Forestis

The Suites

Built entirely from local wood — larch, pine, oak and stone — the suites are studies in Alpine minimalism. Each one faces the Dolomites through walls of glass that slide open to private terraces. Some have outdoor daybeds where you can sleep under the stars. The bathtubs look out at the peaks. The materials are warm, the lines are clean, and there is nothing in the room that does not need to be there. It is the kind of simplicity that takes extraordinary thought to achieve.

The Spa

A subterranean wellness space carved into the mountain, using the four elements of the surrounding forest: wood, water, stone and light. There are hay baths drawn from Alpine meadows, forest-based treatments using local botanicals, an indoor-outdoor pool that seems to float above the valley, and a series of saunas built from centuries-old wood. The signature treatment uses heated pine oil and mountain herbs. It is wellness in the truest, least performative sense — rooted in the land, designed to slow everything down.

The Restaurant

Chef Roland Lamprecht runs a kitchen that is as rooted in the Dolomites as the hotel itself. The cuisine is South Tyrolean at its core — hand-rolled canederli, slow-braised game, foraged herbs, fermented vegetables — but with a lightness and precision that elevates every dish. Much of the produce comes from the mountain itself or from farmers in the Isarco Valley below. Breakfast is a long, contemplative affair: fresh bread, mountain butter, local honey, eggs from the valley. Dinner, served as the sun sets behind the peaks, is one of the finest meals in the Dolomites.

The Forest

The hotel takes its name seriously. The surrounding forest is not decoration but an integral part of the experience. Guided forest bathing walks, meditation sessions among the trees, snowshoe trails in winter, wildflower meadows in summer. There are hammocks strung between the pines and reading nooks built into the woodland. The boundary between hotel and nature is deliberately blurred — you are never more than a few steps from the trees.

Plose Mountain

The hotel sits on Plose's southern face, with direct access to hiking trails in summer and ski runs in winter. The summit, at 2,500 metres, offers a 360-degree panorama of the Dolomites — the Odle group, the Puez range, and on clear days, the glaciers of the Austrian border. The trail network is vast and varied, from gentle meadow walks to serious ridge hikes. In winter, the skiing is quiet and uncrowded, with the Plose-Bressanone ski area offering beautiful, tree-lined runs.

Bressanone

20 minutes by car

The oldest town in South Tyrol, a medieval centre of arcaded streets, painted facades and a Baroque cathedral. Bressanone sits at the meeting of the Isarco and Rienza rivers and has the relaxed sophistication of a town that has been cultured for centuries. The Christmas market is one of the most atmospheric in the Alps. The restaurants are excellent. The Hofburg palace and its cloisters are worth an afternoon alone.

The Odle Group

30 minutes by car to trailheads

The dramatic sawtooth ridge that defines the skyline from Forestis. The Adolf Munkel Trail at the base of the Odle is one of the most beautiful day hikes in the Alps — a gentle path through larch forest and Alpine pasture with the raw vertical faces of the Geisler peaks towering above. Accessible, breathtaking, and far less crowded than the Tre Cime circuit.

Bolzano

45 minutes by car

The capital of South Tyrol, where Italian and Austrian cultures meet in a city of colonnaded streets, excellent wine bars and the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology — home to Ötzi, the 5,300-year-old Ice Man. The old town is compact and walkable, the food scene is outstanding, and the cable car to the Renon plateau offers one of the most dramatic urban views in Europe.