After 6 months of staying at home and exploring only our own Netherlands, it was finally time to cross borders again and have our first trip abroad since the Corona pandemic. With still many travel restrictions in place, our destinations were limited. But nevertheless, we managed to pick an awesome destination for this first trip after Corona.
Northern Italy it is, with only two city trips to Rome and Milan, we had never properly traveled Italy before, and with no travel restrictions to get to Italy, now was the perfect time to start exploring some great parts of this country. The Dolomites were set as our first stop. After arriving in Milan and picking up our rental car, we immediately made our way up north to the magical Dolomites mountains and ended up in the beautiful luxury resort of La Maiena Meran Resort.
Our plan was to cover the Dolomites from West to East in about a week time, starting in Merano, at the La Maiena Meran Resort. This resort offers the perfect holiday blend, being a wellness hotel, a gourmet temple and an activity resort. Whatever it is you’re searching for, you’ll find it here!
Location La Maiena Meran Resort
Just outside of Merano (Meran) we found the amazing La Maiena Meran Resort. After a 3-hour drive from Milan, the perfect start to our mountain adventure in the Dolomites.
The resort is located right next to the train station of Marlengo / Marling, which makes this resort very easily accessible by train. The Swiss, Austrian and German national railways combined with the Italian Trenitalia and Sudtiroler Bahn make it a stress free and relaxing journey.
Also by car this hotel is very easily accessible, just 30 km north of Bolzano. Arriving by car, you can park your car in their private underground carpark. We had a spot reserved especially for us for our whole stay. The number of the parking lot corresponded to the room number.
From its location in Marlengo, this resort overlooks the lovely town of Merano. This resort is surrounded by the Trentino mountains, guaranteeing amazing and breathtaking views.
Warm Welcome
After a long drive from Milan, we arrived early in the evening. We were very warmly welcomed by the front desk staff member, who was clearly expecting us and waiting for us.
Entering the main building and reception area of the hotel, we first had to measure our temperature, which I think is a good thing nowadays. We don’t have these kinds of measures in the Netherlands.
Check in was very pleasant and personal, after check in was all done, the front desk staff member walked us to our room. We were given room 807, which I will tell you all about, just keep reading.
Entering the room we were given a short tour and were explained what everything was and how the most important things worked.
It’s a small thing to do, to walk your guests to their room, show them where it is and tell them some details about the room they’re staying in for the next few days, but for me this is such a great plus! Not having to roam the hotel, searching for your room. Well done La Maiena Meran Resort.
Upon arrival we were given our room key cards in a very nice welcome package, with lots of information about the resort and the area. The package includes a map of the property, of course two room keys, two Meraner Land Guest Cards and two vouchers for a so-called welcome home drink.
La Maiena Meran Resort was making us feel at home instantly by calling these the welcome home drinks.
Meraner Land Guest Card
As mentioned, the welcome package also included two Meraner Land Guest Cards. These guest cards come with numerous exclusive offers and benefits. Discounts of at least 10% at over 100 museums, on cable cars and on sports and recreational activities in Merano and surroundings.
Such a big bonus when visiting Merano. I wanted to explore this region badly and figuring out nearly all cable cars in the area were included in this guest card, I was very happy. So don’t forget to use the Meraner Land Guest Card while staying La Maiena Meran Resort.
La Maiena Meran Resort Room 807
Room 807 of the La Maiena Meran Resort was a dream! I don’t even know where to begin. This room was amazing, very large with everything (and more) you could wish for or dream of. The main part of the room has a large bed, television and a cosy seating area.
Next to this main part of our room was another part, with another bed. Have you ever heard of a day-bed? We surely didn’t, so needed a bit of explanation on that one! We were explained the day-bed during the room tour after we checked in. It is pretty much just an extra bed for you to relax during the day. This room had the day bed, a desk and chair and a second television, I was amazed.
From our main room we had access to our large balcony. Our room and balcony overlooked the pool area and offered some nice Merano and Dolomites views. The two loungers at the balcony are the best, just relax and enjoy the views. You won’t even want to leave this place anymore.
Then there is also a bathroom, a very large bathroom with plenty of space. A bathtub, separate shower with large rain shower and some fancy lighting. There are also plenty of towels to use throughout your stay, color-coded for each type of use. The green towels are for the pool, the brown-white towels are to use at the spa and sauna. There are also a bathrobe and slippers provided, which I really love.
The best thing about this bathroom? The little rubber ducky on the edge of the bathtub, waiting to accompany you while taking a well-deserved relaxed bath after a long day exploring.
The most surprising thing about this room is that it had an infra-red cabin. I mean, I have seen these at hotels before, but they are always located at the spa and wellness area. We have never had one in our own room. I mean, seriously, an infra-red cabin in our hotel room. How cool is that? We didn’t even have to leave our room in La Maiena Meran Resort for a relaxation moment.
On the coat rack there was a large backpack available for you to use throughout your stay, how convenient. The mini bar is filled with beer, sparkling water and some juices. And guess what, the first filling of the minibar is included in the room rate! The remote controls of both televisions are in a protected bag, corona proof!
I was truly amazed by the size and the luxury of this room at La Maiena Meran Resort!
Gourmet Temple
A gourmet temple is one of the definitions of this hotel according to their own website. And after staying at this resort for three nights and experiencing half board service, I couldn’t agree more! Gourmet temple totally fits La Maiena Meran Resort, and I will tell you why.
You can book your stay with just breakfast or with half board included. I would surely recommend you to book with half board included, as it is really worthwhile! Half board includes breakfast and dinner.
Breakfast is served at the main restaurant every morning, and offers a wide range of choices, fresh fruits, fresh eggs and pancakes, juices, freshly cut meats, you name it, they have it.
Dinner is served at the same restaurant, and there will be a table reserved for you every evening. Dinner is six courses starting with a salad, a starter, then a soup or a shake, followed by the main course, dessert and a cheese platter. For the main course you have the choice between three dishes, meat, fish or vegetarian.
The food they serve at breakfast and dinner is of very high quality and absolutely delicious!
Next to the main restaurant they also have a bistro on site. Bistro Fiorello is your place to be for a la carte lunch. It is located right next to the pool and offers some relaxed and laidback vibes.
Pools & Wellness
La Maiena Meran Resort has several pools, including one infinity pool. At the main building, where you can also find the wellness area, they have an indoor pool, adults only.
This pool offers very relaxed garden views and is directly connected to the spa and wellness area, with sauna, massages and treatments. This part also offers a lovely and relaxing whirl-lounge pool and a spacious nude pool.
Just outside of Bistro Fiorello there is another outdoor pool with a slide for children. Then you have the two main pools, an infinity panoramic outdoor pool, which is heated, I love it! This pool gives you unlimited Dolomites views, it doesn’t get much better. And a light flooded panoramic indoor pool.
Another bonus, at this outdoor pool there is waiter that serves you at your relaxing bed. Drinks are put to your room account. However, they also come by with small bites and snacks, complimentary! Such great service from La Maiena Meran Resort.
Activities
They offer a wide range of activities you can participate in, which can be found weekly on their website. They offer hikes, biking, yoga sessions, relaxing infusions with a sauna master, tastings, live music, you name it they offer it. Please keep in mind that registration to these activities might be necessary.
There are also two tennis courts on site, the front desk offers balls and rackets. So what are you waiting for? Let’s take it to the court and play some!
We are very active travelers, we love to explore new places and normally only use hotels to sleep at. But La Maiena Meran Resort managed to keep us at the resort our entire stay, and that is quite an achievement. We loved every moment we spent at the resort and would have loved staying longer, but obviously we had some beautiful parts of the Dolomites to explore.
La Maiena Meran Resort was the perfect first destination abroad after being at home for 6 months due to Corona. I would choose this hotel again immediately. It’s a great destination in summertime, but I bet it is just as wonderful in winter time, when the snow covers the Dolomites. Make sure to check this place out when planning a trip to the Dolomites.
This luxury resort in Meran truly offers it all. It’s often the little things that make the difference, like sanitizer and hand lotion literally everywhere throughout the resort. Or the La Maiena News, a self-made newspaper awaiting you at your breakfast table at the restaurant. Telling you about the weather forecast, the daily highlights, like planned hikes or wine tastings for example. It leaves you with plenty of ideas and suggestions to do in and around La Maiena Meran Resort and in the area of Merano.
Finally, a massive shout out to all the staff of La Maiena Meran Resort. They all are super friendly and thoughtful. Their service was very personal and professional, keep up the amazing work!
This blog was written by travel writer and Traveltomtom team member Ashley. She travelled the Dolomites and Northern Italy early September and stayed at the La Maiena Meran Resort on behalf of Traveltomtom and wrote this blog about her experiences.