We love what one fellow Cherz guest called “Spatzierenfahren”, roughly translated as “sightseeing on skis”. We get more out of the aesthetic of fresh mountain air and dazzling vistas than bombing it down the slopes. And there are few resorts on the planet as stunning as Italy’s Dolomites with its ubiquitous sculpted rock formations. Sitting on the divide between the South Tyrol and Trentino, you can accompany these vistas of variegated peaks enjoying cuisine from both Bavaria and Italy.
Through our years of skiing, we have always mused what it would be like to stay on the mountain itself. We once skied Avoriaz where the whole town is situated halfway up the slopes and while it was “ski in, ski out”, you didn’t particularly feel like you were “on the slopes”. Then, on one of our Dolomite trips, we discovered Rifugio Cherz to hot chocolate and then a delicious lunch. Its revelation I described in my “Dining” review –
So captivated with the mountain top chalet, I asked about booking one of the 5 rooms (1 of which can hold a family of 4) and they told me that they were booked out a year in advance. No problem…could I book 2 years from now? That degree of advance planning threw them a bit, but they said sure.

VIEW – The 24 month wait lived up to, if it didn’t exceed, our expectations as high at the lodging itself. Just take a look at some of the photos on their website of their 360 degree views. And the relaxed apres-ski on the slopes meant we could drink what we liked without having to make it back down the slopes on the home runs.

FOOD – The food in the set menu meals were as tasty as our first lunch there which had so enticed us. The food was not gourmet, but rather the quality of a foodie friend whose dinner party invitations you would never turn down because they prepare such delicious dishes and present them with a bit of panache. The experience was very intimate in that you were in this little building in the middle of nowhere. I feared that we might be bored, but the sumptuous meals, well stocked (and reasonably priced) bar, a few games we brought along, and quite congenial demeanor of the resident staff and other guests made the time fly back each evening.

GETTING THERE – As we find all too often with directions in Italy, they are woefully inadequate and trying to use the satnav doesn’t help (if not makes things more confusing). Here are some of the places you might be tempted to put in your sav nav (BUT DON’T!)…

  • “Passo Campolongo” – The directions emailed by the Rifugio say to go to “Passo Campolongo”, but if you plug that into your sat nav, you get about a dozen options.
  • “Hotel Lagusei” – The Rifugio directions also say that it is next to “Hotel Lagusei”, but if you put that in your phone sat nav, it does not come up (however, “Laguscei Dolomites Mountain Hotel” does come up in Google Maps on your computer).
  • Hotel postcode – If you look up the address for Hotel Lagusei, it specifies the postcode “32020”. Do not be fooled by this. This is not the postcode for the location of the hotel but must be some HQ office as that postcode takes you miles away.

Useful Directions (with SatNav)

  • Set the SatNav for “Arabba”.
  • In the roundabout in the centre of town, take the exit onto “Via Colesel – Arabba/SP244”.

The parking area is 4.8km down the SP244 (which is also referred to as the “Passo Campolongo” a bit further down from the roundabout).

SKIING OUT – Starting your day at Cherz is especially easy with the nice Blue 32 piste right outside the lodge. In fact, we found Cherz originally because we had targeted the Arabba area where there is an especially high concentration of blue runs to help us dust the cobwebs off our skis.

SPECIALS – I would say that the communications with the Rifugio are a little difficult. Answers to emails don’t come quickly and they don’t always answer the phone. But they do get through to you eventually and they are well organized so don’t mess arrangements up. We had some of the most exceptional service that we ever had at a ski resort. A few examples of above-and-beyond the call of duty include:

  • My wife lost a ski pole and the owner offered her his poles to use for the visit.
  • We admired their three resident dogs and shared stories about our dogs. The owner’s daughter then gave us as a goodbye gift a little bag of her favourite specialty dog biscuits (our dogs adores them now).
  • When our arrival was delayed, they held dinner for us.
  • When one of our group couldn’t make the trip, they allowed us to remove their room from our booking without charge (we gave them 6 months notice).
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