A renovated room at Gardena Grödnerhof

Hotel review · Stayed October 2026 · Ortisei, Val Gardena, Dolomites, Italy

Gardena Grödnerhof review

About 80 Rooms In The Heart Of Ortisei · The Best Base In The Dolomites

The best base in the Dolomites, and a close second to Forestis for me: a beautifully renovated, well-rounded hotel in the best town for restaurants and hiking. Book a Superior Deluxe or above, and come outside of July and August.

Region
South Tyrol, in Ortisei (St. Ulrich), Val Gardena
Style
Renovated alpine grand hotel with a serious spa
Perfect for
Couples, families, hikers and skiers who want a town on the doorstep
Best for
Design, dining off property, the gym (tied with Aman) and families
The review

The best-located hotel in the Dolomites, with a renovation so good you’d never guess the building is decades old.

Of everywhere I stayed and toured in the Dolomites, Gardena Grödnerhof was a close second to Forestis for me, and the reason starts with location. It sits right in Ortisei, a genuinely charming town with great restaurants, and multiple lifts leave from town to some fantastic hikes. Take the Seceda lift and you’re in the jagged high country of Val Gardena; take the gondola to the Alpe di Siusi and you’re in rolling meadows. Two completely different landscapes, both from your hotel’s front door.

The hotel itself blew me away. Most of its roughly 80 rooms have been beautifully remodeled, the spa is incredible, the gym is excellent, and the service was warm and polished throughout. What impressed me most is how well they restored the original building: outside of the elevators, you’d never know it’s decades old.

It’s simply a well-rounded hotel. It works for couples, it works for families, and in winter there’s fantastic skiing all around you. It isn’t ski-in, ski-out, but the lifts are close.

The one caveat is timing. I visited in October, and I can only imagine how busy Ortisei gets in summer. If the point of your trip is quiet time on the trails, I wouldn’t base myself here in peak season — the crowds would be frustrating.

The outdoor pool at Gardena Grödnerhof, looking over the rooftops of Ortisei
The outdoor pool, looking over Ortisei
A stone and oak corridor with crystal chandeliers in the Gardena Grödnerhof spa
Into the spa
The indoor pool at Gardena Grödnerhof, with reclaimed wood walls and a fireplace
The indoor pool
A renovated room at Gardena Grödnerhof, paneled in dark wood
One of the renovated rooms
What stood out

The details that made the list

01
The location. Right in Ortisei, with restaurants on foot and lifts to two completely different hiking areas: Seceda for the dramatic peaks of Val Gardena, and the gondola to the Alpe di Siusi for the high meadows.
02
The renovation. Everything from the Superior Deluxe category up has been beautifully redone, and the original building has been restored so well you’d never guess its age. It’s my pick for the best design in the Dolomites.
03
The spa and gym. An incredible spa and a genuinely great gym, which ties with Aman Rosa Alpina’s for the best in the Dolomites — rare in a town hotel.
04
The service. Warm, polished and consistent across the whole stay.
05
It suits almost everyone. Couples, families, hikers, skiers. It’s the most well-rounded hotel I saw in the region.
Know before you book

The Fine Print, From Your Advisor

01
Book a Superior Deluxe or above. The Superior and Comfort rooms keep the hotel’s original charm. They’re spacious, with balconies or terraces, and nice in their own right — but the renovated rooms from Superior Deluxe up are the reason to stay here, and they’re what I book.
02
Avoid peak summer if you want quiet. Ortisei is a busy town in July and August. Spring, early summer, September and October are when it shines.
03
Seceda needs a plan. The Seceda lift is busy and needs a time-slotted ticket bought in advance; in summer I imagine it can be an awful experience. You can reach the same area via the Col Raiser lift from Santa Cristina, about 10 minutes away by car or transfer. Better still is a private guide who knows when and where to go, which I arrange.
04
Expect German and Austrian sauna culture. The main sauna areas are mixed, men and women together. You’ll walk around the spa in a towel or robe, but swimsuits and wraps come off in the saunas and steam rooms. Your body isn’t supposed to touch the wood, so you sit or lie on your towel in the saunas, and on a small towel in the steam rooms. It’s completely normal in this corner of Italy; the pools are swimsuit areas.
05
Not ski-in, ski-out. The skiing all around Ortisei is fantastic, but you’ll get to the lifts by foot or shuttle. If skiing from your door matters, look at COMO Alpina.
06
A heli-hike, if the budget allows. A helicopter up to the high ground and a guided hike down is the most memorable day you can have here. I arrange it.
07
Pairs beautifully. Two or three nights here with two or three at Forestis or COMO Alpina gives you two very different stays, about an hour apart.
Book Gardena Grödnerhof through me

Fora perks.
And someone who knows the hotel.

Work with me and you get two things: Fora perks, and someone who knows Gardena Grödnerhof personally. As a Fora advisor, my clients typically receive a space-available upgrade, daily breakfast, and a hotel credit. I know the property and the team, so I personalize your stay, from the room I request to what’s arranged before you arrive, and I’m your direct line to them while you’re there. Rates are identical to booking direct.

When are you thinking?

Gardena Grödnerhof is the best base in the Dolomites. Let me secure a renovated room, book your guides and lift times, and plan the journey in.

Traveling within the next 30 days? You’ll hear from me today.

My Dolomites hotel guide → My Forestis review →

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