DV Chalet

Life is sweet enough at Trentino’s DV Chalet — it does stand for Dolce Vita, after all. But it’s more than a matter of location. Plenty of ski resorts use the natural landscape as an crutch: they assume you’ll be too tired from an all-day jaunt in the Dolomites to notice an overlooked detail or there. Not so at this hotel, where the experience inside is nearly as awe-inspiring as the one outside.

The combo lobby-lounge has an always-roaring fire. If that’s not enough, the staff will happily provide blankets to guests who wish to enjoy a drink, a book, or a nibble from the restaurant while so ensconced. Wood predominates, but instead of the intensity produced by the dark, heavy crossbeams found in a typical chalet, here the effect is one of airiness and joy.

Each of the accommodation floors has a theme: velvet, meant to evoke the sunset over nearby peaks; wool, meant to evoke the excellent sensation of watching a snowstorm from a safe-and-warm vantage point; and famous mountaineers, whose black-and-white portraits are meant to evoke the spirit of Alpine adventure. Some rooms even come with a fireplace or their very own mini climbing walls. And, yes, we do believe that’s a real fur throw on the bed.

For such a petite hotel, the spa offers an awful lot. Much of it is free and open to all guests, rather than only the select few who shell out for treatments. In addition to the flatteringly lit indoor tide pool, a salt cave, color therapy, atomizers, and so-called “hot and cold emotional showers” — yes, this is Italy — are available.

Please note: DV Chalet is open annually from December to April and from June to September. Minimum stay requirements apply over the winter period.

How to get there:

Chalet Dolce Vita is approximately ninety minutes' drive from either Trento or Bolzano.