Ski Guide to South Tyrol, Italy

South Tyrol in Northern Italy offers you a panoramic winter wonderland - if Tom Ford did skiing locations, this would be it. Its diverse and impressive landscape from the UNESCO Dolomites to the Alps of Alta Badia, it makes it the perfect winter getaway; offering hikes, snowboarding and skiing, to let’s face it, some serious spa time in our gorgeous hotels. It is a naturally stunning area famed for its views and location and we can’t wait for you to touch down here.

Home to the Dolomites, considered one of the most stunningly beautiful mountain ranges on the face of the earth – as well as some of the most sought after restaurant and ski runs ever – it oozes Italian sophistication and Austrian beauty, what more could you want from a skiing holiday?

Alta Badia

Grab the Piz Sorega gondola from a mere 100 yards up the road and you are linked into a massive 1,200km (750 miles) of pistes and no less than 450 lifts covered by the Superski pass - the most extensive of its kind in the world.

Where to Stay? Lagació Hotel Mountain Residence in South Tyrol’s Alta Badia is another fabulously chilled boutique hotel, this time right down the road from the Dolomite’s ski circus.

Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm)

East of Bolzano is the long heralded as Europe’s largest alpine plateau in the Dolomites of South Tyrol, the pastures and ski region of Alpe di Siusi, or Seiser Alm in German, spans almost 60 km² has to be on your wander travel bucket-list for either summer adventures or winter ski and cross-country sports.

Where to Stay? The Schgaguler is situated in the skiing area Alpe di Siusi and in the immediate vicinity of the skiing area of Val Gardena. Three to four times a week Gottfried Schgaguler accompanies guests on skis through the Dolomites including the Sella Ronda and the mountain hunter's round which cross the whole Dolomite area. On the various excursions you will be taken to the most beautiful and best ski huts to stop for refreshments. The retreat becomes a culinary experience.

Maranza (Meransen)

Great for cross country ski (8kms), advanced skiers and snowboarders, Maranza(Meransen) and the popular Gitschberg Jochtal, sports 9 ski lifts (3 gondolas, 2 chair lifts, 4 surface lifts), providing skiers with an impressive 807 metres (2648 feet) of vertical descent. Maranza (Meransen) has 240 acres of terrain over 8 pistes and is part of the Dolomiti SuperSki area. Stay at Hotel Milla Montis.

Meran(o) 2000

Occupying a lush 30 acres of Italian forested hillside, with amazing panoramic vistas of the Alto Adige stretching out towards the Dolomites, spy the stage for your next ski fixture while relaxing in their Forest Sauna and overlooking breath-taking mountain views.

Where to Stay? Before hitting the slopes and the après ski parties (with equal force, we hope) we first recommend spending a few nights at the delectably ethereal Miramonti Boutique Hotel, perched sky-high overlooking the stylish town of Merano.

Monte San Vigilio (Vigiljoch)

Take the second-oldest cable car in Europe up to this secret alpine meadowland of aromatic fragrances and ancient Ladin culture, immersing yourself in the magic of South Tyrol’s San Vigilio.

Where to Stay? Blurred within San Vigilio’s incredible mountaintop landscape, vigilius mountain resort lies amidst the larch forest as if itself a fallen tree, a wooden-clad bastion of seamless and oh-so comfortable style, built upon the admirable ethos, ‘eco not ego’. 

Plan de Corones (Kronplatz)

If you like your ski resort with a side serving of efficiency, you’ll love Kronplatz, also known as Plan de Corones, located in the breath-taking UNESCO World Heritage site of the Dolomites. The domed panettone-shaped mountain dominates the scene, with no less than 37 gondolas and state-of-the-art lifts on hand to whizz you up the mountain where a plethora of runs flow down a 100 km network of well maintained, wide pistes where you can ski or snowboard to your heart’s content.

Valle Aurina (Ahrntal)

Italy’s elemental mountain world of scenic contrast and natural cool, South Tyrol’s Valle Aurina, or the Ahrntal Valley as it is also known, is a land where hobbits lie - where the green glow of dense emerald forests and fragrant alpine pastures mingle with ice-fresh Reinbach waterfalls, the creak of glaciers and the majesty of the Zillertal Alps

Where to Stay? An eye-catching designer hillside bastion of cool contemporary interiors framed by lush alpine forests and snow-capped mountains, where simple luxe shakes hands with age-old tradition, this is Hotel Bühelwirt.

Val Venosta (Vinschgau)

Rubbing shoulders with neighbours Switzerland and Austria, Val Venosta (Vinschgau) is a bountiful region in the western tip of South Tyrol famed for apples, ski, glaciers, snow kitting, natural beauty, sunken villages and is arguably a serious foodie capital.

Where to Stay? An architectural smörgåsbord of modern design and history, the boutique hotels Weißes Kreuz and sibling Mansion zum Löwen span the centuries being at home at the heart of the ancient village Burgeis (Burgusio).

Should skiing be slightly less your thing but eating incredible food and indulging in eye candy sound slightly more interesting, then check out our edit South Tyrol. Again looking over the Dolomites, these particular hotels offers more than one just beautiful view…

There is so much to do here once the snow arrives; no wonder Alto Adige (Südtirol) is a favourite of the skiing set.