Under Doctor’s Orders in the Trentino

While the feel of the well-balanced silver cutlery still weighs in my hand, the splendor of wild forest berries from delightful ruby-red wines continue to dance around my palate, and a Cheshire cat-like grin remains etched on my face, I have to remind myself that, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I am “no longer in Kansas.”

Actually, Terme di Comano (TdC), in the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy, sitting at a table reserved daily just for me at the Grand Hotel Terme (GHT) restaurant.

Sadly, after 16 days of being pampered and fed like a king, my medically prescribed benessere (wellness) spa trip, like all good things in life, has come to an end, and so too the Under Doctor’s Orders series.

Doctor D, my personal physician back in my hometown of Vicenza, the City of Palladio in the Veneto region, prescribed two weeks of water therapy, under the supervision of TdC medical staff, to treat a dermatological disorder that’s been bugging me for a while. Thankfully, my skin is already showing positive signs of improvement from the waters of Comano.

Little did I know before heading off on this R_x adventure, that one of the side benefits of “the cure” would be a mouth-watering regimen of gourmet dining from around the Trentino.

In between my two-a-day soaks in the magical waters that emanate from a mountain spring up in the little village of Comano, I’ve enjoyed numerous photo shoots around the Giudicarie and the five-star cuisine that awaited me afterward, expertly prepared by Christian Ventorini, GHT’s executive chef, and his white-hatted sous and pastry chefs, and plated elegantly before me by Sarwat, the maître d’, and his superlative wait staff in black tie and jacket.

Just before the “Last Supper,” I met up with lo chef, and he took me on a personal, red spatual tour of the kitchen and explained his rivisitato (revisit) style of cooking.

It’s a creative interpretation of the traditional Trentino kitchen that uses fresh ingredients found around the Guidicarie. Ventorini’s to-die-for rivisitato recipes are prepped morning, noon and night for guests of the GHT, along with the occasional wedding and other special-event dinners.

Living a dream, I managed to consume, actually savor, 21 four-course lunches and dinners during my stay, not to mention the daily breakfast ritual of a caffè latte scuro-scuro-scuro — an extra-strength, foamy, caffè with a triple shot of espresso — accompanied by freshly baked chocolate and fruit-filled brioche (pastries), along with the occasional pre lunch or dinner Ugo (Hugo) aperitivo and the mandatory post-meal caffè macchiato, all prepared with TLC by Claudia, GHT’s effervescent barista, and delivered to me out on the patio. Amazingly, I didn’t gain an ounce.

The staff — administration and front desk, in-house spa and wellness, medical, maid service, restaurant and kitchen — not to mention the great facilities and services, and the surrounding idyllic, park-like setting, made my retreat at GHT everything I imagined it would be and so much more.

My 16 days in paradise was worth every euro that I spent as the hotel went above and beyond the four-star S rating that sits alongside its name.

And, before you even ask, the answer is NO. As much as I’d love to share, I cannot give out Dr. D’s telephone number or email address as I may need him again in six months to prescribe a return trip to Terme di Comano for another session of the water therapy inside my personal Shangri-La that is the Grand Hotel Terme.

No doubt, I’ll uncover more great sights and locales with my lenses, AND savor more tantalizing dishes from around the “Land of the Dolomites.”

  

If you missed any of the previous installments of the Under Doctor’s Orders photo-shoot series around the Trentino, you can see them right from here. Just click on the following titles: Terme di Comano, Lago di Molveno, Eat-Drink-Soak, Deggia, Rango, Fiume Sarca, Balbido, Canale di Tenno, Fiavè and Azienda Agricola Fratelli Pisoni. 

BUON APPETITO e BUON VIAGGIO!

©The Palladian Traveler

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