Grien - Ortisei, Italy 

We stayed here for a weeks ski holiday with our two teenage children. The hotel was a little difficult to find because we didn't go far enough along the road - so keep going 'till the end and you'll find it! We really enjoyed our stay here. The evening meals were excellent and they paid attention to little touches like laying the table especially nicely for our son's 18th. There were usually at least 4 courses and we had a Gala dinner and a Tyrollean evening. Breakfasts are very good too although there's nothing hot. The hotel provides a minibus service to and from Ortisei and the ski lifts (which are about a kilometer away). They are very helpful and collected our ski stuff from the hire shop and put them in ski lockers in the garage for us. This service is very useful as they drop you right at the ski lifts so you don't have to park or walk miles in ski boots. They pick you up again when you call the hotel to request a lift. Rooms are spacious and spotlessly clean. We had a room with balcony which had spectacular views over Ortisei and the dolomites. The children had a room on the ground floor with a garden which was very similar but without a seperate sitting area. The spa is very good but there are naked people! We tended to go early just as it opened and found it fine. Ortisei is a lovely place with plenty of coffe shops and quaint buildings. We enjoyed skiing at Alpe de Suisi which had a run which we could manage but we found better runs for our standard (just off beginner) at Plan de Gralba - a little drive along the valley (20 mins). This has good parking facilities and very easy runs - we actually managed to ski right down the mountain!

The Hotel Grien is big enough to have privacy and small enough to be cozy. The family running the hotel takes excellent care of the property and they and their staff take excellent care of their guests. We had never stayed at a half board hotel before (includes breakfast and dinner), but it was wonderful. They put a lot of thought into making each meal special, had good wine list, and delightful servers. Our room was clean, bright and had a lovely patio with flowers and lounge chairs. We loved being able to relax with a glass of wine in the evening in their attractive lounge or lobby. We felt that we definitely got our money's worth and highly recommend it.