We lived in the Dolomiti for two years about 30 years ago. We rented a perfect apartment in Cortina d'Ampezzo and we loved it there. We skied, we hiked and that's where we started mountain biking. When we learned that there was ski in/ski out in Sud Tyrol that's where we started to look for accommodation for the summer of 2025 and the winter of 2026 (and found it!).
We were told that the Val Gardena and Badia areas of Sud Tyrol were not Italy and, indeed, we agreed. There was lots and lots of Austrian and German spoken and the food was more Austrian than Italian. The third language was Ladino and with 3 languages on street signs, we had to learn to be quick to pick out the Italian to follow.
The summer was a test our endurance, stamina, and love of new places. We did not find one continuous accommodation for the summer or for next winter's skiing, so we had to hop from chalet to apartment to hotel every couple of weeks. In the chalets and apartments, we did not have any bellmen or help, so we schlepped our worldly possessions from place to place. This will be true next winter too. If it sounds horrific, it probably will be. But, as it turned out, it wasn't too bad. In our very first accommodation, Chalet Ski, Cinzia offered to store our skis and our ski clothes suitcase for us until next January. Phew, we did not need to have those things in the car.
Our first accommodation in the Dolomiti
Our first accommodation was fabulous--we loved it and it was nearly perfect for us. The owners, Cinzia and Markus, did everything that they could to make us feel welcome and cared for. The views were breathtakingly spectacular, and the outdoor Jacuzzi was perfect at 40° C in the beautiful garden with the fabulous views. It was in the Selva di Val Gardena area, and we liked the neighborhood too. The price of Chalet Ski (La Selva street 109/B 39048 Selva di Val Gardena, Dolomites, Italy, info@chaletski.it, +39 339 8642719): 442.85€ worked for us too.
The layout of the chalet with its two bedrooms and two bathrooms was good, and there was enough storage (although the open closets were a little down-market). Everything else in the apartment was top-of-the-line and well-designed. The garden was huge and the flowers and trees were lovely. We didn’t use the sauna in the garden (and we wished that it was, instead, an elevator from the garage). The kitchen was well-equipped and easy to use. The apartment was personalized to our liking, and Markus even made us two desks so that we could use our laptops comfortably (one of the single beds in the second bedroom was removed so we had more space for the desk and our stuff). Markus and Cinzia were always available to help us with whatever we needed, and we truly appreciated that.
The underground garage with its remote door opener was great and huge (and all ours!). The ski room was off the garage and was large and comfortable. Also on that level was the washer and dryer (separate machines that worked), along with the massage room. The only design defect in Chalet Ski was the long staircase up to the patio where the front door to the unit was. It was opened by a reader on the wall a little distance away from the door (we will see how all of that works when we return in the winter).
The unit is right on the Saslong World Cup downhill ski run, and while it is a black run, we will use it for our ski-out and ski-in. In short, we can’t wait to return to Chalet Ski.
When we arrived at Chalet Ski on July 19, it was chilly and rainy. It stayed that way, more or less, until August. Then it was suddenly summer and really hot. So much for coming to the mountains for pleasant summer temperatures! We did a hike suggested by a front desk woman at the Four Seasons Milano and it was great. We went to Refugio Emilio Comici at 2154 meters-- sitting and looking at the Grupo Sella. Wow!
We asked if Chalet Ski would rent to us long-term. Cinzia and Markus talked about it and decided that they did not want to do that for many (reasonable) reasons. So we left our reservations there as they were.
We actually left Chalet Ski one day early. Cinzia said she needed to have the maid start at 9:30 am, and that would not have been comfortable or convenient for us. We went to the Relais & Château that had initially called our attention to the Sud Tyrol area for skiing and ski-in/ski-out accommodations. The Hotel Capella (Familie Pizzinini, Colfosco - Str. Pecei, 17 - 39033 - CORVARA (BZ) – Alta Badia – Dolomites, +39 0471 836183, www.hotelcappella.com) was indeed ski-in/ski-out. We had a very nice room with half board (and very good food) for 558€. The next morning was leisurely, and then we went on to our second accommodation for the summer.
Our second accommodation in the Dolomiti
After one week at Chalet Ski in Selva di Val Gardena, we moved to San Vigilio di Marebbe in Val Badia. Immediately, we noticed that the views were not as spectacular. As much as we liked Chalet Ski, we disliked Florisa Mountain Penthouse.
We were very disappointed in the apartment (531.25€ per day). There was no management onsite whatsoever—not even to change burnt-out light bulbs. We were totally on our own with a TV that didn’t work properly and appliances with everything in German. While there were ample square meters, we did not like the architectural design, the layout of the apartment, or the interior design—the sofa was very, very uncomfortable, and the dining room chairs were only “okay”.
The kitchen was poorly equipped—no microwave, no toaster, no juicer (not even a manual one), and no serving utensils or salad fork and spoon. It was annoying that there were not enough plastic bags for the garbage bins under the sink and not enough dishwasher tablets for our 3-week stay. There were many wine glasses and highball glasses, but no smaller glasses. The shelves were too high, and there was no step stool (we asked for one and were told implicitly to stand on a wobbly chair). The beige carpet in the living room was stained. There was a grill but no table with chairs on the balcony. There was a sitting area on the balcony with very uncomfortable, low furniture. In the afternoon, when one might use the area for aperitivo, it was unbelievably hot with the afternoon sun on the area. Also on the balcony were chaise lounges—totally useless for us, as was the sauna.
The bedrooms were very close to each other and would not be comfortable for couples/friends unless they were very close friends. The view in one direction was good (with Piz da Peres visible), but mostly it was of the town of San Vigilio de Marebbe (and, from the dining table, the view was dominated by the ugly Miara/Bronta lift structure).
Dimitri (the techie) spent 3 hours figuring out how to get rid of the flashing banners at the side and the bottom of the TV screen with only a little help from the owners (by telephone). Finally, he did so that we could watch the TV.
There was plenty of storage, but it was high up and without a step ladder, inaccessible.
We used the Jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom once.
That was enough (even for us who generally love hot tubs). It was difficult to
get in and out of it, and not comfortable once in.
For skiing, the FloAlp apartment building was too far (331 meters/almost 1108 feet) for us to walk in ski boots, carrying skis (on a snowy, icy road). There was a ski depot near the Miara lift where we would have had to rent space for our things. Another thing about the Florisa Penthouse we would have hated in the winter was the control for the thermostat for heating the apartment. It was disabled in San Vigilio and instead controlled by the owners in Germany. Totally unacceptable for us. But we cancelled our two other winter reservations and did not want to ever return to Florisa. In the neighborhood, the large top-floor apartment of Terre 71 (Helga Erlacher), Str. Plan de Corones, 33, which had a Jacuzzi on the balcony, would have been a better choice. We wondered how that one had not come up in our accommodation searches.
Every time we went in or out of the garage, Audre needed to get out of the car to open the garage gate. That was annoying enough in the summer; in the winter, on the snowy, icy driveway, it would have been awful.
When the weather got hot (35° C+), the apartment was an oven without air conditioning, and there was no fan.
Last but not least, the garbage bins were next to the
entrance to the garage. To get to them by foot was a real, uphill trek.
We didn't like the apartment, the town or the restaurant selection but we made the best of our stay in San Vigilio. We found a mountain bike of the correct size for Audre at our neighborhood bike shop (a Giant XS Luraan). We biked west to a tiny town of Marie Saalen where we found a lovely restaurant for lunch amongst the cows prancing around. That was a 20 mile ride with enough uphill to work off our lunch.
The highlight of our entire stay in San Vigilio di Marebbe was a visit from Jon and Yael Brown who came from London to meet us. We had met them briefly during our stay at the Four Seasons Mahe in the Seychelles. When we were kayaking, they and their two children were too. We stayed in touch. They had never spent time in the Dolomites so they took the opportunity to come.
They were awed by the spectacular views and the mountain bike ride (to lunch) that we organized. We spent lots of time together and had wonderful conversations and great fun together.
We did go to the "must see" Lago de Braises and were underwhelmed. We've seen many alpine lakes and this one was not spectacular and it wasn't awfully crowded. What was spectacular was the line up of cars to enter at 4 pm when entrance was free. It looked like the line went all the way to Rome. That's what happens when influencers hype a place and the place tries to cope.
We also rented e-mountain bikes and did the "must do" path to Pederü where we had lunch. Another day we wanted to go further to Fanes but we never made it that far. After three weeks at Florisa, off we went for five days in Bolzano. It was our first time there.
Our third accommodation in the Dolomiti
Bolzano is the capital of Sud Tyrol and has always been a market town, connecting people and goods through the Brenner Pass. We stayed at the Castel Hörtenberg, the only 5-star hotel in the city (Via Monte Tondo 4 Bolzono (39100), 04711725055). We were greeted warmly by Emanuel at the front desk and he showed us our room. Housekeeping had done a good job in personalizing our suite and we like that.
The Junior Suite at 522€ per night (including breakfast) was one big room, with the toilette on one side and the two sinks and shower on the other side. There was an alcove with two chairs and a table (with fruit and other offerings) that was part of the original 16th century design of the castle. It had 3 windows looking out on the parking area (we couldn’t see the swimming pool from our room). The main room had a desk (with a finicky Illy coffee machine) and a sofa with a coffee table, along with the bed and two bedside tables. There was a closet with shelves and lots of hooks on one wall. Dimitri unpacked and Audre used a luggage rack to leave her suitcase partially full. At the end of the bed was a too-tall bench that was useless.
The room had windows framed with the
thick walls that had inlaid wood, baroque paintings, from around 1700. The
ceilings were very, very high, maybe 15 feet which made the room feel more
spacious than it was. We were brought a table for Audre’s laptop and chairs for
the desk and the table (and there was room for all that without crowding). So,
the room worked for us.
The first night we ate at the hotel's restaurant, Le Secrete, on the patio. We had a lovely meal with very nice service by Davide and Andreas. The hotel’s breakfast was good but had annoying extra charges for porridge and for some kinds of eggs. Regina (who spoke Greek) and Isabella took care of us very well. In our alcove,
we were brought lots of fruit and we found figs at the breakfast buffet.
Tatjana, at reception, brought Audre a bouquet of flowers that Audre liked a lot.
There was a daily market of fruit, vegetables, flowers and other stuff market in the Piazza del Erbe in the old part of Bolzano. We found mangos from Peru (like the ones we found in Lyon in April!) We found figs from Puglia and Abruzzo, as well as from Spain (we liked the larger Spanish ones best). We never did find the large, delicious green figs that the Four Seasons Milano supplied us with.
The hotel's manager, Duccio, made sure that we had everything we needed when he checked on us periodically. The hotel had bikes for guests to use
for free. On our first day, when it was 100° out we biked along the Iscaro River.
There was a little breeze and at 8 miles an hour made our own breeze too. It
was really fun. The path was not crowded and there were trees (but not enough).
We turned around when the heat became overwhelming and the only restaurant
along the way was closed (because Tuesday was their giorno di riposo—the day of
rest). Another day we biked along the Adige River. It was another fun day, although really hot.
The hotel was very close to the center
of the old town of Bolzano. The Italian/Austrian architecture was noticeably different
from other parts of Italy. There were lots of flourishes and frescos on the
exterior walls. There was a medieval look to many parts of the old town too,
with arcades and arches. The streets were unbelievably narrow so that getting
to the hotel was scary in our SUV. Once parked at the hotel we didn’t move the
car.
One day we used the hotel’s gym and it wasn’t air conditioned. Oh boy. We used the hotel’s steam and the (too cold) 35° Jacuzzi, after first trying to warm up in the steam room. The Jacuzzi temperature was barely acceptable (and the hotel wouldn’t raise it). We sat by the pool and tried the water. Even though it was very hot outside, the pool water was too cold for us.
We did our stretching and toning in our
room and that was comfortable. The concrete floor was really cold—can you
imagine how cold it would be in the winter?
The staff at reception of the hotel made us restaurant and we also
found a Pakistani one. Tatjana, Emanual and Ariyan were very helpful and considerate. Our dinners in Bolzano were good Sud Tyrolean food, generally.
After 5 days in Bolzano, we went back to Val Gardena to stay in the area called Santa Cristina for a whole month!
Our fourth accommodation in the Dolomiti
We thought that the owners and their family were terrific hosts. If it weren’t for Marlene and the family, we would have been unhappy with our choice for our one-month stay (Apartment Mia at Micoa, Strada Vedla Calonia, 5-7, 39047 Santa Cristina Val Gardena BZ, Italy, www.micoa.it, +39 339 446 8778, 351.42€ per day). Before we had arrived, because Marlene told us she had availability for the winter, we had high hopes that we had found an apartment that would not only be good for a month during the summer but also good for the winter of 2025-2026. On the ground, at the end of the day, it would not be good for us for the winter. As it was, we made the small apartment work for the month, even for entertaining our friends.
The daughters, Vivien and Mia, carried our luggage up the (inside) stairs from the garage to the apartment when we arrived. Wow! We were surprised by the size and layout of the 75 m² space. It wasn’t designed well, and we thought that the photographs on the website made it seem larger. The living space had walls that were not at right angles making the space less functional. In addition, the building was at the bottom of a hill, with no mountain views and the building itself was very, very close to the next door building (as well as the other rental apartment). We thought that the ski lift up to Monte Pana would be a closer walk (it was not the 50 meters/160 feet that the website said it was. Our calculation was 123 meters/403 feet). In ski boots, carrying skis on the snowy and icy walkway, it would be dangerous for us.
The door to the apartment opened to a front hall with a bench that was a useful
space. The second bathroom was on that hall, as well as the door to the living area
(the kitchen, dining table and sofa). The dining table was built in with a bench at the end of the kitchen counter. In the photo, we thought that it looked like there was
a sufficient distance between the dining table and the sofa but it was a really
narrow space. The TV screen was mounted over the dining table and couldn’t be
moved out, or to the left or to the right. Therefore, we wanted to move the
sofa. The sofa was too large for the space. Fortunately, Marlene was willing to
disconnect and remove one section of the sofa, making the remaining section
into a (still uncomfortable) loveseat and moveable so that it could be positioned to watch the TV.
Over the dining table was a hanging light that interfered with watching
the TV. Dimitri rigged it so that it was out of the way. We noticed immediately
that the ceiling lighting in this new construction was positioned poorly, was not
sufficient and that the apartment was too dark (so much for paying for designers!). We ordered standing lamps from
Amazon for the main living area and for our bedroom.
We chose the second bedroom as our master bedroom and Audre used the
desk there for her laptop. The sliding glass door (no window) had to be open
for air. The other bedroom was our luggage room and its master bathroom was
Dimitri’s. There was a desk for Dimitri’s laptop in that bedroom.
Off of the sliding glass doors was a patio with a table and chairs which
we could use for lunch (when it wasn’t raining which Dimitri lamented was far too often). The garden was lovely but we were disappointed that the raging river below was not visible—only very audible. The patio of the second rental
apartment adjoined our patio so neither was private. Below the patio and grassy
area was a vegetable garden that Audre liked.
The kitchen itself was well-equipped, except for the absence of a
microwave. In the spot where the microwave should have been was a fancy, schmancy Miele coffee machine that made coffee from beans. For us it was all show. Audre cooked most of our dinners during the month we stayed and she
wasn’t too distressed by the kitchen (she learned how to live without a microwave). In the larger nearby towns we found fresh
fish. In the local grocery stores there was frozen fish. It wasn’t bad.
Whenever we needed something for the apartment, Marlene or one of the
daughters was there to help us. That made a huge difference in our enjoyment
during our stay. Marlene, Vivian and/or Romina, the donna delle pulizie, cleaned twice a week, which was great. We liked the smartness of the apartment. One day, for example, we locked ourselves out. Marlene was able to unlock the outside door into the building and to unlock the front door to our apartment remotely from her vacation spot in Greece! Very cool!
Across the river from our apartment were buildings with other apartments
and the road going up to Monte Pana. There was always foot, bike and vehicular
traffic on that road. We couldn’t see the Monte Pana lift station from our
apartment but we could see the lift itself going up the hill. Next to the river was a
path that we happily biked all the way to Ortesei at the other end of the
valley.
Our bike rentals were from our town of Santa Cristiana, Selva Val
Gardena and also from Monte Pana. Our best mountain bike ride was from Monte Pana to
Saltria for lunch. Many of our other rides were on paths with Dolomiti rocks
that were very slippery and scary—particularly when the path was steep.
We walked the road and bike path by the river to the Sassolungo lift
station and we talked to the young man in the booth selling tickets for the
Monte Pana lift. Dimitri asked him where there might be ski in/ski out
accommodations. He suggested we drive up to Monte Pana and check out the hotels
and the apartments. We did and we found what we were looking for!
There were two hotels and one apartment building at Monte Pana. The views there of the Sassolungo, the Sella Group and the other peaks were spectacular. We visited all of the accommodation possibilities and realized they were all right on the slopes and definitely ski in/ski out.
We were
thwarted in trying to visit reception at the Cendevaves Hotel. There was no way
in if you weren’t staying there. There was a restaurant open to the public on
the slopes and we went there. Audre recognized the owner of the hotel from a
picture on the hotel’s website. He was in the restaurant, working. We approached
him and told him of our interest in staying there during the upcoming winter. Christian introduced us to his wife, Birgit, and his sons, Noah and Rubin. They were very welcoming. When we told them our dates, Birgit
checked and basically we could stay in a suite that would fulfill our wishes,
whims and wants for the winter. It would also provide us with an entirely new
experience of staying in a hotel with half board. Audre would not have to cook
at all—in fact we would not have a kitchen for almost 3 months!
Cendevaves is new hotel (just opened in December 2024--we love new) in the location of the hotel that Christian's father built in the 1950's. We will have the Alpine Silence Suite, a 95 sq meter suite, with it’s own ski room right on the slope and it’s own outdoor Jacuzzi on its patio (we can set the temperature at our desired 40° C). We will take half board and it will be way over budget we think it will be a great new experience.
We were able to cancel all of the reservations we had made for the winter of 2025-2026 without paying any penalties and it is difficult to describe just how thrilled and excited we were to have found and gotten what we dreamed of.
Another wonderful thing occurred while we were at Apartment Mia in Santa Cristina. Our friends from near Milan, Monica and Mario, came to visit. We had met them at the Four Seasons Desroches in the Seychelles in 2023!
They stayed at a new Aman hotel in a nearby town and we had them to our tiny apartment for aperitivo and then hosted them at a restaurant in Selva Val Gardena for dinner. We had a truly wonderful time with them and we made plans to meet again when we are staying in Genoa in September.
So, about the weather. It was chillier than Dimitri would liked but good for Audre. Dimitri would like to be in a city like Vienna during the summer of 2026 instead of the mountains. The hiking in the Dolomiti was a little more strenuous and straight up than we would have liked. Audre tried to learn the names of the wildflowers and was jazzed that many were familiar--same as Colorado wildflowers. The biking was sometimes fun and sometimes scary. The paths with the Dolomiti rock were sometimes too slippery and sometimes too steep, even with e-mountain bikes. We needed trails designated "easy" and there were not enough.
One sunny day, we took the Col Reiser gondola/funiva up to hike in the famous, Instagramable, "must see," Seceda area. We hiked 5.03 miles/8.1km from 6877' to 8244,' with a 1367' elevation gain (known as the Feneda Peaks Photo Tour-rated medium difficulty). It was amazingly, breathtakingly beautiful at every bend in the path.
Yes, it was crowded but in September, not overcrowded. We had not hiked 1300 feet up since 2021 when we hiked Half Moon with Judi and Bob. But we did it in 2025!
No comments:
Post a Comment