South Tyrol Yoga Retreat: Yin & Vinyasa in the Dolomites

The retreat runs across the Winklerhotels group, four properties in different villages of the Pustertal: the Lanerhof in Montal, the Purmontes chalet in Montal, the Winkler 5-star design hotel in Stefansdorf, and Solvie in Pfalzen. Each week on the yoga calendar is hosted at a specific hotel, which is stated when you book. All of them sit in the South Tyrol mountains, within reach of the Dolomites, and all have the usual four-star-plus facilities: indoor pool and wellness area, restaurant, bar, gardens and terraces.

A typical day has yoga at both ends. Morning class is the more active one, working through a vinyasa or hatha sequence to wake you up before breakfast. Evening yoga is slower — yin, stretching, and a long savasana before dinner. In between, breakfast and dinner are served at the hotel restaurant, and lunch is either included or taken from the hotel menu depending on your board. The middle of the day is free for the outdoors: the Pustertal has marked hiking trails from the door, cable cars to the high alpine pastures, mountain biking, e-bike rental, horse riding, and golf and tennis nearby. In winter, ski lifts and cross-country trails are the main draw.

The yoga rooms are part of the hotels, so you are never travelling to a separate studio. Mats and props are provided. Classes are small enough for the teacher to correct your form, and the standard is mixed — absolute beginners and people who have practised for years both turn up, and the instructors adjust. If you are booking one of the themed weeks (for example Anna Kotlarski's 'Energize. Feel. Connect.' vinyasa flow and yin retreat), the classes follow a set arc across the seven days rather than six standalone sessions.

What separates this from a generic alpine hotel with a yoga class bolted on is that the visiting teachers are named, and their training and styles are described. Veronika Müller trained under Dr Patrick Broome, a well-known German yoga teacher. The retreat weeks are scheduled around these specific people, not just 'a yoga teacher'. If you want a particular style, you pick the week and the hotel that matches.

Your non-yoga hours are genuinely unstructured. There are guided hikes and activity programmes at the hotels, and in winter there is skiing, winter hiking and cross-country skiing. The four hotels also run their own spa and wellness facilities, which are included in the stay. It is a comfortable, well-fed, mountain-based week with a real twice-daily practice — not a strict detox or a training camp.

What's included

- Accommodation at the host Winklerhotels property - Breakfast and dinner at the hotel restaurant - Morning and evening yoga sessions with the visiting instructor - Access to the hotel spa, pool and wellness area - Guided hikes and the hotel activity programme - Yoga mats and props in the yoga room

What's not included

- Flights and travel to South Tyrol - Airport or station transfers - Lunches (unless included in your board option) - Ski passes, equipment hire and lift tickets - Optional excursions, treatments and massages - Travel insurance - Personal expenses and drinks outside meal times