At our newest Green Pearls® member, the Hotel Rinner in Oberbozen, everything revolves around the fascinating world of the bee: from honey tastings from their own organic beekeeping to the globally unique Api-Wellness treatments, guests can let themselves be pampered in the hotel and enhance their overall well-being.
The family-run hotel can be found in the Ritten in beautiful South Tyrol and attaches great importance to the sustainable use of resources – and not only because of the bees! The Rinner family has been passionately committed to the industrious insects for three generations.
Wellness with healing beehive air
The Hotel Rinner offers wellness with panoramic views of the mountains: enjoy these from the outdoor jacuzzi, at the Finnish garden sauna or during a soothing Api-Wellness session. This unique wellness treatment follows thousands of years of traditional healing with the help of bee products. The valuable ingredients of the beehive are released into the air by the heat and ventilation generated by the bees beating their wings. And it is precisely this valuable beehive air that guests can inhale during the unique Api-Wellness treatments. The air, which now contains valuable natural substances, increases the overall well-being and has a healing effect on various respiratory problems and allergies.
“I like to tell the guests that this is your beehive for the near future, take a close look at it and observe the changes,” says Karin Rinner. Every day the bees are busy, and every day the colours and fragrances in the hive change. The beehive can be opened at the top so the guests can look in and observe the bees at close range while also allowing the scent of the hive begin to take effect. Nobody needs to be afraid of stings as everything is secured with nets and guards to keep both humans and bees safe.
While guests make themselves comfortable and relax, they can be soothed by the sound of the bees humming. An inhalation device gently draws the hive air through a fine mesh and into the guest’s ventilation mask via a heated tube. The beneficial treatment lasts about half an hour and can be performed from May to September during the bee season.
A fragrance explosion for the senses
Host and beekeeper Paul Rinner uses the Beecura system for Api-Wellness, a special inhalation system for hive air. The system allows the valuable air, smelling faintly of beeswax, to be breathed in and enjoyed without disturbing the bees. The result is a wonderful sense of serenity and tranquillity which guests can benefit from long after their stay at the Hotel Rinner.
“The guests often don’t quite know what they’re getting into, but then become very enthusiastic. Almost everyone becomes a repeat offender!” says Karin Rinner. In order to feel a longer effect, one should participate in at least three Api-Wellness sessions. Early in the morning the body is particularly receptive, but the beehive air is the most concentrated in the afternoon when the bees are all at home. It is ideal to take time twice a day for an Api-Wellness session.
All the allergy sufferers out there don’t need to worry! The body does not react to the substances in the air in the same way as it does to the poison from a sting; and of course, the bees do not fly uncontrolled through the hotel. Karin Rinner emphasises that bees only sting in emergencies, for example to defend themselves, because they are very aware that they will die in the process.
“Our Api-Wellness bee colonies are perhaps the happiest there are,” says Karin Rinner. “They are allowed to collect nectar all day long and we leave everything in the hive – honey, pollen and propolis. So, in autumn our guests can inhale the scent of the pollen from the spring, and every beehive is different and special. A lot of honey can accumulate in the beehives, but we leave it for the bees for winter.”
Travelling apiarists with passion
Since his early years, Paul Rinner has dedicated himself to beekeeping with his heart and soul. He has built up a wealth of experience, which he is happy to share with anyone interested! As a travelling beekeeper he brings his colonies to the locations where they find the best conditions for a rich honey yield: “We hike with the colonies at night when they have all returned to their hives. We close the flight hole and send them on holiday!” Karin Rinner describes.
Thanks to the three climate zones in South Tyrol (the Mediterranean influenced lowlands, the low mountain range with meadows and woods as well as the high mountain regions), the bees are able to find a very diverse range of flora. Thus, they produce many different kinds of honey: apple blossom honey, acacia honey, dandelion honey, forest honey, chestnut honey, lime honey and high-level heath honey, which are all tasted in the hotel and can be bought as souvenirs.
The honey-yellow touch
The life of bees takes pride of place at Hotel Rinner, and not only with the beekeepers and Api-Wellness treatments. All of the spacious and carefully designed rooms are home to a honey-yellow touch of insect life that runs through the hotel. The rooms and suites are partly available with a sun terrace or balcony as well as with separate children’s room and small kitchenette with refrigerator. Everyone can feel at home here, guests both big and small – and even the youngest guests can benefit from the healing beehive air.
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