Dolomites and Hiking in October

Rick Steves recommends Castelrotto. I recommend Ortisei, but Mr Steves is slightly more famous.

Ortisei. Castelrotto is on the edge of the Dolomites. Not in them at all. The Mont Seuc cable car from Ortisei to the Seiser Alm (Alpe di Siusi) runs until late October or early November.

Ortisei has a fantastic market festival on the second Monday of October. It’s an all day event. Vendors selling just about anything and everything, food, beer, wine, music. Very good time.

http://www.val-gardena.com/en/lifts/page65.html

http://www.val-gardena.com/en/trekking-map/page558.html

http://www.val-gardena.com/download/gardena/pdf/Sommer2016/nw_mb_print.pdf

www.valgardena.it

www.val-gardena.com

Paul

I also recommend Ortisei it’s with access to excellent hiking.

Or stay up on Alpe di Siusi. Refugio Bolzano is open until October 16.

.http://schlernhaus.it/schlernhaus/en/prices

There is another hut you can link with this for a nice 3-4 day walk. I will have to find the name and report back.

One could also stay at the far end of Alpe di Siusi at Zallinger farm, and walk the circuit around Sassolungo and Sasso Piatto from there. Toni Demetz hut would be a great place to stop on this circuit if it is open, but there are other huts as well.

https://www.tonidemetz.it/index_eng.html

https://www.zallinger.com/en/get-to-know/zallinger/60-0.html

I think you are just looking at the wrong resources.
Not many Airbnb, VBRO's up in the mountains where it sounds like you want to be.

Castelrotto also not sounding like a fit for you.

Google Rifugio locations and start trying to map out a route from that.
Either rent car or stay within a limited range doing a loop hiking rifugio to rifugio.
There are I would say more rifugios on the eastern side of the Dolomites ; not in Cortina but close on both east and west of Cortina you will find them more common than around the Val Gardena area. Tre Cime area for example is a very popular route along with the WWI sites in the Dolomites are dotted with mountain hut rifugios.. Or in the middle between Val Gardena and Cortina you will find a bunch as well. On the Western side, don't think there are that many so day hikes between them would be hard.

Many rifugios may be closed for season in terms of having food and being staffed but most all leave the doors open for travelers to stay in and leave a donation for doing so later in the year if you are comfortable doing that type of non-heated stay.

Cicerone has excellent hiking books; try https://www.cicerone.co.uk/shorter-walks-in-the-dolomites and
https://www.cicerone.co.uk/walking-in-the-dolomites.