The Dolomites have been on my dream destinations list for some time. I like the idea of a hut-to-hut hike over a week or so, tripping along mountain passes, travelling light and sipping beers in a high-altitude rifugio as the sun drops between the peaks in the evening. But it’s some effort to plan (or an eye-watering amount of cash to get someone else to) so here is a compromise.
One beautiful hotel, framed by rocky crags, a cable car steps from the front door and endless beautiful views awaiting us at the top. The Dolomites is a wow-factor holiday, and it starts from the moment you depart.
How to arrive in The Dolomites in style
To get to Italy’s magnificent Northern mountains, we took a plane directly from London to Bolzano – capital of South Tyrol and the gateway to these alps. And not just any plane. Unlike a familiar 737, this has external propellers.
Arriving in style: Sky Alps take you straight to the heart of the mountains, on a breathtaking flight -Credit:David Lillywhite
Now I used to be frightened of flying. In fact it’s only a year or two since I snapped myself out of the phobia, so I have a momentary wobble as we approach the Sky Alps plane on the runway. But it turns out to be my favourite flight ever. After soaring over snow-dusted peaks the plane descends into a narrow valley, that rises on both sides like a scene from a Bond movie. Now there is no other way I’d like to arrive in these mountains.
Where to stay for the best Dolomites experience
Set in paradise: Sensoria Dolomites at the foot of the craggy Alpe di Siusi mountain -Credit:David Lillywhite
Our hotel, Sensoria Dolomites, is immediately impressive, too, backed by grand peaks stretching up to the sky. “I wish we were staying there,” says my husband serendipitously, just before we pull up to the front door.
We’re ushered inside, and straight to a table. The dinner service has finished, explains our waiter (who looks delightfully like Stanley Tucci) but Chef is able to do a slightly condensed version – just four courses against the usual six.
Puddings at the Sensoria Hotel are like delicious mini works of art -Credit:Sensoria Dolomites
While we eat delicate plates of handmade pasta and chilled chocolate pear, the first rumbles of thunder roll across the sky and, by the time we get to our room, the dark is being lit up with purple forks of lightning. Each one flashes up a preview of our balcony mountain view.
But by morning, there’s no trace of the rain – the sky is cobalt blue and the double peak of the Sciliar massive above takes up most of the window. We strap on walking shoes and take the Suisi cable car into the sky.
Discovering the Alpe di Siusi by cable car
Views for days: one of our walks on the Alpe di Siusi -Credit:David Lillywhite
The Alpe di Suisi is Europe’s largest high-altitude alpine meadow. In winter, it’s a ski resort, and in summer, an oasis of rolling green flanked by snow-capped peaks and toothlike crags. You can walk just as much – or as little – as you want, because there are nearly 300 miles of trails but also, crucially, plenty of chair lifts to skip the uphills.
Miles to go: you can find hikes to suit every ability (even ones with no uphills) -Credit:David Lillywhite
An oddity of this region is that at the base of the cable car everything feels very Italian (which it is) but as you alight at the top it feels like you’re in Austria (as it historically was), so we found ourselves walking the Puflatschumrundung. It’s five-mile circuit with some slightly puffy sections – essentially a non-stop ‘best of’ round Siusi’s most iconic views, via a couple of Hütten for cold lagers, meat platters or warm apple strudel (the view from Tschötsch Alm Hutte is one I could have spent a whole day marvelling at).
For day 2, on a plea to my much-fitter husband, we shunned uphills by taking the Panorama lift and walking eight miles down the valley – just my kind of hike. In the pine-wooded ravines ringing with cow bells, we found plashing waterfalls to cool our heads under and sunny grass outcrops where we watched butterflies on alpine flowers.
Time to stop: apple strudel tastes even better with this view -Credit:Getty Images
Beautiful ways to fill your days at Sensoria Dolomites hotel
Breathtaking as the scenery was, it was actually our hotel Sensoria Dolomites that will lure me back to this region. “Luxury for the soul” they proclaimed, which I honestly thought sounded a bit woo-woo for me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Their attention to detail is genuinely touching, from the handwritten notes that greet you in the room and a mini handbook of wellness exercises and nature notes to guide you through your stay, to the postcard you write to yourself (they post it about a month later, so you remember just how relaxed you felt).
Cool cream fabrics and warm wood finishes, everything about the room design exudes relaxation at Sensoria -Credit:Sensoria Dolomites
After a day’s hike, sloping down to the indoor/outdoor pool in a chunky dressing gown was heavenly, and staring out at those eternal mountains as they turned pink for sunset.
Breakfast, dinner and light afternoon snacks are all covered in the room rate – I hate to say all-inclusive in case you imagine a tired buffet, because it’s nothing like that. Each meal is an à la carte menu, with local wines (you choose your dinner options at breakfast).
Swimming with a mountain backdrop – the beautiful pool at Sensoria Dolomites -Credit:David Lillywhite
And ahh, breakfast. Twelve different types of bread, six different types of butter. Something for every taste from pastries to cured meats, cloud-like yoghurt with a range of honeys and jams, and even an electric seed grinder, to get the perfect texture for your omega-3 boost. I’ve never been anywhere that made it so easy to have such a nutritious, health-giving start to the day. (Plus a pain au chocolat, of course).
Palomino horses and cows with tinkling bells roam the mountain tops -Credit:David Lillywhite
How to book this beautiful holistic escape
Sensoria Dolomites prices from €200pp (approx. £170) per night on a double occupancy basis, including all day inclusive package. SkyAlps flies London Gatwick-Bolzano up to four times a week from £253 return. Children under two travel free, 30% for under-11s.