DolceVita Hotel Jagdhof

An Orchard Village at 639 Metres, and a House Built for Movers

Laces sits low in the Val Venosta, at 639 metres, in a bowl of apple orchards where the mild Adige valley air meets the dry heat of the Monte Sole slope. The Jagdhof stands in the village itself, on Via dei Signori, close enough to the trailheads that most days start on foot. The Piri family has run it across two generations, Ruth and Martin first, then Hannes and Julian, and the house carries that continuity: sporting, unfussy, organised around what guests do rather than around a lobby. It belongs to the DolceVita Hotels group and to the family collection that bears their name.

Why It Works

We selected the Jagdhof for a pet policy that is written down rather than improvised. Dogs are announced at booking and met with a bed and bowls in the room. They share the bar with their owners. They stay out of the dining room and off the wellness floors, and the house closes that gap honestly: a sitter is available by the hour or by the day, and can mind the dog through dinner. Few alpine spa hotels bother. The second reason is range, a spa of this size and a daily activity programme under one roof.

Why This Location

The village is the point. The Waalwege, irrigation channels that carry meltwater along the slope, run above the orchards and make for level walking with a dog on a lead. A chairlift lifts hikers to the Tarscher Alm pasture in a few minutes, and a cable car climbs to San Martino in Monte on the sunny side. The Martell valley opens south towards the Stelvio National Park. In the village, the Aqua Forum leisure centre handles a wet afternoon, and the lower Adige valley is an easy drive down the road.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: sporty, family run, alpine, unpretentious

• Rooms: 47, from Bergfex rooms of about thirty square metres to panoramic rooms and wellness suites near forty five

• Best For: dog owners who hike or ride, spa travellers, couples on a long active stay

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the infinity whirlpool of the fifth floor Roof Top Sky Spa, open to the Vinschgau skyline

• Dining: three quarter gourmet board under chef Roland, breakfast, afternoon buffet of starters and cakes, evening menu, drinks included

• Amenities: three thousand square metres of spa and garden, indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, steam bath, jacuzzis, barrier free access, parking with electric charging, shuttle, childcare in the main holiday periods

• Attractions: Tarscher Alm chairlift, San Martino in Monte cable car, the Vinschgau Waalwege, Aqua Forum, the Martell valley and the Stelvio National Park

What the Dog Gets, and Where It Can Go

Announce the dog when you book and the room is prepared with a bed and bowls, on an arrangement priced apart from the board. The bar and the public sitting areas are open. The dining room and the wellness floors are not, the usual compromise in a house whose spa is held to adults. What makes it workable is the sitter, bookable by the hour or the day, who can take the dog while you sit down to the evening menu. The orchard lanes outside give a short flat walk before bed.

Three Thousand Square Metres of Water, Sauna and Garden

The wellness floors are why many guests come back, and they are adults only. Three thousand square metres of spa and garden hold indoor and outdoor pools, a set of saunas, a steam bath, jacuzzis and quiet rooms, with a long beauty menu behind them. The address of the whole thing is the fifth floor, where the Roof Top Sky Spa puts an infinity whirlpool at roof height and turns the Vinschgau ridges into the view. Come up late, once the valley has gone blue and the village lights are on.

Eating Across the Day, Not Only at Dinner

The house runs a three quarter board it calls the Piris Culinary Experience. Breakfast is followed by an afternoon buffet of starters and cakes, then an evening menu built by chef Roland on regional supply, with vegetarian dishes and a practised handling of allergies and intolerances. Drinks come with it. The logic is athletic rather than gourmandising: eat at the hours you actually come back hungry, after a ride up the valley or a day on the Alm. The kitchen, not a separate bill, sets the rhythm of the stay.