We recently took a family trip to South Tyrol, the autonomous region in the Dolomites, in northern Italy. In this post, I’d like to review the the 42-key Schgaguler Hotel, part of Design Hotels, which belongs to Marriott Bonvoy. So while the property isn’t managed by Marriott, you can earn and redeem points, and take advantage of select elite perks.
This was the third and final hotel we stayed at in the region, with the first being Miramonti Boutique Hotel (Small Luxury Hotels of the World), and the second being Hotel Schwarzschmied (Design Hotels).
We very much enjoyed our stay at Schgaguler Hotel, which is located in the town of Castelrotto. The area is insanely picturesque, the hotel has a cool design, the service was friendly, and the restaurant and bar were great. There were a few quirks, though — the air conditioning left a lot to be desired (not ideal during a heatwave), and the massage at the spa was the worst I’ve had in my life.
Those are minor points in the scheme of things, but of course I try to be balanced. All-in-all, I’d highly recommend this property, and would gladly return.
Booking Schgaguler Hotel
Schgaguler Hotel is open for most of the year. While it’s most popular as a summer destination, some people also visit in winter. The hotel closes in November and early December (to prepare for the winter season), and then closes in April and early May (to prepare for the summer season).
There’s fairly little seasonal variation in terms of pricing, and entry level rooms generally go for around €350 per night, give or take. All rates at the hotel include breakfast, and then there’s also a half board rate, which we booked.
Bizarrely, the half board rate is typically only an extra €11 per person per night, which is an absolute steal when you consider the quality of the food. But I guess in South Tyrol, the concept of half board is sort of a standard offering at many hotels, and it’s part of the overall value proposition of staying somewhere.
I booked Schgaguler Hotel through Marriott’s website, since that’s what allows you to earn or redeem points for your stay. While we paid cash, if I had redeemed points, that would’ve cost 53,000 Bonvoy points per night. That actually gets me pretty close to my 0.7 cent per point valuation. However, I decided to pay cash due to the ability to book a rate that includes half board, which isn’t possible when redeeming points.
Schgaguler Hotel location
Schgaguler Hotel is located in Castelrotto (Kastelruth), around 12 miles (20 kilometers) from Bolzano, the capital of the region. The village is located in the mountains, and driving there is worth the trip in and of itself.
The village is ridiculously cute — it has around 6,000 inhabitants, and it’s nestled into a hill, and almost doesn’t look real. Seriously, how cute is this?!
Schgaguler Hotel is located right in the center of the town. It’s on what almost looks like a pedestrian street, but it is indeed open to cars. In the below picture, the hotel is that white building in the far left.
The hotel offers complimentary valet parking, so we could just pull up directly to the hotel, and then they took care of things from there.
In terms of getting to the hotel, the property is around a two hour drive from Innsbruck (INN), around a three hour drive from Milan (MXP) or Venice (VCE), and around a four hour drive from Munich (MUC), so you have lots of options for how to arrive.
South Tyrol has so many charming little towns and hiking spots, so I don’t even think it matters that much where you stay. You’re a short drive from all kinds of places — we stayed in three different areas during our trip, and they each had their own charm. This property had the benefit of being right in the center of the town, so there was lots to do without even having to get in the car.
Schgaguler Hotel lobby & check-in
Schgaguler Hotel really has a boutique feel. As you enter the hotel, there’s a small reception desk, along with a couple of chairs. Past that desk is the restaurant, to the left is the lounge, and in the opposite direction are the rooms.
The guy checking us in was super friendly, and we had a great first impression. Our rooms were ready upon arrival, so we headed straight up to them. The hotel has a staircase connecting all floors, and there’s also an elevator.
There are a total of seven(ish) floors, though don’t try to make sense of the numbering. There’s a basement level, rooms are on floors one through five, and then the lobby is on level zero (according to the button in the elevator), even though it’s actually between the second and third floor.
Schgaguler Hotel guest room
We had booked classic rooms at Schgaguler Hotel, and that’s exactly what we received (the hotel was sold out over our dates). These rooms are marketed as being 35 square meters (377 square feet). We stayed in room 403, located on the fourth floor, two levels above the lobby.
The rooms here have a minimalist but chic vibe, and they almost feel like an EDITION property, but a bit nicer. The room first had an entryway with a bunch of closet space, and then the bathroom area right there, with the rest of the room straight ahead.
The main part of the room had a king size bed, a desk with a chair, and a (not terribly comfortable) seat in the corner. There was also a bathtub right in the middle of the room, which I wouldn’t usually be a fan of, but when you’re traveling with a toddler who likes to take baths, it’s sort of really convenient.
Back toward the entrance was the bathroom area, which had a sink and the shower on one side.
The shower had a floor-to-ceiling glass shield looking into the room, with no option for privacy. I find so many hotel bathroom design choices to be strange, and this definitely ranks up there.
The other side of the bathroom had the toilet and bidet, located behind a sliding door.
There was also a minibar setup with a kettle and tea, two apples, and some drinks for purchase. Much like the last property, there was no in-room coffee, which I would’ve loved to see.
The room also had a terrace with a couple of chairs. The views from here are nice but nothing amazing, as they essentially face the outskirts of town. It’s definitely a situation where it’s nicer to look at the hotel than to look out from the hotel.
All-in-all, we were very happy with the room, and thought it was stylish and functional (well, minus that shower setup).
Wi-Fi in the room worked relatively well, though the biggest issue was that the air conditioning struggled to keep up. Admittedly we stayed during the worst heatwave in the region in a long time, so I imagine most people won’t have this experience. The room did get very hot during the day, but fortunately it cooled down in the evenings. Still, if you’re very sensitive to temperature, it’s something to be aware of, especially as extreme heat becomes more common in Europe in summer.
Schgaguler Hotel spa & pool
The spa at Schgaguler Hotel… oy. So the hotel has a large spa area on the basement level. Before we talk about the spa facilities overall, let’s talk about actual spa treatments. South Tyrol has such a spa culture, so we decided to book some spa treatments, our first of the trip.
You can find the spa menu below, and then there’s a 20% discount if you book an appointment before 2PM. So all the adults in our party decided to book a spa treatment.
The spa facilities are fine, but honestly, nothing luxurious, with a very basic reception area and treatment room.
I already wrote a separate post about this topic, but this was literally the worst massage I’ve ever received. The therapist — everyone in our party had her, unfortunately, since she was the only one working — complained repeatedly about the pain in her hands, and how she couldn’t massage any harder than what I’d essentially describe as her brushing her hands along my back.
I’m not trying to be a jerk here — I feel for her, and I believe she has that pain. But I also feel like if someone books a massage where they want deep pressure and the therapist isn’t able to offer that, they should either warn you in advance, or just not offer the service. So yeah, the spa is the one thing at this property that I take big issue with.
Side note — I’m used to that fishnet underwear stuff you’re asked to put on at spas, but what the heck is this? This looks like a cross between a face mask and a jockstrap, and I was not down for it. Anyway, that was the least of my issues with this spa treatment.
On the plus side, aside from the actual quality of the treatments, the spa area was gorgeous. There was a huge indoor pool and hot tub with jets, so this was a lovely environment. Interestingly, it’s open 24/7, which you wouldn’t expect.
Beyond the pool area, there’s a relaxation area, along with a Finnish sauna, a bio sauna, a steam room, an ice room, etc. Those are available daily from 3PM until 8PM.
One thing to be aware of is that unlike the other properties we stayed at, there was no outdoor spa space. As a matter of fact, the hotel doesn’t actually have an outdoor pool. Instead, there’s just a big deck with loungers and a hot tub, available daily from 10AM until 9PM. This is still a lovely place to pass time, but if an outdoor pool is important to you, this property isn’t where you’ll want to stay.
Schgaguler Hotel gym
Also on the basement level, Schgaguler Hotel has a gym, open daily from 6:30AM until 9PM (at least technically — I’m not convinced those hours are enforced).
The good news is that the gym is absolutely massive for a hotel of this size, with an impressive array of equipment. Seriously, the gym is puzzlingly large, and we were so happy to see a proper gym after the last hotel we stayed at, as that gym left a lot to be desired.
The catch is that most of the equipment was super outdated, and it all felt very random, as if the equipment was all acquired at different times. Much of the equipment was basically falling apart.
So while not perfect, we were delighted to have a proper gym in terms of the variety of equipment, so I’ll put this in the camp of being a plus for the hotel.
Schgaguler Hotel kids club
Schgaguler Hotel has a kids club, or perhaps more accurately, a small room intended for kids. It’s not exactly the most exciting space, but something is better than nothing.
Much more exciting is that there’s a village playground right across the street from the hotel, which our older son enjoyed every morning. So weather permitting, that’s definitely the play.
Schgaguler Hotel restaurant & bar
When it comes to food & drinks, Schgaguler Hotel has the following two venues:
- The hotel’s restaurant is open daily from 7:30AM until 10:30AM for breakfast, from 12PM until 1:45PM for lunch, and from 6:45PM until 8:45PM for dinner
- The hotel’s lounge and bar is open daily from 7:30AM until 12:30AM, and serves drinks and snacks all day, and also offers complimentary afternoon pastries from 2:30PM until 5:30PM
Anyway, the lounge area is right next to reception, and is a lovely space to hang out. There’s comfortable indoor and outdoor seating, and it’s just an all-around pleasant vibe.
As mentioned above, there’s a little afternoon pastry setup here every day, with a rotating selection of four options, plus some sauces (typically vanilla and cherry sauce).
This was also a great place to go for a pre-dinner drink, and the dirty martinis were legitimately good (which can otherwise sometimes be tough to find, outside of the US and England.
Now let’s move on to the restaurant, where we had breakfast and dinner almost every day, since both were included (we had dinner one night at nearby Nomad, which I highly recommend — what a unique dining experience).
The hotel’s restaurant has a couple of dozen tables, so it’s a good size, but also gets busy.
Breakfast here consists of a buffet, along with an a la carte selection to complement that. The buffet was small but high quality, and consisted mostly of all kinds of freshly baked bread and pastries, yogurt, fruit, and cereal.
Guests could then order as much as they wanted from the below menu. As you can see, this contained some things you might usually find at a buffet (like cold cuts), along with made to order items.
The cappuccinos, drip coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, and pineapple juice, were all excellent.
Among the a la carte options, the yogurt parfait, cold cuts, omelets, and crepes, were all enjoyed.
Then there was the dinner, which we had on three of our four evenings (since we ate out one night). The menu changed daily, and the quality was exceptional, especially when you consider we paid just an extra €11 per person for this.
For example, below is the menu for one night (with the idea being that the same salad selection is available every day, and then everything else rotates), with pictures of what we ordered.
Below are some of the pictures from another night.
There was also a special menu for kids, and Miles enjoyed a wiener schnitzel most evenings.
I have nothing but good things to say about the food here.
Schgaguler Hotel service
For the most part, I found service at Schgaguler Hotel to be excellent. The front office staff were uniformly warm and hospitable. The restaurant staff were also mostly excellent, particularly Sandra.
Just a few quirks I’d like to point out, in the interest of being constructive and balanced:
- Obviously we had the huge issue at the spa, but even beyond the bad treatments, the staff just weren’t very helpful there, and didn’t speak English or German well (just Italian); for example, I tried to cancel a spa treatment for the following day, and the person at the desk confirmed it was canceled, only for to get a call 10 minutes after the treatment start time, asking me where I am
- The hotel has a strange way of making you sign for the things you buy, like wine, cocktails, etc.; initially I was just under the impression that they just charge you without having you sign, but then they’d just randomly come up to me every couple of days with five different receipts, asking me to sign all of them, which just seems rather disorganized
- While the restaurant staff were mostly lovely, there were a couple of people working there who had a really hectic vibe; also, the actual service flow felt a bit assembly line-esque, as orders were taken by iPad, you were asked for your choice almost immediately upon sitting down, etc., and it could’ve just felt like more of a fine dining experience based on the quality of the food
Those are just nitpicks, and all things considered, I found the service to be excellent. The front office staff and most of the restaurant staff were just absolutely lovely (with Sandra in the restaurant being so nice that I wondered if she was actually human… in a good way).
Bottom line
We had a fabulous stay at Schgaguler Hotel, which is a very charming and stylish property in Castelrotto. The staff were mostly lovely, the design was nice, we loved the town it’s located in, and the inclusions were great. There were a few things we didn’t love about the stay, but all things considered, we had a great time. I can’t recommend South Tyrol enough.
What’s your take on Schgaguler Hotel?