A walking holiday in the Val Senales

This was our first "centered" walk with Inntravel and made a fun change from the exciting, yet higher pressured, itinerant itineraries we'd previously undertaken.  Zur Goldenen Rose is a captivating, luxurious property in a restful, verdant setting.  Within its compact footprint, it manages to accommodate spacious and beautifully appointed guest rooms, two dining rooms (the charming stube being our favourite), two separate outdoor dining areas, a charming, well-kept garden with many places for sitting and reclining on fine days, and a beautiful new spa and garden area towards the "Residence" apartments.  This spa is available free for guests.
The inn is well placed for hiking (and presumably for skiing), with several trails leading directly out of the small village.  A reliable post bus service picks up just around the corner and whisks guests to various other points of departure for hiking in the gorgeous Senales valley.  Inntravel has once again spotted and accurately described several of the best possible walks. 
Innkeepers Paul and Steffi Grüner are fully as delightful as other reviewers have noted.  Their genuine, warm presence and hands-on interest in our experience were highlights of the vacation.  Although few of the other staff quite rises to this level, the overall sense of ease and elegance in the service makes for an exceptional experience.  We felt well taken care of.
Food and drink at Goldenen Rose was excellent and plentiful, including an abundant and elaborate breakfast served to your table, a nice change from the more traditional breakfast buffet.  Of note is the variety of available dishes and ingredients and that there are many choices workable for those with dietary restrictions. 
Certosa (or Karthaus) is a charming mountain village, yet maintains a sense of chic glamour owing to its regularly scheduled rather sophisticated art installations and a careful curation and tending of its unique assets.  (We were lucky to be there during one of their installation opening fetes!)  A restful place to land with a surprising amount going on.
Recommendations: consider choice of room seriously, since some of the "nicer" rooms in fact are easily looked into from the garden and thus must not seem too private.  We were extremely happy with ours on a higher floor with a balcony.
If you are fit and can appreciate a rougher-hewn experience, the opportunity to spend a night at the Bella Vista mountain hut is highly recommendable.  We chose to hike up from the valley floor (just under 900 meters, rather steep in sections) and to return the same way the next day. This was a spectacular walk and the peace and wildness of the hut's setting was breathtaking.  Service at Bella Vista was exceptionally warm and helpful and the food quite good, especially considering limitations imposed by the setting.
A highly recommended holiday for both excellent walking opportunities and a taste of luxurious relaxation.

Excellent hotel, perfectly positoned for this holiday and in a stunning valley. We had expected the food to be good based on previous reviews, but it far exceeded that and was a real highlight, as was the wine list! The provided routes were excellent on the whole, a couple of comments; we reversed Route 1 as someone else had previously suggested which worked very well. We actually did the route from Vorderkasser twice as it was so good, and walked further up the valley the second time than the notes suggested and were rewarded with a really close sighting of a lovely Marmot. Our only slight negative comment on a route was the sustained and steep downhill from the Berglalm hut (Path No. 13), the route might be better done the other way round, or to use the same route both up and down from the Berglalm hut (which was wonderful by the way!). The buses worked perfectly wherever we used them. The cable car wasn't yet running (due to late season snow) so we couldn't do the high route, but will save that for another time. We had a wonderful time and plan to return next year.

Zur Goldene Rose [Traditions of South Tyrol holiday] was, as ever, faultless. Piedmont's Magical Valley is a wonderful area and the diversity of flora is the best we have seen on any Inntravel holiday - simply stunning. However the walking is really tough and quite unrelenting.  Revisiting the walking notes to ensure greater accuracy would be worthwhile and perhaps including some less demanding options which we did find.  Accommodation all very different but all excellent in their own way.  

Both holidays [Hidden Italy & Slovenia with Lakes & Julian Alps upgrade option, and Traditions of South Tyrol] were wonderful. Mostly, the accommodation was of a high standard.  This is important to us when we travel. We asked for upgrades to superior rooms and this was accommodated where possible. The walk options allowed for different levels of fitness and energy - we really enjoyed the beauty of the countryside in all places.  The walks you suggested offered a lot of variety also. I would recommend Slovenia as a very easy country to travel in.  We had positive experiences with everyone we came into contact with.  Slovenia is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to.  Certosa was remarkable; such an interesting history and culture.  It seems like a lot of thought went in to organising the walks with the transport involved to get us to as many different trails as possible. Food on both trips was consistently of a very high standard.  We loved the little cafes on the walks.  They were pretty special. I should mention that Slovenia was very warm for walking in July.  The milder weather in the Tyrols was much more comfortable for me (just a personal preference - my partner didn’t mind the heat at all).  I would come back and do both trips again.  Just one point on the lunches - very hard to accommodate everyone’s taste and appetites, so my preference would be to organise my own lunch where feasible.

Outstanding hotel - bedroom, public rooms, garden, all beautifully kept. Immaculate service - professional, friendly, respectful, attentive, responsive, caring. Superb food - breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner. Wonderful position - breathtaking scenery, short distances, great bus service. Lots of really memorable walks interspersed with delightful mountain cafes

A really lovely holiday again with Inntravel. The location, hotel and scenery was amazing. Many thanks to the hotel proprietors for all their help and assistance thoughout. Food in the hotel was really special with themed nights, afternoon cakes and excellent service from all the staff. There is a lovely relaxing spa and wellbeing service offered in the hotel, which we used on a couple of occasions to revitalise our bodies and minds. The use of the local free bus and train pass, with free bike for the day was incredible and really easy to use. Cycling in this area was a pleasure with a lovely cycle path that follows the valley river for miles, drop the bike off and catch the train back. The routes were really well way marked, hardly needing to refer to the notes or maps. Well done Inntravel you provide an excellent service, with attention to detail clearly very apparent.

One of the best of our many Inntravel holidays. The Goldene Rose hotel is very special and in a lovely part of the world. Rooms are great, and the food and wine excellent, and very plentiful with great breakfasts, excellent 5 course suppers and lovely tea and cakes which are generously offered from 3 to 5. After many itinerant Inntravel holidays it is nice to have one where you stay in one place but have a marvellous choice of walks from that one place. The bus makes it very easy to access different walks. All of the walks were great and each had their own highlights. Each had at least one mountain hut offering an inviting place to stop and eat. On route A: Unserer Frau & Vernagt, I would suggest taking the bus to Vernagt, following the recommended route clockwise round the lake then walking back to Karthaus. This avoids the need to wait for a bus at the end of the day and ensures lunch stops are available at a suitable time. We didn't request a stay a Bella Vista as we felt this would take 2 days and we wanted to make the most of our time there. Merano was good for a rest day and the botanical gardens very nice. We walked up to the gardens and took the bus down but taking it up as well would give one more time in Merano. Route C: Meraner Hohenweg is less demanding than the others but quite different so well worth doing. We walked further along the path than the Eishof and were rewarded by the sight of Ibex and Marmots. 

We chose this holiday because of the flexibility of the walking and the availability of a wide range of other activities if we chose not to walk. This meant that my osteoarthritic knees had as much or as little challenge as they needed for the day. In the event, using two walking poles for the first time, I managed to exceed my expectations of distance because the trails were generally excellent, with good surfaces and well used. Close study of the map, alongside the Inntravel notes, allowed us to identify the routes which avoided very steep ascents and descents. We were enthralled by the wonderful Alpine scenery, the multitude of wildflowers and butterflies and a sighting of a black squirrel. A day trip to visit Otzi, the Ice Man (whose body was found nearby to Karthaus), was well worth it although we had to queue for a while to get into the museum. Karthaus itself was magical, with art installations for the annual Arts Festival complementing the wonderful ambience of the historical monastic buildings and its location on the Via Monachorum, with the themed Silentium trail to follow (permanent signboards are in German and Italian). The tranquil hotel was excellent for rest and recuperation, with the 5 course dinners providing a good variety of beautifully cooked local food (no dish was repeated in the week we were there) and easy substitutions for dietary difficulties.  The outdoor dining and beautiful gardens added to the experience. The comfortable bed was blissful at the end of a long day but the private sauna made soothing aching muscles even more pleasurable.  All in all a wonderful week of Alpine walking in a variety of terrains as well as sight-seeing, cable car trips and good food.

We combined the High Dolomites with Traditions of South Tyrol and it worked very well. This was probably one of our best Inntravel holidays with great hotels and walks. We are definitely grade 2 walkers rather than grade 3 but making use of cable cars and chair lifts we were able to access some fantastic walks. A highlight in the High Dolomites was taking the chair lift up to Williamshutte and climbing to Plattkofel Hutte where we explored the plateau paths around the hutte, seeing edelweiss in profusion on the way to Plattkofelalm and enjoying amazing views. Lunch at the Plattkofelalm ( visible from Plattkofel Hutte) which makes its own bread and cheese is recommended. 

The transfer by car to Karthaus for Traditions of South Tyrol was very easy.

The Goldene Rose Hotel is a wonderful comfortable hotel, well placed for walks accessed by efficient local buses up and down the valley. Again, the walking and views are spectacular. The meals are excellent and staff and the owners, Paul and Steffi, very friendly and helpful. The highlight here was the night in the refugio at over 2,800M. This is a traditional wooden refugio with great views over the glacier (see it soon before it melts away, the retreat of the glacier in photos from 1968 at the refugio is frightening). We got the cable car up to over 3000M and walked down to the refugio - a steep but stunning walk in the high mountains. After arriving at the refugio we had lunch on the terrace overlooking the mountains then explored a path  that goes over the border into Austria, not far at all. Dinner was very good, rustic mountain food and plenty of it. Next morning we walked down the path 3 with views over the mountain ranges as far as the eye can see. This is a lovely well graded path though it took us longer than the optimistic sign at the top suggested! 

We took a trip to Bolzano to see Otzi which was well worth the two bus rides to get there. We caught Bus 201 to Bolzano from Merano instead of the train which worked well for us as it drops off in the centre of Bolzano. The cycle ride to Meran was also great fun.

To finish our holiday in Verona, we enjoyed a meal at the Antica Bottega del Vino, one of the Inntravel recommended restaurants then saw the opera Turandot at the Arena. A great end to an amazing holiday.

Inntravel does it again!

I can only echo what other holidaymakers have said: beautiful village, outstanding hotel (especially rooms and food) and lovely quiet valley, but well signposted, easy to follow walking routes. As others have mentioned, it is useful to 'brush up' on a bit of German (or Italian) for this holiday as English isn't as widely used as in parts of Austria we've visited.

Zur Goldene Rose remains one of our favourite places and it really is superb. The hotel in Matschner was a bit disappointing but to compare it with Zur Goldene Rose would be unfair.  It was nothing like as good as the hotel we stayed in near Jehnbach on an Inntravel Try it Out Winter Break; a week there was too long.

The Goldene Rose is a brilliant hotel - nothing was too much trouble. And the walking in the Senales valley is fabulous.

This is the first time we have travelled with Inntravel and the holiday lived up to all of our expectations. The location of the hotel and walks available, coupled with the excellent food, wine and service we received there, meant we had a relaxing, enjoyable week, so much so that we booked another walking holiday with Inntravel as soon as we got home. 

With the excellent Golden Rose Hotel in the interesting and pretty little village of Certosa providing a base, the Senales Valley provides an unusually wide range of walking for a full week. The young and fit can explore the higher reaches of the Oztaler range at 3000m (using the Bella Vista and perhaps Similaun refuges), while the rest of us can have a wonderful week's walking in what is a remote, quiet and traditional High Sud Tyrol Alpine valley.

As footnotes, the top of the cable car at Maso Corto is at 3205m and that altitude should not be taken for granted; with Maso Corto at 2000m and Certosa at 1330m taking buses up the valley and walking down makes for easier walking; snow in late September impeded us.   

We chose this holiday as it offered the opportunity to be based in one location for a week without the need for daily transfers and were not disappointend. Val Senales has numerous walks and these dovetail effectively with the very efficient local transport network. Mr & Mrs Gruner and their team looked after us admirably. For us, the highlight of the week was the trip led by Paul Gruner to his alpine hut (Schone Aussicht Hutte) where we enjoyed a marvellous lunch surrounded by very impressive mountain peaks.

All our earlier Inntravel walking holidays have been moving from place to place and this was the first time we had stayed at one hotel for the week.  We met Steffi at the Discovery Day at Harrogate and had wanted to go to the Golden Rose since then.  It was a perfect place to stay, very welcoming and friendly, fantastic food and a beautiful area to explore.  And being able to spend a night at the Refuge was an added bonus.

We've travelled with Inntravel 5 times now, and this one was one of the best. The South Tyrol is beautiful. We loved the walks, especially Val di Fosse. But the Goldene Rose hotel was the best surprise of all. Incredibly welcoming and superbly comfortable. We had upgraded to a Rosenzimmer suite (highly recommended). Beds and ambience were fantastic. Sleep was blissful even though we overlooked the village on a corner (quadruble glazing cuts out every sound). We loved it so much that we declined the offer of a night at Bella Vista. Didnt want to leave! We used the cable car to visit that for the day instead. The entire hotel exudes luxury, peace and recuperation. Food was amazing, with 5 courses every night. Vegetarian options were no problem at all with plenty of choice from the "a la carte" menu if you ask. We stopped overnight en route at the Weissez Kreuz Hotel in Innsbruck. Granted that wasn't "silent", but the medieval street atmosphere totally made up for it. What a characterful place.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers enjoyed Traditions of South Tyrol after our city break in Innsbruck

We were lucky enough to have the 'penthouse'. This was a real treat although other rooms we saw looked more than adequate. The biggest treat of all were the Grüners, so hands-on without being obtrusive and so charming. The Goldene Rose is a seriously good hotel. 

Blissful location and fabulous outdoor opportunities.

Very friendly welcome and service from all hotel staff.  A personal highlight was the visit to Trauttmansdorff Castle gardens which were outstanding.  We were also lucky enough on one of our walks to see a family of ibex.

Zur Goldene Rose is an exceptional hotel with a wide range of beautiful walks in the Schnalstal. The first and fourth hotels on week 1 were excellent, the second so/so but Baur am See was poor; there are better options in Toblach, even staying in one of the rifugios. 

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers did our Dolomites Three Peaks holiday followed by our Traditions of South Tyrol holiday (the Zur Goldene Rose is the accommodation for the latter holiday).

Both halves of the holiday [INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined The High Dolomites and our Traditions of South Tyrol walking holidays] were excellent, giving us an introduction to a very beautiful part of Italy that neither of us had visited before. After a relatively gentle start in the very pretty village of Kastelruth, the High Dolomites walk involved several days on the extraordinarily beautiful Seiseralm plateau with a huge variety of walks on offer. Low cloud prevented us from enjoying the views from the path up to the Bolzano Hut but we spent a delightful afternoon exploring the alpine meadows lower down as the cloud lifted and the sun came out. Our stay at the Floralpina in Saltria was probably the highlight of the first week. Excellent food, very friendly service and comfortable accommodation. The walk up to the Langkoffel Hut via the Murmeltier Hut, by-passing the chair lift, was well worth the effort, with quite stunning views throughout. We did take the lift to tackle the Plattkoffel Hut and the Cresta di Siusi walk the following day - another highlight.

Our second week at the Goldene Rose in Karthaus took us to a beautiful hidden valley in the South Tyrol. The valley is entered through a tunnel which emerges into narrow, steep-sided gorge before the valley opens out and you have your first sight of the village of Karthaus perched high above the river. With a good bus service up and down the valley, it's an excellent base for the many walking options in the Schnalstal. 

We very much enjoyed the Meraner Hohenweg walk from Katherinberg round into the Vinchgau and down to Naturns via the cable car. A superb couple of days were spent walking up to and down from the spectacularly-sited Bellavista hut for a night in the high alps. Once we'd recovered from the morning's exertions and had lunch on the sun deck high above the valley, we walked up the hanging valley into Austria, past an old border post. After a hearty evening meal, suitably dramatic thunderstorm accompanied our night in the very comfortable alpine refuge. Unfortunately, the weather closed in the following day and we were unable to walk up to the high ridge overlooking the Hinterneis glacier. 

Another excellent walk was a circuit from Kurzras, climbing up above the Unterer Bergbach (path 1), turning left along path 11a across high alpine meadows to reach the Lazaun Hut before descending through woodland and alpenrose back to Kurzras on path 11. It's a relatively short (6km) walk so we extended it by walking back down the western side of the valley, using paths 4 and 13a before taking a track down to the valley road opposite the Kofelhofe. A short (400m) double back up the road took us across the river. We took path 7, climbing the hillside the other side above the Kofelhofe. At a junction, after a pause at quite possibly the most beautifully situated bench in the valley, we took the lower path (7a) and contoured through lovely open pine woods before descending to the road again at the Obergerstgras to catch the bus back down to Karthaus.

Finally, if visiting the lake at Vernagt, we would recommend  a circuit taking the path detailed in the walking notes for the southern shore but then carrying on past the bus stop at the Otzi Rope Park to take a path ascending from the road on the left. The path climbs steadily for 1.5km and passes through woods to join path 7 just before reaching the Fineilhof. Carry on along the high level path 7 for another 2km or so, passing the Tisenhof before descending a track into Vernagt. By way of further variation on your walk notes, we then returned to Karthaus via Unsere Frau on foot.

The Goldene Rose is a characterful hotel and the owners, Paul and Steffi Gruner, were delightful hosts and Paul's great enthusiasm for traditional Tyrolean dumplings was deliciously demonstrated one evening, when the entire menu comprised various forms of 'knodeln'. 

We were very sorry to leave this beautiful part of the world but will certainly return.