REVIEW: HOTEL FAMELI, ITALY

We Visit Europe’s Hidden Gem, with Families at its Heart

With a glass of Rottensteiner Lagrein Reserva waiting on the table beside us and the snow-capped peak of Seekofel mountain looming in the background, we’re slipping into a steaming, rooftop swimming pool.

It might sound like the sort of experience you’d expect in Klosters or St. Moritz, but this isn’t a heritage resort in France or Austria - it’s one of Europe’s best kept secrets: Olang in Italy’s Südtyrol region.

In the centre of this picturesque town, where the smell of wood-burning stoves fills the air between quaint bakeries and wine bars, sits Hotel Fameli, the luxury spa hotel where - as the name suggests - family is at the heart of everything.

There comes a time when parents must decide between luxury and family-friendly; between high-end comfort and high-octane play; between complete peace and tranquility and… well, anywhere that’ll allow us two seconds of bloody peace.

Well, Hotel Fameli promises all of the above, and as we slip into the warm water of one of its three swimming pools, we get the feeling they might actually deliver.

The hotel, which encompasses three traditional chalets, linked by modern glass walkways and surrounded by a beautiful garden, also boasts an adult spa and sauna, fabulous outdoor and indoor children’s play areas with daily activities, imaginative Austrian/Italian dining, a rooftop viewing area and Turkish steam bath.

There are cosy lounge areas dotted throughout, where roaring fires and soft velvet sofas offer a place to relax, read a book or just gaze out at the white-topped mountains through every window.

When we arrive six hours later than expected (we’ll come to that later), the hotel staff pre-empted us missing their kitchen’s closing time and prepared pasta for the children and an antipasto platter that could feed three families on its own. We wash it down with the first of many bottles of excellent and local, SüdTyrolian wine and head off for the kind of sleep that only fresh mountain air can provide.

Our room comfortably fits four, with a spacious walk-in shower and an in-room Whirlpool bath so large, it could probably be classed as a fourth swimming pool. There’s also a bidet which wouldn’t usually be worthy of a mention, but our children are so excited at the prospect of a ‘bum bath’ that it becomes an unexpected holiday highlight.

There are thoughtful touches, like adorable children's bath robes folded on their beds, and a bag of flip flops for our rooftop pool trips, as well as a spacious balcony with breathtaking views across the mountains.

The following morning, we head down for a buffet breakfast that perfectly encapsulates the Austrian/Italian culture of Olang, with lashings of speck, marble-cake, cheeses and fresh honeycomb blocks from their own hives, alongside cornettos (of the pastry, not ice cream variety) beautiful Alps coffee and hot chocolates.

This is the children's favourite meal, making and topping their own, teetering pancakes and crepes, diving into the enormous fruit bar and making their own juices and smoothies.

Whether it was the Italians or the Austrians who invented machines that allow you to fill your own croissants with jam, custard, Nutella or honey, we thank you from the bottom of our bulging bellies.

The Austrian-Italian relationship is powerful in this area of the mountains. It takes us a good day or so to realise that our poor attempts at speaking Italian aren’t just falling short because we’re poor at Italian; the primary language here is German, because this area was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire until it was annexed at the end of World War I.

As far as we can see, the locals have embraced Italian policies, the German language and an extremely healthy mix of the two cultures when it comes to food, drink and architecture. Perhaps if custard croissants and breakfast cake had been mentioned in the Brexit debate, we might have had a very different result.

Hotel Fameli isn’t afraid to blend its styles, either. The whole resort is a tasteful mix of old and new: Plenty of traditional charm, with roaring fires and wood-panelling reminding us that we’re most definitely in the mountains, coupled with minimalist, modern design that provides a super-luxe feel and ensures the newer additions, like the modern rooftop pool and terrace, don’t feel out of place.

Much thought has gone into the design, with families catered for without compromising the comfort of other guests. The generous garden features a sand pit, swings, mini-football pitch, a gorgeous log cabin play house, trampoline and tipi, with plenty of room for children to run free in a completely enclosed area.

There’s also an undercover area with picnic tables, table football and a row of ride-on cars that our children took great delight in racing down the hill.

Another piece of unused driveway has been transformed into a mini go-kart track with a variety of pedal karts and balance bikes to scoot around the provided cones. This is all in close proximity to the kids’ club area, where a mini Olympics was being held during our stay, as well as the children’s spa area and a pool where kids can play as loudly as they wish.

It’s immediately clear that Fameli isn’t just run for families, but also by a family. We’re picked up from the station by son, Max, before being greeted by daughter Sandra, who is also responsible for the hotel’s gorgeous interiors.

We regularly chat to mother, Katja on reception and at the end of our stay we’re driven back to the station by father Wolfgang, who regales us with information and stories about the valley and town during the hour-long return journey to Frenzensfeste station. We’re even told that Grandma Olga is the green-fingered Matriarch of the house, responsible for the hotel's vegetable garden.

The food, while not all grown by Grandma Olga, is clearly an important part of Hotel Fameli. Children’s lunches are free and the pasta dishes are a hit both days, followed up by an ever-present selection of fruit (including grapes that our children proudly declare the “biggest we’ve ever seen”) and afternoon snacks of delicious soups and cakes.

In the evening, we enjoy a lavish three-course dinner that again catered for the children just as carefully as their parents. They enjoy a buffet of pizzas, cheeses, meats and plenty of pastries, while we dine on starters of Chanterelle Dumplings with braised white onion and thyme and Taglioni with vanilla butter sauce.

My Arctic Char and potato espuma main is gloriously light and full of flavour, but is outdone by my partner’s rich, flavoursome Beef Tagliata with parmesan and datterini tomatoes. I opt for a dessert of Caramel mousse with pinewood crumble and rhubarb coulis, which is such a hit with the children that I barely get to eat any, while my partner quietly enjoys her Blue cheese with truffle honey in peace.

This is all bookended by visits to the hotel’s bar, where the wine selection comfortably soars into the hundreds and a special Halloween menu includes pumpkin hot toddies, white hot chocolates and pumpkin spiced lattes, which provide warmth for our after-dark trip to the fourth floor viewing platform, where our children excitedly gaze at the bright, shooting stars, undiluted by the light pollution they’re used to at home.

We visit between seasons, which means the hotel is at minimum occupancy during our stay, but in just a few weeks’ time, the 7,000 residents of Olang will welcome somewhere in the region of 10,000 visitors for the start of the winter season.

They’ll make their way up to the Kronplatz, the lifts and slopes of which can be seen from our rooftop pool. At 2,275 it’s relatively snow-sure, but 75 snow machines ensure that even early-season visitors won’t have to worry about getting mud on their skis. A mix of gondolas, chairlifts, buttons and ski buses deliver visitors to the 121km of slopes, with runs for every level of skier.

And Fameli’s friendly, courteous staff are welcoming us on the back of another busy summer season, when visitors flock to the area to enjoy hikes, mountain bike trails and the glorious sense of calm that comes from being surrounded by those jagged mountain peaks.

While the famous ski resorts of Courchevel, Morzine, Val D’Isere and the like attract English visitors year after year, Olang and SüdTyrol are something of a secret to British skiers. Our hosts tell us roughly 70% of their customers are from Italy or Austria.

Perhaps that’s not surprising, given its position on the border between the two countries, but its close proximity to Innsbruck, Milan and Verona (where we flew to from London Gatwick) means it’s only a short flight away.

Direct flights to Bolsen (Bolzano to the locals) take off from London during the winter months and if you’ve no desire to be treated like a human being, the budget airlines will deliver you to the area for less than £50 and whatever price you place on your dignity - OK, we won’t go on about our that less than savoury experience with them…

But what price can you put on the sight of your children, running through the fields in the shadows of the Dolomites, breathing fresh mountain air and cackling like the Von Trapp family - which, coincidentally, was filmed just a few hours north, with those same peaks as the backdrop.

This area of the Dolomites is clearly an untapped secret that Brits would do well to discover sooner, rather than later. It’s the kind of unspoilt, wholesome mountain town that are too often overrun by tourists and transformed into winter super-resorts. For now, we think Hotel Fameli might be the perfect destination for your family getaway to the slopes.

It might not stay a secret for long. The shops of Olang are already stocking merchandise for the forthcoming Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games which, although roughly a four hour drive from Hotel Fameli, will shine a spotlight on an area that offers everything we could possibly ask for in a mountain resort.

And as we sip another Rottensteiner on the roof, we wonder whether we should keep this place to ourselves. Ah well, we’ve ruined that now…

Hotel Fameli, Via S. Egidio, 13, 39030 Valdaora BZ, Italy

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