A Jaw-Dropping Stay in the Dolomites

Even to just utter the phrase ‘the Italian Alps’ conjures images of a shocking, mountainous beauty. To see and experience it, then, is something truly extraordinary. Jaw-dropping is not a phrase to use lightly. And in the case of the Dolomites’ Adler Lodge Ritten, I promise it’s more literal than hyperbolic. 

Fly into Venice, Milan, or Verona and take a train or a connecting flight into Bolzano to make your way to the Dolomites. Alternatively, in ski season, there’s a new overnight train from Rome to Cortina D’Ampezzo. That’s the part of the Italian Alps you’ve probably heard of before, if for no other reason than the forthcoming 2026 Winter Olympics which will be hosted there. But the Dolomites are almost a year-round destination. As beautiful and diverting in the summer as in the winter, with the shoulder seasons bringing some hotel closures for maintenance and the chance for buckets of rain. But also the chance for far fewer tourists. 

And whether you go for summertime hiking, soaking up the Alpine sun, or a wintry getaway complete with snowshoeing followed by a roaring fireplace, the Adler Lodge Ritten is in a class of its own. It is certifiably luxurious with a stylish and modern take on cozy, Alpine design. See: sleek glass and pale wood guest rooms complete with private saunas and walk-in closets, the lobby’s massive floor-to-ceiling windows next to a spread out handful of inviting fire pits, and of course the much-photographed indoor/outdoor infinity pool overlooking the mountains. 

Near, not On, the Mountains

Unlike many Dolomites resorts, this Adler Lodge is positioned perfectly to look at (or ogle) the Alps rather than spend time on them. Ritten, the town surrounding the Lodge, is a scenic idyll with ample hiking trails, a cute train that takes you to another town nearby, and even a little cable car to Bolzano. Make your trip during the holiday season and you’ll have the chance to take that cable car to Bolzano’s seriously adorable Christmas market. 

This is where you spend the rest of your holiday after you’ve exhausted yourselves skiing-in and skiing-out of your Cortina or Val Gardena resort. The Adler Lodge Ritten is where you take a short stroll to sweat in a forest sauna before returning to the terrace off the lobby for a daily afternoon kaiserschmarnn (an Austrian pancake-meets-crepe cooked to order) and coffee or tea. In all sincerity, you could plan your entire trip around Adler Lodge Ritten’s availability because it’s that much of a draw. 

In Good Health

Everything on-site is focused on wellness. And that’s a more Italian definition of wellness, meaning it includes indulgent food and wine to be enjoyed at all hours, between massages, meditation, yoga classes, and biking tours, rather than a sacrificial or hyper-prescriptive stay. And all of it, from the guided hikes to the tasting menus, is included in the nightly rate. (Custom facial treatments and massages are available at an additional cost.)

The Sanoner family, who own the spectacular Adler properties across Italy, was inspired by stays in African safari lodges when creating the warm, welcoming concept of this lodge. It’s among the family’s newer properties and really does take a ‘make yourself at home’ feeling to a luxurious level. The lobby’s open bar—whether you imbibe or rehydrate—is set up day and night and is most often manned. (When it’s not, you’re welcome to step behind the bar and shake up your own drink.) Stroll over after a swim or a sweat or a steam, still in your robe, and ask for a hot tea or a hot toddy. It will be quickly delivered to the leather sofa you’ve sunken into. See? Wellness. 

Romance, But Subtle

Children over eight are welcomed here and service is so accommodating, you can definitely imagine families easily enjoying themselves. For families, their Chalets are separated suites that would be absolute perfection. The hotel generally, though, feels very adult. As a parent who stayed there on my own, I feel uniquely qualified to go further and say it feels adult and romantic. But not in a saccharine or particularly marked way. It’s the quiet, personalized, idyllic setting that makes the hotel naturally romantic. At the very least, it’s the massive infinity pool with its inviting edges and corners that are perfect for couples to cuddle up before the full-frontal Dolomites views. 

Around Ritten 

You may have noted that the crepe-adjacent dessert I mentioned is Austrian. If you, like I was, are unfamiliar with the Italian Alps, the culture and cuisine here are both a rich mix of Italian with Swiss with Austrian. The food bears little resemblance to what you’ll find in Rome or its surrounds down south. The street signs are first in German, then Italian, then English. The architecture is distinctly Alpine. It feels as if you could be in Switzerland, but a bit more laidback. 

If you’re planning on exploring the Dolomites more completely, I recommend starting in Val Gardena or Cortina with a stay at, say, the Adler Dolomiti or Forestis or Faloria. From those, you’re immersed in the mountains themselves, soaking up all things Tyrolean. Then, you finish at Adler Lodge Ritten where you gape, jaw-dropped, at the craggy mountains which are lit up slowly in the morning, in full sunlight come midday, and then in a perfectly golden hue at sunset. 

I have absolutely no doubt that I’ll be back for more of the Adler Ritten lifestyle—the trek from Los Angeles is nothing a forest sauna and a bottle of Italian red can’t soothe.