Quellenhof

Quellenhof Luxury Resort Passeier sits in the Val Passiria, about ten kilometers north of the spa town of Merano and an easy drive from the Dolomites. The Dorfer family took over a run-down inn here in 1923 and have spent a century turning it into the largest spa and sports resort in South Tyrol, though it still runs like a family business, with the owners doing the rounds at dinner. Accommodation spreads across four guesthouses and two residences, so the resort absorbs a lot of guests without ever feeling like a single crowded building. Families usually land in the 50 square meter rooms that sleep up to four, each with a small lounge and a balcony, or in the residence apartments when they want proper separation and a kitchen. The chalets come with a private pool on the terrace, a whirlpool, and a sauna. What sets the grounds apart is how much of it the hotel actually owns: riding stables with twenty horses, seven clay tennis courts, a four-hole golf course, and a 7,000 square meter park, which is a rare amount of land for a mountain resort in Italy to have on its doorstep.

The part parents notice first is that the childcare is real. Supervised care runs from age three, all day and all year, including outside school holidays, with lunch included, and the Miniclub takes two year olds with a day's notice. That is genuinely unusual, and it is what turns the 10,500 square meter spa into something a parent can use, since it is split into a family zone and an adults-only zone with a rooftop glass infinity pool. Children get the Acqua Family Parc, with a water slide, a lazy river, a toddler splash pool, and a heated outdoor pool that runs year-round. Older kids get the Action Park: a trampoline park, an interactive bouldering wall, a go-kart track, and a 3D cinema. Dinner is a six-course gourmet menu included in every rate, and when you want a proper night out, the Gourmetstube 1897 holds a Michelin star without leaving the property.