Hotels

Classic Dolomite lodging includes restored castles, chalets, and stately 19th-century hotels. The small villages that pepper the Dolomites often have scores of flower-bedecked inns, many of them inexpensive. Hotel information offices at train stations and tourist offices can help if you've arrived without reservations. The Bolzano train station has a 24-hour hotel service, and tourist offices will give you a list of all the hotels in the area, arranged by location, stars, and price. Hotels at ski resorts cater to longer stays at full or half board. Many Italians come to the Dolomites every winter for their Settimana Bianca (White Week), and if you care to join them you should book ski vacations as packages well in advance. Most rural accommodations close from early November to mid- or late December, as well as for two months or so after Easter. The majority of rifugi (mountain huts) on hiking trails are operated by the Club Alpino Italiano (www.cai.it). Contact information for both CAI-run and private rifugi is available from local tourist offices; most useful are those in Madonna di Campiglio (www.campiglio.com), Cortina d'Ampezzo (www.dolomiti.org), Val di Fassa (www.fassa.com), and Val Gardena (www.val-gardena.com).