Incredible Christmas holiday village is just two hours away and has jaw-dropping surprise

With a rooftop spa, roaring fires and carol singing, the Hotel Sassongher successful the Italian Dolomites was the cleanable spot to walk the festive season

Driving done the snowy Dolomites, we arrived astatine the Hotel Sassongher to beryllium warmly greeted by the Pescota household and their unthinkable team. It was arsenic if you were welcomed into your Italian grandmother's location for Christmas festivities – if she happened to tally an uber-chic upland retreat implicit with a sky-high spa and top-notch accepted cuisine.

Our country was monolithic and super-comfy, with a furniture cleanable for melting into aft a afloat time exploring the wintertime wonderland outside. The presumption from our balcony was similar a country from a Christmas card: captivating Corvara down below, blanketed successful snowfall with fairy-lit trees twinkling and religion bells ringing.

Worrying astir missing our accustomed Christmas comforts was needless; the Hotel Sassongher had spared nary effort to sprinkle festive cheer everywhere. Christmas Eve and the large time itself were celebrated with sumptuous gala dinners, ensuring each impermanent felt special, with joyful wishes of "buon Natale!" astatine each corner.

We could not person been happier that we had shunned a highbrow 'design' hotel. At the Sassongher, it's each astir snug luxury and homely charm. Christmas trees, dazzling lights, sleds brimming with flowers and the comforting crackle of log fires acceptable a vibe consecutive retired of a Mariah Carey video; if we'd person seen Santa himself down the check-in desk, it wouldn't person fazed america successful the slightest.

The nutrient astatine Hotel Sassongher

The Sassongher's is nary mean edifice buffet, offering an 'all slayer nary filler' enactment for breakfast, luncheon and meal successful its stylish eating room. The prime is extraordinary, with delicious plates to take from earlier the charming waiters instrumentality à la carte orders for greeting eggs oregon your main course. Festive treats included the champion truffle pasta we've ever eaten, rosemary-infused racks of lamb, an haute-cuisine instrumentality connected Italian classics and an eye-popping enactment of desserts and food that ended each meal connected a high.

With antithetic generations gathering astatine their tables to chat and laughter astatine the extremity of their engaged days, the ambiance was similar 1 lukewarm household Christmas gathering.

What to bash astatine Hotel Sassongher

Hotel Sassongher's adept concierge Paula is this hotel’s concealed limb and volition assistance you marque the astir of the surrounding UNESCO World Heritage site. She tin put tours, urge hiking trails oregon nonstop you to the prime of the pistes – nary substance however energetic oregon chilled you privation to be.

Non-skiers volition find plentifulness to inhabit them with cablegram cars to the mountain-top ‘refugio’ bars and restaurants for those jaw-dropping terrace vistas, Kaiserschmarrn pancakes and different treats – with a fewer blistery cocktails, of course.

You tin larn much astir this unsocial portion astatine the Museum Ladin oregon browse the boutiques successful the municipality for beauteous wood carvings, section grappa and Stilfser cheese.

Upon your return, the cosy lounges of Sassongher, with their accepted tiled stoves, are a delight. The legendary barman Saro is ever acceptable to instrumentality implicit the drinks trolley and hole his celebrated aperitifs close astatine your table. As we lounged around, listening to the pianist loop retired carols oregon playing the vintage jukebox successful the lobby, it felt similar a glamorous location distant from home.

The spa astatine Hotel Sassongher

We would kick-start each time with a dip successful the indoor pool, followed by herbal beverage and a nap connected the swinging chairs arsenic we pondered much strenuous activities. However, with a top-notch spa connected the rooftop, it was tempting to simply determination successful our fluffy robes from attraction country to sauna to whirlpool. We decided this ‘James Bond meets White Christmas’ acquisition had spoiled america for aboriginal festive seasons. Gazing done the rising steam of the excavation astatine the magnificent Dolomites above, we concluded determination was nary spot other we'd alternatively be.

How overmuch does it outgo to enactment astatine Hotel Sassongher?

Hotel Sassongher offers comfortableness rooms from €300 per night, based connected 2 adults sharing connected a half-board basis. From 18 December 2024, SkyAlps volition run a caller wintertime way from London Gatwick to Bolzano, from €184 each mode (children nether 2 question escaped of charge).