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We agree: there are kilometres of ski trails, one of the biggest ski areas in Europe and while flying down the Gran Risa you feel the thrill of a world cup race. And for the most romantic, the impressive and poignant landscape that only the Dolomites are able to offer.
However, with winter around the corner and cold temperatures already in the air, can we be expected to believe that the only reason why you decided to make a reservation for a week (weekend, month?) skiing in Val Badia is purely for a love of sports and nature? It would be rather naïve and not suitable for a sophisticated gourmet. Let's just say that after a long day of skiing, and after a regenerating stop in the care suite of the Spa – without having to leave the hotel – you just would not be able to give up tasting the lake trout tartare marinated in citrus fruits, the beetroots with horseradish and the warm lobster that Norbert Niederkofler included among the dishes in your personalized menu.
Obviously you are staying at Hotel Rosa Alpina at San Cassiano, with the highest level of hospitality, tradition and elegance and with a restaurant that also attracts visitors from very far away. This is where the appreciation for good food became famous in this valley, thanks to the talent of a chef who practices the rare art of balancing technique and creativity. What about the desserts? Fantastic: for example the Valrhona chocolate cake with crème brulée filling.
But within Alto Adige, St. Hubertus is certainly not an isolated case, in a region where many of the greatest restaurants are kept in four star hotel structures.
Remaining in San Cassano, in the Armentarolo area we find Hotel Ciasa Salares which hosts the restaurant La Siriola, where Claudio Melis and his team work. Highly suggested if you are hopelessly wine-addicted, hoping that being able to choose among 1,800 different types of wine will be enough. Then why not order the pasta filled with braised venison garnished with truffle butter and red wine applesauce from the menu? Believe us, it is worth it.
If instead, remaining in the same valley, we should head towards Corvara in Badia? We have no doubts that we would choose Hotel La Perla. The service is excellent, the wellbeing "package" is complete, and the structure is very warm, especially when you enter in one of the two ancient and elegant stubes in the La Stua de Michil restaurant.
Arturo Spicocchi's cooking, for those of you who love risotto, will be an unforgettable experience (just as you will never forget the loin of lamb cooked in herbs with optional eggplant) that is if you ever manage to find the way out of the labyrinth of the cellar you visited before dinner. There are rooms dedicated to all of the most important wine areas of the world with a collection of Sassicaia, among others that will delight you.
And the next morning, why not? At 8:30 on the dot, ready to go as soon as the ski lifts open.
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