Lamm: the hotel that combines mountain spa, gourmet stube and Dolomite view suites

A gourmet stube, 55 rooms and suites, and a year-round outdoor pool: there's a hotel for gourmet travelers in the province of Bolzano that promises to satisfy every holiday need.

All photos by Francesco De Marco

The hotel

Castelrotto is a tiny, delightful South Tyrolean town surrounded by the majesty of the Dolomites, just minutes from the Alpe di Siusi lifts and the Sciliar-Catinaccio Nature Park. The Hotel Lamm, an elegant 4-star S establishment, is right in the center: it is not, however, one of the usual, bulky hotels that hold sway among the mountains in the province of Bolzano, beautiful without a soul.

It may be because it is perfectly blended into the surroundings of the village, thanks to a series of clever interventions such as the large, fully underground parking lot, it may also be because of its elegance and that warmth that greets us after any of the many activities one can choose from up here, from skiing in winter to wonderful trekking in summer. Directing what has been transformed from a tavern for wayfarers, documented as far back as the late 17th century, to a hotel in the 1960s, to the modern cozy 'home' of today, is Verena Gabrielli, a skilled professional, appointed to the role by the Alpe di Siusi Gondola Limited Company, which owns the facility.

Verena has witnessed Lamm's growth and has been an essential contributor in shaping it: "We like to see it as a baby, born from an idea that we didn't know how it would develop. The baby started walking, went to school and-sooner or later- (smiles, ed.) will also get a degree, we hope. This is our vision, both for the hotel and for the Lampl Stube, and our guests let us know that we are on the right track."

Meticulously researched and executed design characterizes the Lamm's environments starting with the common areas. Lukas Tammerle and Paul Senoner, the two architects who were commissioned for the latest restyling project, have done a work of remarkable personality, skillfully blending clean lines, stone and wood, combining them with art as well: here are paintings from Petra Polli's Tracks series, obtained from photographs the artist takes while walking in the woods and translates into drawings with black India ink on a white background; also, wood sculptures by Gardena-based Giuani da Manguc, "The Daughters of the Wind," and photos by Karin Schmuck. Wonderfully striking is the natural beeswax wall, made on site through a casting process, behind the bar counter, a tribute to nature releasing its delicate, characteristic fragrance into the environment.

There are 55 rooms, including suites, in all: functional and comfortable, the warmth of the oak wood on the floors and the terraces overlooking the wonder of the mountains are cooled and heated through an environmentally friendly and sustainable bio-conditioning system. The Lamm's wellness area is special and unique, starting with the fact that from up here it almost seems as if you are touching the village's imposing bell tower: between the fourth and fifth floors there is in fact a fully equipped spa with all possible facilities with a wonderful open-air swimming pool, usable in both summer and winter thanks to its large closable windows.

The fifth floor setting is striking, with a vast relaxation room inspired by a typical mountain barn and a large fireplace in the center. Outside, there is a terrace with a hot tub and unparalleled views of the valley.

The cuisine

In a context such as this, food service also plays a strong part: heading the kitchens is a native chef, practically self-taught but with crystal-clear instinctive talent, who grew up in the family business with his father imparting to him the first fundamentals of the trade and has spent time in various regional establishments. Marc Oberhofer, born in 1982, follows every aspect involving food with passionate dedication. A gourmet corner of great elegance cannot be missed, then: this is the Lampl Stube, a small dining room in which the chef devotes himself to a maximum of three tables and a dozen diners, who are first welcomed and then pampered by the talented Gianluca Rovai, a maître of Tuscan descent and with a maternal grandfather from South Tyrol. Rovai is also in charge of a well-rounded wine list.

Marc Oberhofer offers a very personal cuisine that is the result of an in-depth knowledge of his land and the great products that South Tyrol has to offer, but it is also free of ideological preclusions towards ingredients that come from outside and are functional to taste. The dishes are beautiful to look at, the result of meticulous research, but above all very good.

We refresh ourselves, preparing the tastebuds, with a colorful salad of 27 herbs and flowers from the now legendary Aspinger farm, to which are added a potato rösti, elderflower capers and dandelion capers: it is dressed with a 'mist' of juniper and accompanied by an apple vinegar drink with yarrow syrup.

The golden trout tartare from Val Passiria served with a chip from its skin, caviar and saffron sauce from the area (it grows a couple of kilometers from here and only a tiny amount can be produced: between 5 and 10 grams per year) is very elegant; to finish, an oxalis granita and sour cream.

The three soups, all served together in as many small pots, are a must-have that made us fall in love with Marc's cooking years ago now: they change with each menu, and in this case we found a consommé with semolina dumpling, a cream of watercress on which is grated the chef-prepared smoked heart of venison, and finally, Tyrolean ramen with buckwheat pasta, bresaola, cardoncelli mushrooms and broth of lichen, char, moss and cedarwood.

Exquisite and intense are the tortelli made of wheat flour, filled with malga cheese on venison ragu and fermented apricots: to finish, a Sylvaner foam.

Soft and flavorful pikeperch confit, served on a cream of fermented asparagus, peas and calf's head, plus its crispy scales, fennel, flowers and chive oil.

From tradition, the rich goulash with polenta, prepared with veal cheek on creamed peppers, foam of sour and sautéed sauerkraut, citrus gel and anchovy; all with another small salad.

Served in two courses, the gray beef or better Grauvieh is succulent: the filet with popcorn achilles tendon, spruce shoots and cones, celery puree, red turnips, spring onions, spring onions, leeks, baby carrots and zucchini, earth chestnuts, earth almond, pea shoots, scorzonera root and oat root; the second one features the very tasty offal of the same beast: heart, lungs and kidneys, with gherkins and vegetables.

The pre-dessert is a delicious alpine milk with cream and lemon thyme sorbet served with a cereal crumble.

It ends, but still worth leaving a space for the choreographic petit fours, with a Valrhona cuvée chocolate dessert, with buckwheat, pop ice cream, white chocolate sauce with fermented blackberry oil, marinated, gelled and fermented blackberries, and caramel berries. A highly recommended stop.