Hotel Castel Pietra

Castel Pietra strives for perfection and achieves it with ease & grace. Wrapping up after 3 nights half board- The staff is incredibly organized, friendly, multi-lingual and helpful, the rooms are clean and the food is on another level of excellence, truly special. We enjoyed the in house sauna's and Spa after long days of hiking nearby. Castel Pietra has everything you want, and nothing you don't. We will be back!

They tried to accommodate for me (a vegan), and the self service salad and tomato pasta are the best among all my food experience in dolomites for 12 days

FULL TRAVELLER’S REVIEW I struggled with this review. Hotels in the Dolomites are very different to hotels elsewhere in the EU, they tend to be less modern and have an Austrian, mountain vibe. Overall, the hotel is good and the location is superb. The staff are very helpful and welcoming - they don’t speak superb English but there wasn’t any difficulty in conversing. It is a slightly remote region of Italy, so bear in mind. Location - the hotel is in Fiera Di Primiero, about 10 minutes from the centre, where there’s restaurants, cafes, bars and ice cream shops (see my other reviews). It’s about 10 minutes from the Castel Pietra, 30 minutes from San Martino. The views from the hotel are spectacular, directly looking over mountains. Walking/ Hiking/ Biking - reception has maps for 4 euro that detail all the local hikes, trails. Most of them are easy to find and some are within walking distance of the hotel (these tend to be very steep inclines, so ask reception if you’re in doubt). Room - we were on the third floor. The room is adequate size but not huge. Aside from the bed, there’s a small fridge, safe, sofa, TV. The room does lack a few things which you might expect in a 4 star hotel. There was only one socket in the whole room, one chair on the balcony, no air conditioning (it got very hot indeed during July - up to 30 degrees). The bathroom is a tad old fashioned and could do with an upgrade, but nothing too much of an issue (note also there’s a shower not a bath. On the cleanliness side, the room was ok but a tad dusty at the corners of the bed, on the skirting boards and top of the light switches, again, not expected in a 4 star hotel elsewhere (see the pictures). Food - we had bed and breakfast. The breakfast has a good selection. The main hot food is scrambled eggs, boiled eggs and bacon. The service is a tad odd as you get your food from the tables in the reception area then carry it through to a dining area. First time I’ve seen that having stayed in hotels around the world! The waitresses are very friendly and get your coffee, providing table service for that element. Noise - the hotel is dog friendly and the doors are very thin (wooden). As a result, we were woken up most days by dogs barking in rooms or children running around the corridors/ people talking. It wasn’t a major issue, but helpful to know if you’re planning a quiet trip!!! Spa - the hotel has a spa area included, which has relaxation rooms and an outdoor hot tub. The hot tub was superb (although there was an odd smell at times). The spa is basically rooms which are quiet, with nice seating areas, a hot tub, sauna, steam room, food spa etc. Gym - there’s a gym downstairs on the base level. For somebody who trains regularly, it wasn’t great and the kit is outdated (but you’ll probably not get better on the Dolomites). It has a cage, about 100kg worth of places, dumbbells up to 22kg (sporadic increments), an EZ bar and two adjustable benches. It also has a leg extension/ ham curl, cable, chest press, leg press (none like I’ve ever seen). You’ll get a decent session in the bag, but you’ll need to adapt and make it work. The itself has no windows with light (the only window is shut with a blind on the outside). As such, it could do with a freshen up on the atmosphere side of things, with some music, a lick of paint and new kit. Car parking - there’s ample car parking for hotel guests, which is handy as some hotels in the Dolomites are a tad limited. Overall, we enjoyed our stay here. There’s some definite improvements to make which are quite simple and would make this hotel comparable to a 3/4 star in other countries or regions of Italy.