Discreet luxury: the 4-star superior hotels for golfers

Not every golfer is looking for a five-star hotel. There is a more discreet Italy, made of family-run hotels, intimate spas and understated rooms, where luxury lies in care rather than in the name. Three addresses tell the story well, all classified 4-star superior: two above Merano and one in the south of Sardinia.

What “4-star superior” means

The national reference for hotel classification is still the Prime Ministerial Decree (DPCM) of 21 October 2008; it is the Regions that award the stars, generally through a self-declaration of requirements followed by an official check. According to a 2023 analysis by Linkiesta, the rules of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto also provide for the 3 and 4-star superior categories. A useful caution follows: the label does not mean the same thing across Italy, and two “superior” hotels in different regions are not measured by the same yardstick. Is Molas, in Sardinia, is also listed as 4-star superior: for an honest comparison, look at the facilities, not the label.

Hohenwart: the guesthouse that became a hotel, with homemade cakes

The Hohenwart began in 1957 as a bed-and-breakfast guesthouse in Scena, together with the Café Hohenwart, famous for its cakes. Today the Mair family, in its second and third generation, runs a hotel made up of three houses, the Stammhaus, the Traube and the Christine, joined by a garden of palms, olive trees and cypresses, with more than 80 staff. Every afternoon, from 3 to 5 pm, strudel and cakes return, made to the recipes of Mrs Mair senior.

On golf the hotel is honest to the end: it states that it is not a classic golf hotel. Yet the link with the course is there. The family is among the founding members of Golf Club Lana, and guests get special terms on the nine-hole course at Gutshof Brandis, which is flat and playable almost all year. With the Golfcard from Golf in Südtirol they receive 20% off the green fee at all participating clubs, and the staff help with booking tee times and lessons. Among the courses the hotel recommends are the Blue Monster in Appiano, opened in 2016, the Dolomiti Golf in Sarnonico and Petersberg. Between 19 September and 8 November 2026 a Golf & Wellness package is on sale: four nights with three-quarter board, a sports massage and the Golfcard.

The spa has two souls: the VistaSpa, reserved for guests over 16, with a panoramic infinity pool of saltwater at 34 °C, and the FamilySpa for all ages. In the garden there is a 25-metre sports pool heated all year round. It is a hotel that welcomes families, with reduced rates up to age 13, and dogs on request. The transfer from Merano station is free.

Parkhotel Marlena: the hotel that runs the club

The Parkhotel Marlena, on the hill of Marlengo, is reserved for guests aged 14 and over. According to the hotel, the Inderst family founded and runs Golf Club Lana: it is its sharpest distinguishing feature. The Golf Club Lana, beneath the ruins of Brandis Castle, has nine holes, par 35, over 2,887 metres and bears the signature of the Briton Michael Pinner, a former designer for Jack Nicklaus; it opened on 29 August 1998. The 2026 price list asks 50 euros for 9 holes and 90 for 18, with 20% off for guests of the founding and partner hotels; a federation card with a registered handicap or the Platzreife is required.

The hotel offers two formulas: “Home Advantage”, with one 9-hole and one 18-hole green fee and 10% off the golf school, and “Handicap in 5 days”, four days with ten hours of individual lessons at Lana, green fees and equipment hire included, and the final handicap exam of the Italian Golf Federation. In the hotel there is a lockable caddy room, and the South Tyrol Golf Card is free for the province’s other courses.

The rest of the stay revolves around art: in the rooms hang works by Luis Stefan Stecher, Marcello Jori and Rudolf Stolz, with sculptures in the park and a Zen garden. The 1,000 m² spa has seven types of sauna, two of them panoramic, designed by the architect Marlen Inderst, and an outdoor pool looking over Merano, used from April to October. Chef Ernst Riedl signs the five-course dinner of the half-board plan. Marlengo station is about 300 metres away and Bolzano airport, according to the hotel, about half an hour.

Is Molas Resort: 27 holes, no spa

Is Molas Resort is a hotel of 72 completely renovated rooms in the south of Sardinia, and its tilt towards golf is declared: there is no spa. There are a swimming pool, padel, tennis, e-bikes and a beach club on the bay of Porto Agumu, with 20 sunbeds and a restaurant with a 200-square-metre terrace, linked to the hotel by a frequent shuttle from June to September.

Golf is what counts. The Circolo di Is Molas has 27 holes: the championship course, a par 72 of 6,383 metres opened in 1975, has hosted four Italian Opens, the first, a year after opening, won by Baldovino Dassù. At the 13th, the “road hole”, the fairway narrows to just over 25 metres between a bunker and a small lake; at the 14th the green, almost surrounded by water, is shaped like Africa. The nine-hole Yellow course, reseeded with Bermuda grass, has been playable again since 31 December 2025, and the irrigation system is being replaced to cut water consumption by at least 30%.

The published price list gives 80 to 135 euros for 18 holes on weekdays, depending on the season. The Unlimited Golf packages of 3, 5 or 7 nights with unlimited play on the 27 holes are valid from April to October, excluding July and August. You eat at Le Ginestre, with a sea view, or at 19 Bistrot, which looks over course and sea together.

How to choose among the three

• If you want the course and the hotel in one place: Is Molas.
• If you want to learn to play or to find a family-run club: the Marlena, with “Handicap in 5 days”.
• If golf is one part of the holiday and the table matters just as much: the Hohenwart.
• If you are looking for a spa: Hohenwart and Marlena, not Is Molas.

Curiosities

• A hotel that calls itself “not classic”. The Hohenwart writes that it is not a classic golf hotel, even though it is a founding member of Golf Club Lana.
• A green shaped like a continent. At the 14th hole of Is Molas the green is shaped like Africa.
• The family beer. At the Hohenwart the beer comes from the Pfefferlechner brewery in Lana, run by the Mairs.
• Art in the rooms. The Marlena displays works by Stecher, Jori and Stolz.