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Villa Eden, so fine dining completes the all-round wellness offer

The strategy of the luxury hotel in Merano, which has always been oriented towards wellness, is complemented by a haute cuisine proposal structured on several levels: the catering business shows an average annual growth of 25%.

by Emiliano Sgambato

12 June 2025

The Tasting Room by Marcello Corrado, il ristorante di fine dining dell’Hotel Villa Eden di Merano

5' min read

Key points

Wellbeing over time, history of a transformation
A good restaurant ages better (and increases revenue)
Michelin star and 360 degree menu

5' min read

A healthy, balanced diet helps one to stay healthy and feel good about oneself: an assumption that is as elementary as it is not so simple to apply in everyday life, and which is often translated (or only imagined) into a diet of sacrifice and deprivation. Associating the pleasure of food with wellbeing may instead be possible thanks to menus that are attentive to everyone's metabolic balance.
Naturally, a distinction must be made between those who need to lose weight or have other special needs (whether for health or aesthetic reasons) and those who simply want to combine good food with an overall psychophysical balance: enjoying the joys of the palate (and perhaps an occasional break from the norm) is also part of the pleasure of enjoying life and ageing well.

It is in this light that one should read the turnaround undertaken by Villa Eden, the historic luxury retreat hotel in Merano, which has decided to renew its gastronomic proposal with a very differentiated offer, adding fine dining to detox diets, withThe Tasting Room restaurant by Marcello Corrado.

Piscina e parco con sullo sfondo Villa Eden

Wellbeing over time, the story of a transformation

Villa Eden was founded in 1982 by Karl Schmid - the entrepreneur behind the success of the Jägermeister amaro in Italy - who had the intuition to create the first 'beauty farm' in our country. In the course of time, also thanks to the collaboration with the pioneer of 'tailor-made diets' Henri Chenot, it has welcomed illustrious guests - from Maradona to Barbra Streisand, from Lady Diana to Gianni Versace - some of whom now also give their names to their favourite suites: one above all, the one dedicated to Pavarotti.

Initially, a stay at Villa Eden was therefore strictly related to diet and health treatments, but over the years the concept of "remise en forme" has continued to evolve and expand, especially after 1993, when Karl's daughter Angelika Schmid took over the reins. Now the most fitting definition for a stay in this old residence - perfectly restored preserving the charm and elegance of the original house, but not without a touch of design, located in the most prestigious residential district of Merano, in a dominant position with respect to the tourist town centre - is "longevity retreat", that is, the combination of everything that can improve the quality of life and slow down the ageing process;

Angelika Schmid guida Villa Eden dal 1993

"The well-being of the individual is always at the centre of our work, but compared to forty years ago, the goal is above all to age well, to be able to live the extra years that the average person now has as well as possible,' explains Angelika Schmid. We work with renowned experts and dieticians and are always on the lookout for the best diagnostic tools and state-of-the-art treatments, but over time we realised that our guests wanted to be a little freer to choose, to have more options available to them, including when it came to food. Now those who come to us no longer do so only for beauty or dietary treatments, but toalso simply to rest and enjoy our excellent cuisine. Getting ahead of the game is the secret to prolonging life while preserving the best functional quality and staying fit. That is why our pro-longevity formula combines healing and psychophysical regeneration in the name of luxury and holiday pleasures".

A good restaurant ages better (and increases revenue)

In this formula combining luxury, health and pleasure, a more and more central role is played by the gastronomic offer, now suitable for all types of customers and tailored to their every need. A strategy that also entailed an investment in the complete renovation of the kitchen (as part of an intervention aimed at improving energy efficiency and the refurbishment of some suites, at a total cost of 1.7 million euros), but which is bearing the hoped-for fruit: the restaurant The Tasting Room, only four tables also open to external customers, represents between 12 and 15% of Villa Eden's annual turnover, which is around 5 million euro (with an ebitda of around 20%); and together with the in-house proposal of its "alter ego" Eden's Park, specialising more on the detox offer, has recordedan average annual growth of 25% over the last 3 years.

La Black&White Suite di Villa Eden

Prices for suites range from EUR 300 to EUR 1,300 per person, plus health courses, which include weekly plans starting at EUR 2,950. Theannual average room occupancy rate (Adr) is 65%. Villa Eden has a team of 80 employees and expects to increase revenues by 10% this year, partly due to the extensive renovation of the Health Longevity Spa and Med Spa.

Michelin star and 360 degree menu

The chef Marcello Corrado, already twice Michelin starred, has been called in to take care of the entire food & beverage offer at 36o degrees, with the aim - among other things - of bringing the macaron also to The Tasting Room, already awarded last year by Gault&Millau with 18 points out of a maximum score of 20. The five-star luxury hotel, consisting of only 25 suites and among the The Leading Hotels of the World, on the other hand, can already boast the Michelin 'two keys' (38 in the whole of Italy, while there are 8 three keys and 101 establishments marked with one key).

Lo chef Marcello Corrado, responsabile dell’offerta gastronomica di Villa Eden

The philosophy of The Tasting Room, in keeping with that of the hotel, is inspired by "lightness, taste and a balance between tradition and innovation" and "sustainability and the valorisation of the best local ingredients", which, however, also match the Neapolitan soul of the chef. A fitting example comes from the dish-signature dish "Tutto Rosso - Barbabietola in diverse interpretations - Sorbetto alla cipolla - Radicchio - Note acide", which stems "from a mouth-watering reinterpretation of the combination of beetroot and onion through a seven-stage processing of its main ingredient, with specific smoking techniques and variation of textures," explains the chef. "The balance of acidity and earthiness is also in the foreground.

DTwo tasting menus are proposed: "Eden Holistic", a tribute to the history of Villa Eden, without bread and without small pastries at the end; and "Local Homage", seven courses inspired by the biodiversity of the territory. .

Il signature dish “Tutto Rosso”

Eden's Park's offer is also interesting and innovative: reserved for hotel guests, it proposes a menu that is divided into a more traditional ("pleasure") - always attentive to nutritional balance, with little red meat and with an eye to the glycemic index - and a detox and anti-inflammatory menu that changes every day, but always begins with the proposal of a very rich buffet of vegetables, raw or steamed or in any case in a way that respects all their nutritional richness.
In addition each dish can be ordered in three different portions, so as to adapt the meals as much as possible to the guests' dietary needs. All of this is coordinated with the facility's doctors and nutritionists (the director of the Longevity Medical Centre is Dr Emanuele De Nobili) who can also provide ad hoc diets for each guest during a visit on the day of arrival (the same customised treatment also takes place for the massage and beauty part)..

Emiliano SgambatoResponsabile Food24
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Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: Inglese
Argomenti: Agroalimentare, mercato immobiliare, arredo-design
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