Before it was the “shame of Italy”, Matera was a thriving city. Now, it is being discovered all over again.
An albergo diffuso of eighteen cave rooms scattered in the civita, the oldest part of the Sassi. Breakfast and candlelit dinner served in a XIII century cave church carved out of rock. All restored to its original features.
We wanted to go somewhere in the mountains where we could just relax over the winter holidays. We found the perfect spot in South Tyrol. Although a part of Italy today, this region is in many ways more Austrian than Italian. Most speak German as their first language and food is a mix of schnitzels and knödel alongside pasta.
San Luis is hidden in a forest above the town of Meran (or Merano), which has a great Christmas market. Chalets and treehouses surround a lake that is frozen over the winter. We stayed in one of the Loft Chalets, which has its own sauna and a hot tub on the terrace. Every morning we woke up to find breakfast set up in the kitchen of our chalet. Lunch was a more casual buffet while dinner consisted of several courses that changed each night. There was even afternoon tea with cakes and ice cream available. When we weren’t sitting inside by the fire, we were in the pool that opened to the outdoors, or the whirlpool in the middle of the lake.
The entire retreat is amazing and they made Christmas there very special. It was exactly the holiday we were looking for to end the year with.
