If heaven was a place on earth, then it would surely be the Baecksteinerhof in Merano. Seriously, I could have not wished for anything better.

With only two reviews on TripAdvisor we felt that it was a bit of a gamble, so we only booked three nights here, and my only regret is that we haven't spent the entire holidays here.

Merano and the region have so much to offer, but the best for us by far was the hotel. From the moment we arrived, after 10 hours of driving, and the warm welcome we've received, we knew we struck gold.

The room was spacious, clean, and wonderfully decorated, plus there were two fresh apples from the orchard waiting for us at the table. There's a decent sized balcony with a wonderful view of the orchards. There are lovely handmade decorations in the room which makes it really cozy and you can sense that the owners are proud of the history and tradition of the place. This family feel is something that you can't find in the 5-star hotel chains.

The bathroom is bright and good sized with a decent shower, in fact the whole hotel looks like it has been recently renovated, but they managed to keep the charm intact, with exposed wooden beams and other features.

The best is saved for last, though. Breakfast! There's such a selection of fine foods available that we looked forward to seeing what's on for each day. There was something different every day, fresh fruit, juices, local produce, and my personal favourite, fresh home-made cakes and biscuits made by the lady of the house every morning! It just doesn't get better than this.

Parking is in front of the hotel in a shaded area, so thankfully the car wasn't roasting in the sun all day, and the drive wasn't too bad either, but the road does get quite narrow for the last 200 meters or so.

Centre of Merano is about 20 mins walk from the hotel, mostly along the promenades and cycle paths, and we certainly didn't mind stretching our legs after the evening meals. There is a bus nearby that we haven't used, so I can't comment on it. If you're not the walking type there's ample parking in the centre of town, but it does come at a price.

The hotel and the whole region are so beautiful that I can't wait to go back! This was the best part of our Italian holiday by far.