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Dolomites/Alpi de Siusi update

About a month ago there were questions re. where to stay in the Dolomites. We are currently in the area so I thought I’d report back. We spent one night in Bolzano. We liked it, especially Otzi, but I feel it is too far from the mountain activity. We also stayed two nights in Merano. Lovely city, well located for our day trip to Glurns (lovely) and Malles and up to the Stelvio Passo ( wonderful adventure, COLD). We thought Merano was too large for our tastes plus too far to Alpi de Siusi. On our way to Castelrotto, we stopped and hiked to the waterfalls in the Barbiano area (stunning). We decided to get a late lunch in Ortisei and check out the town. It was too posh for our tastes and on a Saturday at 2:30, no restaurants were serving anything but strudel. We looked at the menus and boy prices were high for not terribly inspired food. Ortisei felt like an elite ski town. Authentic yes, but pricey shops and fancy people. We skied in Colorado for about 12 years and my husband’s family ended up buying a home in Steamboat for family use. Ortisei reminded us of the fancier ski towns like Telleride, Aspen, Vail, etc. We are now in Castelrotto. Small, but friendly. Actually, plenty of restaurants, really good, too. Last night we enjoyed Hotel Zum Turm’s restaurant and tonight, Saalstuben was excellent as well. Fair prices.

Today, we took the gondola up to Alpi di Siusi. It is stunning, but currently cold and snow covered. Trails are about 20% snow covered, some areas with slick ice. Glad we went, it was a fabulous day, but hiking shoes/boots are really a must. I would have liked to use my hiking poles more, but eventually my husband put them in his napsack so I could keep my hands in my pockets. It was overcast and about 38 F degrees. We stopped at a chalet and were blown away by food and prices. We expected to pay much more given they have to get the food supplies up there. We had just stopped to warm up and use the WC and enjoyed strudel, hot chocolate with rum and a beer for under 15 euro. We might have planned for a meal if we knew it was that good. I don’t know the name of the place, but it was the last chalet on our hike. We did the Witch’s trail, counterclockwise as recommended by knowledgeable hikers and it was the last chalet of the hike. And, yes, recommend counterclockwise especially given the current conditions, and bring a hat, sunglasses, gloves and good shoes and hiking poles if you use them

We are loving northern Italy especially the Dolomites.

Posted by
203 posts

Thank you for posting. We are leaving on the 28th, first leg of out trip is Ortisei for 5 nights at Hotel Stennebeck. There have been varied opinions are where to stay in the area, we have made our plans and will make the best of it. We are not posh or fancy either but do like a good dinner after a day of activity. We won't have a car so for this reason it may be the best bet. I hope the weather improves for you ( and us).

Posted by
2785 posts

Perhaps I am just oblivious, but I did not find Ortisei to be posh or fancy. Of course we did no shopping and the only place we ate was Hotel Grones. The food was fantastic, but the atmosphere was casual and relaxed, at least to me. We worse hiking clothes the whole time and felt completely at ease. Ortisei is a wonderful place to stay because of access to so many lifts. But of course, no place is for everyone.

Posted by
6508 posts

I do know a lot of forum folks like Hotel Grones. We gave it some thought, but it was fully booked anyway.

@kcdav, I’ve been observing that the buses are pretty fantastic and you can get many places. We used it to get to Alpi de Siusi. Today, we did R Steve’s’ small circle route to see the mountain passes, via car. Incredible! I noticed the buses get to the passes, too.

Weather is still quite chilly. Today I wore leggings under my pants. Our packing was heavily influenced by the really hot weather forecasted for the first 3 weeks of our trip. I’m actually using the few items I tossed in for, “just in case” (rain pants, leggings, sweatshirt.

The whole day we were in Bolzano it rained. I’m told that is when much of the Dolomites got the snow.

Posted by
11785 posts

Thanks for writing. We are now in the Alpe, our third of three nights. Luckily we had winter-ish gear so had some good hikes and lunches plus great gourmet dinners at AlpenHotel Panorama. I am ready to feel September again instead of November! You are right about prices up here: more reasonable than you’d expect.

We are fans of Ortisei. After many visits we have connections, and it is a terrific base for getting to lots of hikes, easy and challenging. We love that you do not need a car. Posh? I don’t see it. We have a couple of restaurants we favor, don’t do much shopping, After 10 years of visiting it is still on the must return list for us.

Posted by
6508 posts

Hmmm, maybe because we were so hungry and cold! Perhaps we’ll give it another try if we have time.

Posted by
203 posts

Jules m,

I had planned on packing some light thermal underwear to wear under my hiking pants to be on the safe side even before I heard about the snow. Even 50s and sunny sounds fine to me, it's still in the 80s here in southeastern MI and is predicted to be warm here for the next 10 days or so and though the mornings and evenings are mercifully cooler, daytime temps are not pleasant for hiking or gardening. We got used to doing everything outside here during covid winters and it got much colder in MI than it is in Ortisei right now. Trying to keep confident that Sept 29- Oct 5 will be pleasant enough.

Posted by
203 posts

that's what I thought too about Cortina, I'm happy with our decision to stay in Ortisei.

Posted by
6508 posts

@kcdav, being from Minnesota, we’re pretty used to temperature extremes. We’d be happy with 50s and sunny, as well, but we’ve been making do with about low 40s and overcast skies. We’ve been traveling for almost 4 weeks now, we started our trip with mid 90s and lots of sun.

Was just wanting people to know of current weather conditions here. We, personally weren’t expecting snow cover. Temperatures are forecasted to be a bit warmer and should they get some sun the snow and ice will melt down.

Posted by
11785 posts

Jules, Too bad we didn't hook up while we were both here! We are off to Switzerland today for a month.

FYI, Minnesota born and lived there 30 years. Will be "home" there for Christmas this year.

Posted by
6508 posts

Laurel, that would have been fun! Would have been great to hear what you’ve done in this year over the years. Where are you going in Switzerland?

Weather is improving for those on the way. Supposedly (weather forecasts haven’t been very accurate) we’ll have a high of 60 and sun. Can’t wait to see this area with sunny skies.

Happy travels, everyone.

Posted by
45 posts

We are planning to go to Ortisei in the summer of 2025, mainly because of the proximity to the lifts. I am relying on what I have tried to research but it seems that being near the lifts makes the most sense, unless we want to drive and find parking when we want to hike. Having said that, I imagine that there are so many hikes which may not require using the lifts. I think that trying to figure out the logistics for the trip is the most difficult as we want it to be as 'easy' as possible to make the trip relaxing and not have to drive everywhere. If anyone has any recommendations for 5 days, with maybe two locations, that would be great. I can't wrap my head around the whole area and how best to navigate and make the most of our time. Thanks

Posted by
11785 posts

Jules, we are back in Lauterbrunnen for 3 weeks, then on to Locarno for a week, new-to-us location. Wrapping up in Rome!