This new kid on the block combines great skiing and Tyrolean hospitality
The Italian Dolomites offers some of the most scenic skiing in Europe (not for nothing did Swiss architect Le Corbusier describe the pink-hued crags and peaks as “the most beautiful construction in the world”), as well as the largest ski area in the world: the Dolomiti Superski with its 1,200km of slopes, 450 ski lifts and 12 ski resorts.
There’s a real buzz around the Italian Tyrol right now (the Winter Olympics are also coming to nearby Cortina d’Ampezzo in two years’ time), helped by the arrival of a slick new, wellness-oriented hotel: the Como Alpina Dolomites.
Things to know
The Como Alpina Dolomites is owned by Singapore’s Como brand, which is famous for its spas, something that’s reflected in the hotel’s massages, saunas and Nasa-designed Space Curl 3D machine (which helps stretch the back). More intriguing are its Tyrolean-leaning treatments such as hay baths (inspired by farmers who would rest their weary muscles in freshly-mown grass), goat milk wraps and scrubs made from local pine-tree needles. There’s also a 22m pool with an al fresco area where guests can swim amid falling snow.
The Como Alpina Dolomites is a ski-in, ski-out resort, meaning guests can shuffle onto the slopes mere seconds after leaving their room. The downhill skiing and snowboarding in the local Val Gardena is predictably superb, but thrill-seekers may wish to experience the local sci alpinismo (an adrenaline-spiking mix of skiing and mountaineering).
The nearby town of Ortisei looks like the kind of place where Pinocchio and Gepetto might hang out, and is a ski (or bus ride) away from Como Alpina Dolomites, offering a sophisticated spritz-supping la dolce piste-a world apart from the Jägermeister-shots and singalong hell of many Alpine après-ski.
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Val Gardena is also studded with cute rifugios: wooden huts laden with hot chocolate, snacks and immaculate coffee (this is Italy, after all). Pick of the bunch is Gostner Schwaige, with its hay soup (more hay!) and its allegedly aphrodisiac homemade schnapps.
What to pack: Your German phrasebook/ A German Duolingo subscription. Until World War I, Austria owned this part of Dolomites and today three-quarters of the population speaks German (along with local Romance language Ladin). And treat yourself to some spa/leisure wear: Mr Porter / Net a Porter are great one stop shops.