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Vilnius is a city that takes a little getting used to. At first glance, Lithuania’s capital appears to be all Baroque churches, cobbled streets and grand squares, with the occasional medieval tower providing a reminder of a turbulent past. But stay a little longer and another Vilnius emerges: eccentric, youthful and distinctly fond of eating and drinking.
Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius
This is a city where you can explore a self-declared republic in the morning, cycle beside a river in the afternoon, taste some of Lithuania’s finest cheese before dinner and end the evening sampling obscure craft beers. There is even a beer spa where you can soak in the stuff. It is an unusually effective combination.
Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius
The historic centre is the obvious place to begin. Vilnius Old Town is one of Europe’s largest surviving medieval old towns and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, although its architecture has been reshaped repeatedly over the centuries. Baroque churches dominate the skyline, narrow lanes lead unexpectedly into courtyards, and Gediminas’ Tower sits above the city on its hill.
Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius
But rather than spending the whole day looking upwards, I decide to investigate what goes into the Lithuanian stomach.
The Beer Library
My education begins at Alaus Biblioteka, the Beer Library, where the name is almost too good to be true. This is a bar for people who regard beer as a subject worthy of serious study. Shelves are packed with bottles and cans, and the choice extends well beyond Lithuania’s traditional lagers into the increasingly adventurous world of craft brewing.
Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius
The staff are effectively librarians of liquid knowledge, able to explain the differences between styles and suggest something based on personal taste. Tastings provide an introduction to Lithuanian brewing traditions as well as the modern craft-beer revolution.
Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius
Lithuania has a particularly strong farmhouse brewing heritage, with regional traditions surviving alongside contemporary breweries. Modern producers have taken those traditions and experimented with hops, yeast, fruit and darker malts. The result is a beer scene that is considerably more interesting than the standard lager served in many European capitals.
Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius
And every September there’s the PUTOJA beer festival, where not only Lithuanian brews are available, but brands from all over the world. It runs for two days in an old factory just outside town and is a great opportunity to get to grips with what’s new in beer.
Cheese
Vilnius
Vilnius
Obviously cheese is the perfect companion for beer and at the Džiugas House, I discover another side of Lithuanian gastronomy. They produce a hard, matured cheese made from cow’s milk, and the tasting is organised around different stages of ageing. I get to try 12, 18, 24, 36 and 48 months. The younger cheese is relatively gentle, while the older versions become progressively firmer, drier and more intense.
Vilnius
Vilnius
The transformation is impressive. With age, the cheese develops nutty, savoury and slightly caramelised flavours, together with the crystalline texture that makes a well-matured hard cheese so addictive. It is the sort of cheese that encourages you to take another piece simply to check whether the flavour really was that good.
Cycling Vilnius
The next morning I swap beer for bicycles. Vilnius is sufficiently compact to explore on foot, but a bicycle gives a different perspective. The centre can be crossed quickly, leaving more time to follow the Neris and Vilnia rivers, explore greener neighbourhoods and venture beyond the urban core.
Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius
A guided cycling tour is an excellent way to get your bearings. Rather than concentrating solely on the postcard sights, the bike allows the journey to weave between the Old Town and the city’s more contemporary districts. The cycling becomes particularly rewarding when heading out towards Trakai.
Vilnius
Vilnius
Trakai
The historic town lies around 28 kilometres west of Vilnius and is easily incorporated into a day trip. One option is to cycle part of the way before taking the train, allowing the journey to become a mixture of rail, bicycle and walking. As the city disappears behind me, the landscape becomes increasingly green. Forest replaces buildings, lakes begin appearing between the trees and the pace slows considerably.
Trakai
Trakai
Trakai
Trakai
Trakai was once the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and is now famous for its spectacular island castle. Built on an island in Lake Galvė, the red-brick fortress appears almost improbably picturesque, particularly when approached across the water.
Senoji Kibininė
Senoji Kibininė
The area remains closely associated with Lithuania’s Karaite community, descendants of a Turkic-speaking people brought here in the late 14th century by Grand Duke Vytautas. Their distinctive wooden houses still line the town, and their traditional Kibinai, crescent-shaped pastries usually filled with meat, provide exactly the sort of substantial snack required after a long cycle.
Beer
Beer Spa
Beer Spa
Beer Spa
Back in Vilnius, I discover that the city’s obsession with beer has gone considerably further than drinking it. At Beer Spa Vilnius, beer becomes a bathing experience. In a historic building in the Old Town, wooden tubs are filled with warm water and ingredients associated with brewing, including hops, malt and brewer’s yeast.
Beer Spa
Beer Spa
Beer Spa
It sounds like a joke until you are sitting in the tub. The idea is to combine the traditional ingredients of beer with the rituals of a spa treatment, followed by relaxation and, appropriately enough, beer to drink. After a day spent cycling through the countryside, it is surprisingly relaxing. The hops provide the atmosphere, the warm water does the hard work and the beer waiting afterwards ensures that the circle is neatly completed.
Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius
By now I have begun to understand Vilnius through its food and drink as much as through its monuments. The churches and castles tell the story of Lithuania’s political and religious history, but beer, cheese and cycling reveal something about the city today. Come for the Baroque, stay for the beer, take a bicycle to Trakai, eat some cheese and, if you are feeling particularly adventurous, have a bath in the beer itself.
Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius
There are worse ways to discover a capital.
Factfile
GO:Wizzair flies to Vilnius from Luton and Ryanair from Stansted.
The Stansted Express is the fastest way to the airport from central London.
There are hotels where you go to sleep, hotels where you go to eat, and hotels where the entire point is to slow down. The Dolce Vita Preidlhof belongs firmly in the third category. Perched above Naturno in South Tyrol, amid apple orchards and vineyards with the mountains of the Texel Group rising behind, this adults-only five-star resort has turned the pursuit of wellbeing into something approaching an art form.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
This is not simply a smart five-star hotel with a spa attached. Wellness is the organising principle around which almost everything revolves. From the architecture and gardens to the treatments, food, fitness programmes and pools, the emphasis is on making guests slow down, breathe deeply and, ideally, return home feeling considerably more human.
Naturno
The setting is the first surprise. South Tyrol is usually associated with high Alpine peaks, ski resorts and dramatic valleys, but Naturno enjoys a remarkably Mediterranean climate. Vineyards climb the slopes, palms appear in gardens and the landscape can feel more Italian than Alpine. The Preidlhof makes the most of this curious meeting of north and south, combining Austrian efficiency, Italian style and South Tyrolean hospitality.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
Inside, the mood is unmistakably luxurious, but this isn’t a hotel that relies on chandeliers and marble to make its point. The emphasis is on space, light and relaxation. The resort is adults-only, welcoming guests aged 16 and over, which immediately changes the atmosphere. There is no children’s pool, no family entertainment and none of the background noise that can accompany a conventional resort. Instead, there is a pleasing sense of calm.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
The rooms and suites continue the theme. Many have balconies or terraces looking towards the mountains, while the more elaborate romantic suites come with features such as private wellness areas, fireplaces and rooftop whirlpools. With a stunning 6-storey sauna featuring 18 saunas and relaxing rooms, two Sky Infinity Pools, and a water world with seven pools and seven whirlpools, the Preidlhof spa hotel promises an unparalleled wellness experience.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
Who for
Definitely only adults – couples seeking a romantic escape, and singles wanting a genuine wellness experience.
Accommodation
The hotel features 71 vibrantly designed rooms and suites, including penthouse suites with a private butler and outdoor beds ideal, for stargazing at night.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
We stayed in a Comfort Room Pink which included an outdoor terrace with a day bed for two. Inside, as you enter, there separate washbasins on either side with a multi-sensory shower for two. Next is the luxury box-spring bed with “Sleep-Fit-Health-System”. Beyond are two romantic designer chairs and table, Dolby-Surround TV with Bluetooth, and a suitcase-style bar with wine, Nespresso & tea desk,
Food and Drink
Food is taken seriously here. The resort’s gourmet kitchen has been recognised by Gault Millau, and the philosophy combines South Tyrolean ingredients with contemporary cooking. Rather than an endless succession of lettuce leaves and green juices, the kitchen aims to make healthy eating genuinely enjoyable.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
There are fresh salads, vegetables, herbs, homemade breads, fruit and carefully prepared dishes, alongside more indulgent choices. A dedicated Wellness Healing Gourmet Menu offers vegetarian, lactose-free, refined-sugar-free and gluten-free options.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
This is particularly important because food at the Preidlhof is not simply fuel between spa treatments. Dinner is an event. There is time to linger, wine to consider and the opportunity to discover the flavours of South Tyrol, where Alpine and Mediterranean traditions happily coexist. Apples, grapes, herbs, cheeses and mountain produce all belong naturally on the table.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
And another innovation is the concept of 3/4 board with not just breakfast and dinner included, but also a copious afternoon buffet. You can also dine in any one of the three neighbouring Dolce Vita hotels, at no extra charge.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
Facilities
At more than 5,500 square metres, the Preidl Spa is enormous, with a six-storey sauna tower forming its architectural centrepiece. There are numerous saunas, steam rooms, relaxation spaces, treatment rooms and pools, creating what feels less like a hotel spa and more like a small wellness village.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
The rooftop infinity pool is particularly seductive. From the water, the mountains rise beyond the hotel, creating that slightly surreal sensation of being suspended between an Alpine landscape and a Mediterranean holiday.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
And who could imagine the six-storey Sauna Tower? Arranged vertically, it offers different temperatures and experiences, from gentler steam rooms to traditional hot saunas. Start at the top and work your way down – the ritual becomes almost meditative: sauna, shower, pool, lounger, repeat.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
Treatments range from massages and beauty therapies to more holistic programmes. Yoga, meditation and fitness sessions form part of the wider philosophy, while the hotel’s medical-wellness offering takes things a step further. The idea is not simply to pamper guests for a few days but to encourage them to consider sleep, nutrition, movement and stress as interconnected parts of a healthier life.
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
How much
Prices start from €216 euros per person per night (includes 3/4 board – breakfast, afternoon buffet and dinner included)
What’s nearby?
Dolce Vita Preidlhof
Outside the hotel, there is an equally compelling reason to get moving. Naturno lies at the entrance to the Texel Group Nature Park, giving walkers access to a network of mountain paths. You can set off through vineyards and orchards before gradually entering more rugged Alpine terrain.
Naturno
E-bikes make the surrounding valleys accessible without requiring Tour de France fitness levels. The hotel also offers an activity programme and equipment for exploring the countryside
SkyAlps flies direct from London Gatwick to Bolzano, with free snacks and drinks on board.
Verdict
What makes the Preidlhof particularly appealing is the absence of a single defining identity. It isn’t purely a spa hotel, although the spa is exceptional. It isn’t simply a romantic retreat, although couples are clearly well catered for. Nor is it an Alpine activity hotel, despite the superb walking and cycling on the doorstep. Instead, it manages to combine all three.
