Sporthotel Zoll – the training hotel in South Tyrol
Performance Hotel in Sterzing: by elite athletes, for athletes
Michael and Kathrin Messner know what training feels like when it really counts. He comes from a ice hockey background, she from football; both have played at a competitive level. Drawing on this experience, the siblings have reinvented their family hotel in Sterzing. Since reopening on 14 June 2026, every stay has been linked to a sports programme tailored to your goal, whether you want to live a healthier life, run faster or prepare for a competition. The philosophy behind it is called Rest.Revive.Refuel©: recovery, exercise and nutrition as a single system.
The hotel remains on a manageable scale. 38 double rooms and studios, as well as eight apartments with kitchenettes, ensure that coaches get to know their guests rather than simply managing them.
Sports nutrition in South Tyrol: the reFUEL Vital Board
Meals are prepared according to the 50:30:20 principle: plenty of vegetables and fruit, targeted protein, and measured amounts of carbohydrates. Regional and seasonal produce is gently prepared, much of it sourced from the immediate vicinity. The three-quarter board package includes a health-boosting breakfast with MCT energy foods and a TCM bowl, afternoon bowls and a five-course evening meal featuring the resort’s own Rest.Revive.Refuel menu. Protein shakes are available all day.
Those wishing to delve deeper can have their diet analysed during a nutritional consultation and, as endurance athletes, receive fuelling advice for long tours and competitions. Cookery classes show you how to put the concept into practice at home. And if you fancy something hearty, the in-house steakhouse serves burgers and steaks.
Active hotel near Sterzing: road cycling passes, trails and the Rosskopf
The hotel is situated at an altitude of around 1,000 metres on the Eisack River, just a few minutes’ drive north of Sterzing’s old town. Running routes, hiking trails and mountain trails start right on the doorstep; by road bike, you can reach the Jaufen Pass, Penser Joch, Timmelsjoch and the route of the Ötztal Cycle Marathon. An e-bike is included with the ReCARD guest card. In winter, the ski shuttle takes you to the Rosskopf, and there are also cross-country trails, ski tours and snowshoe walks.
As a Vitalpina and Roadbike Hotel, the Zoll is a member of two specialist networks. The hotel has been climate-certified since 2013 and also holds GSTC certification for sustainable tourism.
Sterzing Performance Centre: 700 m² for serious training
The new Performance Centre is not a hotel gym, but a training centre. The Power Zone features six multifunctional racks from Perform Better, barbell stations, equipment from Gym80 and Technogym, a Skillmill and a SkiErg. Its own HYROX area covers all competition stations. At its heart is the Skillcourt, which, according to the hotel, is the first of its kind in Italy: sensors and cameras combine movement with reaction and cognitive training.
In addition, there is a 10.5-metre-high climbing hall with a bouldering area and equipment on site, two padel courts with floodlights, which can be used daily until 10 pm, a tennis court, beach volleyball and table tennis.
Performance diagnostics just like in professional sport
Training begins at Zoll with a measurement. Depending on the programme, the team uses BIA body composition analysis including phase angle, the Functional Movement Screen, biomechanical analysis and strength diagnostics with VALD ForceDecks, which measure explosive strength and asymmetries specific to each sport. Spiroergometry and VO₂max testing determine your endurance zones, whilst metabolic analysis reveals your basal metabolic rate and metabolic flexibility. In addition, there are Skillcourt performance tests, a vision-cognition check, video running analysis and a HRV stress measurement.
Your plan is created from this data. The coaches supervise the programmes; the scientific partner is exercise physiologist and university lecturer Dr Lutz Herdener. After you leave, you’ll continue training with a 12-week plan in the Zoll app, followed after eight weeks by an online follow-up via Zoom with your coach.
Seven programmes for seven goals
Fitness Health is aimed at anyone who wants to get fitter and healthier without any competitive ambitions. Body checks, movement analysis, personal training, mobility and prehab, nutritional advice and recovery form the core; for longer stays, Skillcourt and metabolic analysis are also included.
Running Elite is developed in collaboration with Europe’s largest running school. Spiroergometry, video running analysis, running technique coaching and small-group training make you more efficient and less prone to injury; a morning run takes place every day.
Bike Excellence is designed for ambitious road cyclists: spiroergometry, cadence analysis, indoor sessions on smart trainers, road bike-specific recovery training, GPX rides and fuelling advice. Bookable for five, seven or ten nights.
HYROX Performance provides targeted preparation for competition: VO₂max test, VALD muscle function test, running analysis, HYROX-specific strength training, technique optimisation and competition simulations with real-time coaching. Bookable from seven nights.
Athletes Pro Performance offers one-to-one coaching for elite athletes, with a full diagnostic package comprising VALD, Skillcourt, BIA, FMS and metabolic analysis. All Access Professional gives professionals and coaches with their own training plan access to the full infrastructure and support.
Vitalpina Outdoor Active combines guided hikes, summit tours and e-bike tours with the course programme and can be booked for as little as two nights. Youth Performance & Family is aimed at club athletes aged between 13 and 18. Teams and sports groups can make use of dedicated team formats.
Yoga, Pilates and mobility in the course programme
The reVIVE programme runs alongside all packages: Yoga, Pilates, mobility, functional training, ABS, HIIT and conditioning, morning runs, guided tours and sauna infusions.
Recovery Lab: Regeneration by the book
At Zoll, regeneration is trained just like strength. The Recovery Lab offers daily access to Zerobody Cryo, Zerobody Dryfloat, a cold-water pool and compression massage with Reboots, complemented by breathing exercises, mindfulness and a Kneipp facility. Some studios even have their own cold tub. Blackroll recovery tools, sports massages and physiotherapy round off the experience.
The new sauna area features a Finnish sauna, steam room, infrared cabin and herbal sauna. There is also a 15-metre indoor swimming pool, a 32 °C outdoor pool heated all year round and a whirlpool.
700 m² Gym
Cardio
Strength training equipment
Free weights
Functionality & Mobility
Group classes
Coaching
Diagnostics
Recovery & Biohacking
Specials
Review by hotelsINshape – Best Fitness Hotels: Why Zoll makes progress measurable
Most fitness holidays end on a high note, but without any proof. Zoll bridges this gap. Anyone who arrives with VALD, spirometry and metabolic data, speaks to their coach after eight weeks and then has their measurements taken again can see in black and white whether their training is working. This combination of baseline data, a personalised plan and a follow-up assessment is usually found in performance centres, but rarely in hotels.
The hotel is just as interesting for guests without competitive goals. Metabolic flexibility, quality of movement, strength balance and stress resilience are precisely the factors that determine healthy ageing. Fitness Health translates professional diagnostics into a programme for people who want to be even more mobile at 50 than they were at 40.
The concept gains credibility through its hosts. Anyone who has been involved in competitive sport knows that exertion is only as good as the recovery that follows. Accordingly, the daily recovery routine is an integral part of the programmes. The altitude of 1,000 metres and the major mountain passes on the doorstep also make Sterzing a serious training destination for endurance athletes.
Experiences That Move You
