Alta Badia is a wonderful little region in the northern Italy, in South Tyrol, close to the border with Austria. It’s not like the rest of Italy – it has it’s own language, Ladin (not to be confused with Latin), and locals speak at least three languages every day – Ladin, Italian and German. With a population of only 20,000 people pretty much everyone know everyone. It is a small community of wonderful people. Many of them have been in hospitality for generations, so they know very well how to look after their guests.

Alta Badia consists of 6 villages – Badia, Corvara, Colfosco, La Villa, Badia, San Cassiano. Each village boasts gorgeous hotels and access to ski lifts. What is remarkable is when you ski in Alta Badia you have access to the whole of Dolomites with Dolomites Super Ski pass; that’s 120 kms of incredible runs. There are many routes that take you on a ski day trip. Some of my favourites ski runs are around the famous Sella Mountain clockwise or anticlockwise, called Sellaronda. That’s a day trip including a long lunch in the middle. Or another wonderful day trip is skiing to one of the only surviving glaciers Marmolada. They say it won’t be there for much longer due to the global warming, so we recommend to visit it very soon.

What is amazing about Alta Badia?

Number One – People  – the warmest, most welcoming and kind Ladin people.

Number Two – Food. In Alta Badia alone there are more than 40 restaurants on the mountains, each one amazing! Italians enjoy a long lunch more than any other nationality and it is absolutely a part of the skiing experience to enjoy morning coffee, long lunch with a bottle of wine, and apre-ski drinks in the afternoon. It’s just as important as skiing itself. They really know how to enjoy life and that spirit is very catchy.

Number Three – Excellent long groomed runs, all together 120 kms of exciting and picturesque ski runs. 99%  of them are wide, easy to ride, excellent for medium level skiers.

Number Four – Wonderful luxury hotels (more about our top suggestions below).

Number Five – Fantastic value for money compared to other European / American resorts.

Our top suggestions for where to stay in Alta Badia:

LA VILLA

In La Villa our favourite hotel is La Majun. It’s third generation family hotel run by women. This year all of the rooms will be beautiful renovated in an alpine, warm, yet modern style. Some of the suites feature fireplaces, fold out sofas for the children, views of the ski slopes. All bathrooms are equipped with heated floors.

Most of the hotels in the Dolomites offer half board -breakfast and dinner included in your package. I highly recommend taking it up as dinner in La Majun is remarkable. It starts with a salad bar and continues with a choice of four dishes from appetisers to starters, main and desert. The menu changes daily and represents a blend of Ladin and Italian cuisine.

On the day I had dinner we started with a mini-burger, continued with a barley soup, grilled octopus and finished with mango gelato with grappa as a digestive.

Most of the hotels in the Dolomites offer wellness facilities. In La Majun we had a heated indoor pool, two saunas, two steam rooms and cold pool for dipping in after the steam.

CORVARA

In Corvara we recommend La Marmolada, exceptional hotel with brand new stunning rooms, incredible designer pool, superb restaurant and excellent spa offering body and facial treatments to spoil the guests with a relaxation massage or scrub after a day on the slopes.

The rooms are very spacious, featuring granite bathrooms, wooden floors, excellent heating to keep you toasty on the cold winter evenings and modern design.

The bar and the restaurant in Marmolada deserve a special mention. Breakfast is incredible, featuring freshly squeezed juices, tropical fruit, crepes, eggs benedict, local cheeses and meats, selection of diary products. Interestingly this hotel at the moment has 4 star rating, but I can assure you that the design, rooms and facilities are better than in all five star hotels in town.

The bar is also famous for its apre ski. It made a name back in the day when it was serving escargot and champagne into late hours of the morning, dancing, DJs and all. Now it’s a little more quaint, but still a great spot for an evening cocktail, a place to see and be seen.

SAN CASSIANO

In San Cassiano the best hotel is Ciasa Salares. This gem is run by a young couple, Sara and Clemens, third generation owners, a very cool local couple with impeccable taste in food, wine and hospitality. Clemens is also former Italian ski champion so he is a great person to chat to for skiing itineraries during your stay.

Sara runs the hotel and Clemens is in charge of their signature restaurant Cocoon. Sommelier by trade he is a walking encyclopedia of wines.

Cocoon is set up in a wine cellar with just a few tables surrounded by wine bottles from all over the world. With hundreds of bottles ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to young wines from countries like Georgia, their wine list in truly unique. The oldest bottles I am told date back to 1920s.  For a special occasion would be a nice idea to pre-order a wine from your birth year.

Seasonal menu features a lot of local ingredients and many items are home made. The bread is freshly baked every day, meats are cured at the hotel, game and veggies are sourced locally. If you come dining as a family don’t go past fondue, always a winner with the young guests.

Hotels second restaurant, serves breakfast and dinner and is an excellent experience as well. It was so lovely to see all gentleman wearing a blazer at dinner time. White crispy table clothes , fresh flowers and candles at night time complete the romantic experience.

All In All

Alta Badia has become our top favourite winter destination. Can’t wait to be back in 2024! It is equally good for families, couples and groups of friends. For more information on Alta Badia check out region’s website or email us for suggestions on where to stay, eat and ski.

https://www.altabadia.org/