La Villa Ski Resort, Italy

Overview of La Villa

La Villa, the central village in the Alta Badia valley, is located at the intersection of the skiable routes to the neighbouring village of Corvara, San Cassiano and Badia. The village itself is large enough to offer a good range of accommodation and dining, without feeling in any way overdeveloped.

Similar to other ski villages in the Dolomites, La Villa has some serious history - The church in the centre of the village was built in 1516 and dedicated to Saint Maria. There’s also the Ciastel Colz castle to marvel at, not to mention the men’s Alpine Ski World Cup event on the Gran Risa piste, usually at the end of December.

Keep reading to learn more about this resort and why to go on a La Villa ski holiday.

3 Things We Love About La Villa

1. Access to the Dolomiti Superski area, with its 1,200kms of piste
2. The variety and quality of gastronomy on offer at the mountain hut restaurants (known as ‘Rifuges’) scattered all over the mountains
3. A historic alpine village full of history, charm and extremely friendly locals

Skiing and Boarding in La Villa

Alta Badia has 130km of pistes connected by 53 lifts and cable cars. Access to the area between the 3 neighbouring villages and the further ski area is via the Piz La Ila cable car. From there, all skiers will revel on the expertly prepared ski runs and enjoy the breathtaking views in between numerous stops at the plethora of ‘rifuges’ (mountain huts) dotted throughout the area.

The Alta Badia area is famed for the enticingly wide and perfectly groomed slopes to suit all abilities of skier and snowboarder. It really is ideal for families – not just in terms of the slopes which are blue for most part, but the variety of snow-parks will keep kids entertained for hours each day. There are challenging runs for expert skiers too, such as the Gran Risa itself.

Lift Passes in La Villa

The local area Alta Badia pass gives access to all 130km of pistes in the valley and the villages of La Villa, Corvara, Colfosco, San Cassiano and Badia.

However, to enjoy the full extent of the Sella Ronda and wider Dolomiti Superski area, the full area pass provides unrestricted access to all 12 villages and an eye watering 1,200km of pistes!

Activities in La Villa

• Indoor rock climbing
• Ice skating
• Sledging/tobogganing
• Horse-drawn sleigh rides
• Horse riding (yes, even in winter!)
• Swimming at the local indoor pool

Après Ski in La Villa

Part of the pleasure of visiting Alta Badia is the variety of après on offer in neighbouring villages, however La Villa has some home-grown options too.

• Club Moritzino Piz La Ila – Located at 2100m, at the cable car station, this venue offers a unique candle-lit dinner with transport via piste-basher and including a live DJ for partying the night away.
• Glam’s – A great place for après whether in a large group or just a couple. Great music and an impressive cocktail menu to go alongside the long list of local wines on offer.

Places to eat in La Villa

• Pizzeria Astoria da Morena - A typical restaurant with pizzeria and wood oven and take away pizza.
• Hotel Dolomiti – A variety of Ladin cuisine in its simplest form. Rustic, but with special attention to detail. Serving dishes like turtres, cajincí and many other local specialties.
• La Bercia – For over 30 years La Bercia has been serving some of the best pizzas in Alta Badia. Their menu also features several chef’s specials including grilled vegetables, meats, pastas and freshly made salads.
• La Tor - Known for the diversity of dishes on offer including typical Ladin and South Tyrolean cuisine and Italian favourites such as pasta and pizza plus other international classics.

Family Features La Villa

The ski school in La Villa comes highly regarded and the slopes are an ideal place for kids aged 3 and up to learn to ski.

Off the slopes, some family-favourite activities include sledging, rock climbing, sleigh rides, swimming and ice skating.