Another season and another mountaintop stay (as well as some visits to a few others nearby, but those are posts for another day). This one took us back to the epic ski destination where the whole Mountain Top Ski Lodge venture started, the Dolomites. This time to a truly distinctive property – Piz Seteur.
As I’ve noted, MSTLs are especially appealing to the “aesthetic” skier (the person who enjoys the aesthetics of the vistas and mountain air more than bombing down the slopes), and it’s hard to find a ski destination more aesthetically striking than the craggily spiked Dolomites. It is also impossible to find a destination with more MSTL options. The Dolomites have 16 of the 44 identified MTSLs worldwide (the next highest count is Hochzillertal with 4). Piz Seteur is the 5th MTSL we have stayed at and the 3rd in the Dolomites.
“Rifugios” abound in the Dolomite region. Not just ski accommodation, but mountain huts only available to hikers in the summer. Traditionally, rifugios were very simple affairs. Wood huts with basic amenities for hikers or shepherds. Over time, they added a range of food and drink preparation to cater to the growing throngs of skiers. But places like Piz Seteur represent the new class of luxury resorts these humble structures are being turned into.
What used was once characterized by a basic dormitory-styled sleeping with shared bathrooms and basic grub, is now gentrifying into designer styled décor with individual suites and gourmet meals.
- Spa! – Piz Steur is not the only MTSL with a spa (12 of the 44 MTSLs have a spa or spa feature like a sauna or hot tub), but Piz Seteur’s seems to be the most extensive with a sauna, steam room, and a heated swimming pool with jacuzzi jets. The most welcome feature was MASSAGE treatments. In our dotage and given our limited amount of skiing, we really appreciate a good deep tissue session a couple days into our skiing. As you can imagine, it’s not easy getting a practitioner up to the top of a mountain. We had delightful treatments (though more a relaxing massage than a sports massage).
- Service – We have a lot of experience with luxury resort service (cf. www.maldivescomplete.com) and strong service should be basic table stakes for any premium property. But still there are important nuances that distinguish the great from the merely fine service. Piz Seteur was especially responsive with all communication (see above) including a number of questions we had during our stay. Moreover, they were willing to go the extra mile to help us out with great advice (eg. recommending a stop at the Elephant restaurant in Brixen/Bressanone en route to Innsbruck airport on our departure date which was exceptional) and assistance (eg. taking our rental equipment back to the store for us so we didn’t have to make the journey).
- Blue Runs – This aspect might actually be a turn-off for some of the most black-run athletic skier/boarder types, but for the aesthetic types (who may be drawn to the mountaintop appeal of MTSLs), gentler runs can be quite welcome. We are relatively moderately skilled skier/boarders and enjoy a relaxing cruise down a blue run often times more than a some steep, mogully, red piste. If you are less experienced or just prefer a less challenging slope, then Val Gardena is rich with them.
- Go-go Girls – Yes, you read that right. A first for us on the slopes and apres ski. Not exactly our thing, but clearly the thing of many boisterous groups of men who flocked to the Piz Seteur apres ski for this special Tuesday and Thursday afternoon spectacle (see photo below).
Leave a Reply