offerendum

Ciao e benvenuto!
After last year's absence of a holiday in Italy, this year we wanted to return to the land of longing. From the beginning, it was clear that this time I wanted to visit Villa Feltrenelli and Il Pellicano. In between, I was looking for something for the Padua region, as I particularly wanted to fill in existing gaps in the form of Ferrara, Vicenza, Venice and also parts of Padua.
Since Villa Feltrenelli in particular is in high demand, I booked in August last year, about 14 months before the intended stay. I had to take alternative dates, as the suite I preferred was occupied on the dates I had in mind. To be on the safe side, I also booked Il Pellicano in August 2022, which later turned out to be a good decision. In the meantime, the rates had doubled (the normal madness!).
In the Padua region it was a bit more difficult. In the end, I decided on the Esplanade Tergesteo in Montegrotto Terme. It looked modern on the homepage, had a nice suite with jaccuzzi (more on that later) and large thermal baths.
What was still open was a hotel for the outward journey and something for the way home from Porto Ercole. Here I thought about almost everything, from Milan to Andermatt to Bürgenstock to Ascona.
"To make matters worse, I wanted to use my annual €200 travel voucher from American Express. On the outward journey, we finally decided to travel via the Brenner Pass instead of the Gotthard and stop off in Seefeld. We chose to stay at the Sacher Alpin Resort. There I was able to use the voucher and the rates were at about the same level as Andermatt. The main difference, however, was that half board is already included at the Sacher.
I had also thought long and hard about the return trip. The newly opened Cape of Senses looked interesting but initially had a minimum stay of 3 nights. However, I only had 2 nights left because I had to be home the following day due to an appointment. Milan was also a favourite as I wanted to go to La Scala anyway, but the rates for the particular weekend were totally crazy. It must have been some fair or something in Milan. In the end, the choice fell on Lake Como. After my initial fixation on the Mandarin Oriental, the brand new Passalacqua was recommended in the luxury forum. Since I liked it very much on the homepage, I booked it spontaneously.
So much for the preface, but now let's get started.

lamphs

Looking forward to this one!

halfcape

Subscribed!

NotALawyer

Can’t wait for this one since I’m planning essentially the same trip for next year!

offerendum

For our first stop, as already mentioned, we had decided on a night at the Sacher Alpin Resort in Seefeld. This is a traditional Austrian hotel that used to trade under the name Astoria. It was taken over by Elisabeth Gürtler, who has been remodelling it since 2015. Pierre-Yves Rochon, who also designed the Four Seasons George V in Paris, is responsible for the design.
Already in the lobby, it is noticeable that antlers have been used practically everywhere. One can also speak of an antler fetish. If they are all real (I didn't ask, but it looks like it), the game population of half of Austria must have been slaughtered.
The front lobby part is round with cloth sheep.

Behind it is a kind of living hall with the bar, note the antlered ceiling. Even the armrests of the chairs are made of antlers.





There is a lot of old furniture in the corridors, which is all quite coherent.




It's all quite funny for a short stay. If my house was furnished like this, however, the bulky waste would definitely come pretty soon.

SanDiego1K

What did you think of all the antlers? And sheep? Good or bad design decision?

T8191

Great start ... I'm along for the ride!

offerendum

I personally like the sheep, but I think the antlers are terrible.

offerendum

Thanks

AntimonyER

Great start... Just as a note, no animals need be slaughtered to obtain antlers, all antlered animals grow and shed them annually as part of the mating process. Might not change your opinion of their use in the decor, but at least can ease your mind about the local animal population .

offerendum

That's something I didn't had in mind. Still don't like the decor, but it's a question of taste.

Fabo.sk

I keep hitting the same thing over and over again, the other time I was in Milan it was the F1 weekend so I ended up all the way beyond Linate, just about a month ago, my sister had to stay in Saronno before flying out of MXP, everything in the city was either sold out or overpriced.... turned out we hit Fashion week.

I've also happened to book in Paris randomly for TdF Arrivee and wanted to play golf at a course during a Tour weekend. Oh well.

I looked up La Scala, it's actually quite a bit more affordable than expected, considering the Met starts at some $150. Too bad I didn't think of it earlier, 22/23 season has a lot more interesting offer for me compared to upcoming 23/24

offerendum

Part of our rate was the Sacher pampering half board. However, half board is somewhat misleading in that there is breakfast, lunch, cake and dinner. I actually call it full board. We were lucky in that we arrived just before the end of lunch time. Since we were hungry anyway and the room was not ready yet, we went to the restaurant.

The choice at lunchtime is not huge, but it is sufficient. First there is a salad buffet and a potato soup.

For the main course we could choose between spaghetti Bolognese or a jacket potato, we of course opted for the latter.

Actually, there was another dessert of the day (no idea what it was), but it was cancelled due to the advanced time. We only had to pay for the drinks, which were generous.

Lunch is certainly nothing grandiose and I understand that it is not advertised as a full meal. Nevertheless, from my point of view, it is better than nothing and a welcome snack.

T8191

€5.10 for a small Coke? OUCH! 😱

offerendum

GF always says: "5 star prices". But it was also my last paid Coke during my stay. There was a second one in the evening when we redeemed our welcome drinks.