A Slow Stay

MyArbor

Perca, South Tyrol

MyArbor sits above the Puster Valley in South Tyrol, where the Dolomites rise to the south and the Alpine forests press in on every side. Designed around the idea of living among the trees, the hotel's rooms and suites are embedded into the landscape rather than placed on top of it — some cantilevered above the treeline, others built into the hillside, all of them oriented towards the view. The architecture is precise and quiet, the kind that disappears into its setting.

This is a hotel that understands what the mountains ask of you: slow down, look up, breathe. The food comes from the valley, the spa draws on the forest around it, and the silence in the morning, with the Dolomites lit by early sun and the air still cold, is one of those things that is very hard to find anywhere else. You come to MyArbor to be absorbed by the place, and it lets you.

The Hotel

The Rooms

Floor-to-ceiling glass, local larch wood, stone and linen — the rooms at MyArbor are designed so that the outside is always present. Wake up to the Dolomite peaks framed like paintings, the forest moving in the morning breeze, the light changing by the minute. Some rooms have private terraces, some have outdoor baths on the balcony. The heating is radiant, the beds are extraordinary, and the whole thing smells of wood and clean mountain air.

The Treetop Pool

An infinity pool elevated above the forest canopy, with unobstructed views to the Dolomite peaks. Swimming here in the early morning, before anyone else is awake, with the mountains pink and the mist still in the valley below, is one of those quiet experiences that becomes a memory you keep returning to. There is also a heated outdoor pool at garden level and a generous indoor pool for colder days.

The Alpine Spa

Built around the concept of forest bathing, the spa uses locally sourced pine resin, mountain herbs and mountain spring water in its treatments. The sauna is a proper Finnish affair, the steam room smells of Alpine hay and the cold plunge pool draws water from a spring on the property. The outdoor relaxation terrace, wrapped in a blanket with the forest below you, is the closest most of us will get to genuine peace.

The Restaurant

South Tyrolean cooking at its most considered — local cheeses, cured meats from the valley, handmade pasta and dumplings, fish from nearby mountain lakes, venison and wild boar in season. The wine list leans heavily on South Tyrolean labels, which is exactly right. The dining room has panoramic windows and in winter the snow-covered landscape outside makes the warmth inside feel earned.

The Surroundings

Kronplatz

10-minute drive

One of the finest ski mountains in the Alps in winter and one of the best viewpoints in the Dolomites in summer. The cable car from Brunico takes you to the summit plateau at 2275 metres, where you can see the Dolomites, the Zillertal Alps and the Hohe Tauern in every direction. In summer, the hiking from the summit is exceptional. In winter, the skiing is fast, varied and well-organised.

Brunico

10-minute drive

The main town of the Puster Valley, with a medieval centre of arcaded streets, excellent delis and the Messner Mountain Museum in the old castle above the town. The weekly market is one of the best in South Tyrol for local cheeses, cured meats and mountain produce. The town has none of the tourist-resort quality of some alpine destinations — it is simply a real South Tyrolean town doing its own thing.

Pragser Wildsee

20-minute drive

One of the most beautiful lakes in the Alps — turquoise water in a bowl of sheer Dolomite rock, boats you can hire by the hour, a simple hotel that has been here since the nineteenth century. The walk around the lake is short and gentle. In the morning before the day-trippers arrive, the silence on the water is extraordinary. The colour of the lake changes with the light and is never quite the same twice.

Do's & Don'ts

Do

Swim in the treetop pool at sunrise — it is worth setting an alarm for
Book the forest bathing experience with the spa team
Drive up to Pragser Wildsee early — it is extraordinary before 9am
Try the local Lagrein and Vernatsch wines at dinner
Pack layers — the mountain mornings are cold even in summer

Don't

Come for just one night — it takes a day to decompress enough to appreciate it
Skip the Messner Mountain Museum in Brunico — it is unlike any museum you have been to
Underestimate the altitude — the air is thinner and the sun stronger than you expect
Rush through dinner — let the evening extend as long as it wants to
Leave without hiking at least one trail — the landscape demands to be moved through