AlisaAAM

My husband and I are starting to plan a ski trip (mostly downhill, but possibly also some cross country) to the Dolomites in February. We had a delightful trip to the Trois Vallees a few years ago, where we stayed in the lovely town of Saint Martin de Belleville. Things we loved most about that trip: the charming atmosphere of Saint Martin, easy access to the slopes from the lift in the center of town which in turn was easily accessible by foot from our pension, not needing a car (we took the ski bus from Geneva), and the huge ski area where we could ski a different area each day of our trip. We're hoping to replicate much of the feel this time around.

We're looking for a village full of charm that's laid back. We don't need or want an big apres ski scene. We'd like to stay in a cozy chalet for a reasonable price (since we'll pretty much just be conking out there at the end of the day) which is walkable to a lift. We don't need a spa. Good food is really important to us, which is one reason we're looking at San Cassiano for its Michelin starred restaurants, but we also revel in well done and down-to-earth traditional farm-to-table type places. However, I've read that San Cassiano is a bit spread out which makes me somewhat wary (see request for easy assess to lifts above).

Looking for any recommendations for a destination and specific hotel recommendations, please!

pja1

Hi,

I have to say we are not skiers and haven't visited during the winter.
While we love the Alta Badia and have stayed a couple of times, the Val Gardena, we also love the Val Gardena where we stayed during one trip, may suit your requirements well. The 3 towns/villages (Ortisei, St. Christina, Selva) are close together (maybe 5 min. from one to the next) so where ever you base is close to everything. Ortisei is the largest with a small "old town pedestrian zone". We stayed in St. Christina, the smallest village, at the Garni Ariston.

www.garniariston.com

Selva am also be a good choice for your preferences.

pja1

Sorry, I hit the Submit button by accident!


Have a look at these sites:

www.val-Gardena.com

www.valgardena.it

Paul

bobthenavigator

This hotel in Ortisei had the best food I have ever had in a hotel in 30 trips to Europe---and a lovely hotel.

http://www.hotelgrones.com/en/ortisei_valgardena.asp

Jean

I also recommend Val Gardena which has a good ski bus service so you wouldn't need to be within walking distance of a lift, just close to a ski bus stop. There are several lifts directly out of Ortisei, Santa Cristina and Selva. Maps.google.com will give you a general idea of the area's lift system.

We've stayed at the Garni Walter in Ortisei but not in ski season.

http://www.garniwalter.it/eng/index.html

sandralist

I found the Alta Badia to be the most charming and least touristy area of the Dolomiti when it comes to towns and villages that are not overbuilt as tourist towns, and it has a reputation for best traditional food as well, partly because it has retained more of its agricultural land and practices. It is still an important part of the local economy, not solely tourism.

sandralist

Sorry, I meant to add that you might want to check out Corvara as a location, and that also you probably should post your questions on forums for skiers if you haven't already. Don't know which ones better than others. Here's a start

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/

juana1313

excelente

Dayle

pja1,

I am actually a hard core skier living in Park City, Utah. My first trip to Italy, and even Europe, was a SKI trip! We visited in mid-March (end of the Dolomiti ski season) and stayed in Cortina di'Ampezzo. We had an absolutely fantastic time and our immediate group of friends were all advanced intermediate to expert, very frequent, skiers.

We skied around the areas nearest Cortina and loved the multiple gondola rides to the upper runs. One day our group took a private bus over to Kronplatz on the Austrian border and had a blast there. LONG runs! A bit more like US resorts than other areas we skied on this trip.

We also used local public transportation to ski two very famous "routes". We started in Selva and skied the Sella Ronda which I very highly recommend if you are at least an advanced intermediate skier in good condition. Absolutely awesome scenery. Do not go if the weather is not good because the scenery is the whole reason to do it. You can do the route clockwise or counter-clockwise. Either way, it takes a full day with an early start and a short lunch. You can start anywhere along the route which is marked with orange signs. Lifts are everything you can imagine - from pomas to gondolas. We even rode the old single chair lift in Val Gardena! It may have been replaced by now, our trip was in 1996.

The other route we did was Paseo Falzareggo. A real adventure that involved at one point being towed behind an enterprising local's horse draw sleigh! He was in full leiderhosen. Fun experience. We skied for many, many US miles down the valley and took a taxi back. Fabulous!

As we did the Sella Ronda route, Ortesei and Val Gardena both looked charming and well located for many days of skiing. We did enjoy staying in Cortina. Our hotel was the Hotel Savoia**** and we were only there because of the group rates available to our big ski club.

Food was excellent and truly northern Italian which means heavy Austrian influence. Lots of veal and butter-based sauces.

Hope this helps. I'll be happy to answer any questions. As you can tell this trip is a very happy and vivid memory. You should see the pictures!

Buon viaggo

Dayle

Oops! Sorry Alisa. I addressed my answer to the wrong poster.