vienna and Innsbruck, includes a measure of heart rate variability, sleep analysis and more, building a treatment protocol based on the results. Shorter retreats, such as the new three- or four-day re-energizing Zest Retreat, are also available.

Whatever you choose, make sure to sign on for the