Gourmet- und Boutiquehotel, Restaurant Tanzer

If you don’t immediately pick up heavy Italian vibes from a hotel called Gourmet- und Boutiquehotel, Restaurant Tanzer, you’re not alone. Welcome to South Tyrol, where German is spoken alongside Italian, and where the meeting of national borders seems less consequential than the meeting of the Dolomites and the Zillertal Alps. It’s here, in the Pustertal Valley, that the Gourmet and Boutique Hotel Tanzer makes its home.

It’s family-owned, but it’s by no means provincial or overly tradition-bound. The exterior is classically Alpine in silhouette, and made from weathered wood, but there’s a modernist simplicity to the interpretation, which carries over into the interiors. In the rooms and suites you’ll find plenty of knotty pine wood, but the spaces are sparse, minimalist, uncluttered, and filled with natural light.

In classic Alpine style there’s a decided emphasis on wellness, from the myriad hiking and sporting options in the immediate surroundings to the hotel’s own spa, with its sauna, garden, and relaxation room. And the cuisine is suitably elaborate, combining South Tyrolean and Mediterranean flavors with the spirit of abundant, healthy eating that’s native to the Alps. It’s a perfect introduction to Alpine life, for all four seasons.