Ortisei (Val Gardena Valley)

We stayed at the Hotel Gardena Grodnerhof. It is a Relais and Chateau property but very reasonably priced despite. The level of service was incredible. Their staff can make excellent recommendations. They offer guided hikes with an experienced local who was able to take us on a grueling four hour hike and then recommend several others.

Ortisei was an excellent base, as would Selva be. Choose based on the lodging.

We spent four nights there and could have easily done a full week as we did not have enough time to hike the Alp di Suisi or go over to the Cortina side to hike the WWI trails.

Dinners at Anna Stueben (attached to Hotel Grodnerhof but not the primary restaurant where full board is served) and Tubladel were excellent. Highly recommend both. Dinners at the hotel full board restaurant were excellent on the two nights we ate there as well.

Hiking is very easy or very hard as you can elect to take the gondolas from town up to the tops of mountains and then hike down, or vice versa. The “phone booth” gondola is worth a trip, but be wary of the hike down as it was very rough scree at the top.

The valley has a excellent bus service from town to town so hikes down from the top of one gondola to the next town over are relatively easy.

It can be chilly in the mornings at higher elevations. We always pack gloves and dress in layers even in summer. Four nights is a good length for a first visit. Be sure to get a Val Gardena Card from the TI for the lifts and your hotel or pension will give you a pass for the buses.

Thanks for the great feedback 🙏