Hotel Chalet Mirabell: A 5-star alpine hideaway of dreams

I have never been to a hotel—at home or abroad—that immediately struck me as the absolute perfect location for a honeymoon. No, I am not engaged, not in the slightest, but as I stretched out my travel weary shoulders and sipped on my extremely necessary welcome Prosecco, I immediately understood this to be a place I would return to in the distant future, love drunk and blissful.

Hotel Chalet Mirabell is, ostensibly, in Italy. But it is very northeastern Italy, tucked into the mountainous heights of South Tyrol, above the rooftops of Merano. A retreat in every sense of the word, a trip to this 5-star hotel involves a total suspension of reality. The real world exists far away, past the peaks in the distance, but never quite darkens your hotel room door.

The family-owned alpine hideaway is surrounded by wide open spaces and untouched nature. From your perch on a sunlounger by one of the many heated pools, you’ll spot sheep, goats, and the hotel’s own pack of alpacas. You’ll send yourself into a trance as you watch mountaintops tickle the passing clouds, and snore yourself awake when you inevitably drift off.

Every room or suite at Hotel Chalet Mirabell has glass doors that lead to either a terrace or a balcony, so you never have to deprive yourself of the views for even a moment. My balcony had a great big swing, to which I was glued most mornings (women don’t sweat, they gently perspire), before I padded down to the buffet style breakfast.

In terms of dining, Hotel Chalet Mirabell provided quite the culinary experience morning, noon and night. The 5-star gourmet breakfast buffet had all the pastries and fruit and cereal and juice we’ve come to expect from a top-notch continental, and the lunch buffet was equally as appealing, with Italian antipasti, delicious soups, and hearty pasta dishes to choose from.

Few places manage to tread the line between romantic and family-friendly as seamlessly as Hotel Chalet Mirabell. You can enter the grounds of the hotel in a heady love bubble, or you can ball on in with the whole family in tow. You can lace up your hiking boots and thrust yourself into the nature that’s right there on the doorstep, or you can adopt the slow pace, and do as I did and watch nature happening from the comfort of a sunlounger.

Sarah Gill was a guest of Hotel Chalet Mirabell. Nightly costs start from €390, and are available for booking now at www.residence-mirabell.com