Disappointing Dolomites Hotel Accommodations Change/Best of Italy in 17 Days (Tour Code: ITA090623)

That’s unfortunate but things beyond RS control do happen and they do tell you that. We stayed in Castelrotta on our tour which at that time was because the lodgings they used right in Alpi di siusi weren’t open yet in early May. I remember people at the time being extremely disappointed that we weren’t staying right in the meadow but 20 minutes away. The tour bus did take us up to the meadow after breakfast and some of us hiked on our own then caught local transit back down to the town and our hotel.

We were on the My Way Alpine Europe last summer & I'm pretty sure at the time the description showed us as sleeping in Castelrotto, but when we got the hotel list we were disappointed to see we were staying in Bolzano. It worked out fine in the end.

The tour leader arranged for the bus driver to take all who were interested to the starting point to buy lift tickets to hike in the Alpe di Siuisi. It was early but we all had time for breakfast. We spent all day hiking, then took the local bus back to Bolzano.

Just watch the weather carefully before deciding to hike. It was cloudy when we went up, but the tour leader thought it would clear up. We ended up hiking in a rainstorm, with thunder & lightning. It was pretty scary, as when it started we were about halfway, so going back or going forward were about the same. There was no place to take cover & I was worried about being hit by lightning. We finally made it to one of the huts, where we found other members of our tour taking shelter too. We had a delicious lunch there & all hung around for a while waiting for the storm to pass. In the end, we all walked together & the storm lessened. It was a cold, wet bus ride back to Bolzano & we really appreciated the amazing rain shower in our room.

We enjoyed Bolzano - the Iceman Museum, nice outdoor market near our hotel. The hotel we stayed at was beautiful! By the luck of the draw, we had a huge room! I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the hotel.

There are some times of the year that Castelrotto and the hotel up at Compatsch are unavailable.

My Best of Italy tour stayed in Castelrotto and I was actually disappointed because we weren't at Compatsch, lol. The guide will take the group up in the bus to the Compatsch area either taking you to the gondola for the ride up or up to the top (depending on what the bus is allowed to do by the local regulations at the time of your visit).

The hotel rooms are secured at least a year out (maybe more) so I am nearly 100% certain there can be no change at this juncture.

The plus thing for you is that the food situation last October in Castelrotto was pretty awful. About half of our tour members were unable to get dinner as few restaurants were open and the ones that were had booked out reservations. Bolzano is very cool and I'd have liked to spend more time there when we stopped to see the museum. The main thing is that there were dozens of restaurants!

I am glad you've contacted the office with your disappointment. Please understand your guide had no say in the choice of hotels.

Editing to add: Since you are on the fully guided Best of Italy, your transportation arrangements will be different from the My Way tours. My expectation would be that you are driven up and back in the tour bus and no public transport would be involved unless you choose to do something different from the group.

Thank you, I do appreciate all of your responses. This is obviously a first world problem and I will do as I always do; roll with the punches and enjoy myself.

Sudtirol public transit has a bus that leaves at 7:15, but takes 45 minutes. It's only 3 euro and we'll enjoy the sites on the way up.

I appreciate that everyone sounds like they enjoyed Bolzano and the food selection is much better. Looking forward to Tyrolean food!

Stadt Hotel Citta is the place we're staying.

Bolzano is a very nice town in the Dolomites. I enjoyed my stay but I wasn't on a RS tour.

I guess I need to clarify. We were on the BOI tour not My Way. Because it was still between seasons, the lifts were not running yet. The trails going up out of the meadow are a bit of a climb and most of our tour group were not in shape to hike much. They just walked a bit around the meadow. Our guide provided us and the others wanting to actually hike with bus tickets to get back down the mountain and made sure we understood the bus schedule and which bus stop to be at. Hiking is a your choice activity so the tour bus wasn’t going to wait.

I might add, the trail we did had incredible views. If you are in mountain hiking shape don’t let the uncertainty of a public transit ride back keep you from hiking. It’s so worth it!

When we were on the Village Italy tour, our two nights to visit Sienna was southeast of Florence. We had to pass just south of Florence on A1 to drive the long distance to Sienna. It was disappointing to have to spend so much time in the bus that day.

Hiking in the Alpe di Siusi is wonderful. Enjoy!

I did the Best of Italy a very long time ago and stayed in Castelrotto and will echo what Pam said - the town had terrible food selection and as we were there on a Sunday and most of the restaurants and stores were closed. And BTW you can't really hike from the town itself - the tour bus drove us at least a solid three quarter of an hour to the main hiking area. Which on my tour happened to be completely covered in a fresh layer of snow (late May) so there was no real hiking opportunity. We ended up going to Bolzano and the museum that afternoon, so there was way more bus time that day than the itinerary promised. As with all RS tours, the guide helps you get the experiences listed on the itinerary, but it just might not be in the order on the printed agenda.

It is possible the hotel location change will work out to be a better thing all around. For one, it appears to be an excellent hotel, better than the accommodations I had in Castelrotto. And it's a 5 minute walk to the museum, which may mean your guide could fit in different/additional experiences that other tours might not get. And you'll be able to get a head start getting to Venice on day 5.

Enjoy your trip - it was my first RS tour and a very memorable experience.

CL...we, too, were there on a Sunday night. It was the guide's first BOI tour since Covid and apparently was not aware so little was open. We did a short hike with her up to the Stations of the Cross. In retrospect she should have sent everyone to dinner first and reconvened if people wanted a short walk.

@toc0012 - that hotel in Bolzano is in an excellent location. The bus will not be able to get right to it I don't think as the bus drop off for us was a block or so away from the piazza the hotel faces. Our group met up in that piazza to walk back to the bus. The back side of the hotel is just right by the pedestrian area where there are lots of restaurants. I don't think you'd have to buy bus tickets ahead of time if you choose to do that. I'd wait until after your first meet up and then discuss the with the guide the plans for that day to see if that works for you.

I'm sorry about the change in location. I stayed at the Stadt Hotel Citta in July and noticed that there was a Rick Steves group staying there which surprised me as I thought they stayed in Castelrotto. Just wanted to let you know that it is an easy walk to the bus station - took me no more than 10 minutes - from the hotel. I didn't go to the Alpe di Suisi this trip but have done the public bus on previous trips and it was very easy. I do think it takes a chunk of time though and don't know how early you could get a bus. You can find bus schedules on the Suedtirolmobil site.

I enjoyed my stay and found the hotel staff to be very helpful and kind. But I fully understand your disappointment if expecting to be up near the hiking trails. Wishing you a fantastic trip.

did this tour last month and was also surprised that we were staying in Bolzano instead of Castelrotto. But, it was a non-issue as our tour bus driver dropped us off at Alpe di Suisi in the morning.

IDK what the castelrotto hotel location is like but Bolzano was cute -- lots of restaurants and shops, and a 5 minute walk to see Otzi.

Hi:

Just chiming back in to say that I've looked at my tour notes from last year & we did stay in that same hotel in Bolzano. I agree with the other posters, great location, we had a beautiful, modern room, short walk to the Museum, easy walk from bus station to hotel after our hike, Lots of restaurants nearby. Our guide pointed us in the direction of a launderette, so were able to do our laundry while in town.

Having just been in that area, I can cast a vote for staying in Bolzano. First, understand that either way, you won't be litterally at the foot of the mountains, and will have to be transported to the gondolas and Alpe di Siusi, the alpine meadow with its many hiking trails. Bolzano is a charming Italian-flavored small city with lots of good restaurants, markets, shops, and historic sites, about 45 minutes away. Castelrotto is considerably smaller and closer, but posters here--as well as friends who've stayed in both places--have complained about the lack of restaurants and other things to do while in town. We took a public bus from Balzano up the base of the mountain and it was a great ride along winding roads with amazing scenery. Believe me, you'll appreciate the expertise the drivers display as they navigate the turns along the way. We got up there around 9:30, it wasn't crowded, and we had a fabulous hike along the Trail of the Witches.

We are on the BOI tour end of September and received this notification on the change of hotels. I'm sure the hotel in Bolzano will be great as with all of the hotels we have stayed in during our other Rick Steve's tours. Disappointed to be a further distance from the Alpine meadow but that's why travelers have to be flexible. Glad to hear the positive comments on the hotel and Bolzano !!!