The picture-perfect village of Corvara in northern Italy’s South Tyrol region boasts an envious location right in the heart of the Dolomite Mountains. Alongside abundant outdoor activities, Corvara is home to the family-owned Hotel La Perla. The hotel prides itself on upholding local Ladin traditions and at its core are the Costa family, who have run the hotel for two generations. We checked in to discover its renowned hospitality and newly renovated spa.
Hotel
Ask for directions to Hotel La Perla and any local will be able to help, likely regaling a story or two about beer-fuelled apres-ski in the hotel bar or evenings spent with the Costa family. This hotel is as much a symbol of Corvara as the Sassongher Mountain, which towers 2,665m over the town.
Ernesto Costa opened the hotel’s doors in the 1950s, offering just six bedrooms for weary skiers. The hotel has since grown under the steady hand of Ernesto’s children who still operate the hotel today.
The local Ladin culture of the Dolomiti people plays a big part in the hotel, influencing everything from the design to the food and even the staff uniforms. The main building is traditional Tyrolean chalet style, with a wooden exterior and guest balconies adorned with hanging baskets overflowing with colourful blooms.
Like any great hotel, outstanding hospitality is the focus at Hotel La Perla, but here it goes above and beyond attentive service and skilled staff. It’s the little extras that make it stand out: a daily newsletter at breakfast with info on weather, hiking routes and facts about Ladin culture, sweet treats left on your pillow each evening, staff remembering exactly how you like your coffee, and being greeted with a smile wherever you go. You’re guaranteed to feel at home after just a few nights.
Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword at Hotel La Perla, it’s a guiding principle. Initiatives include no meat served on a Friday, only serving local Dolomite spring water in their restaurants and running a paperless office. The family have also set up The Costa Family Foundation, which supports women and children across the developing world through initiatives and local projects. If you want to learn more there’s an exhibition on the hotel’s ground floor.
Room
La Perla has 51 rooms, including three suites. We spent two nights in a spacious romantic room with a balcony (perfect for a pre-dinner aperitif), a living area and a walk-in wardrobe with plenty of space for hiking boots and bulky ski outfits come winter.
The rooms are quite traditional in design, so expect centuries-old antique furniture and reclaimed wood rather than marble and mod-cons. If you’re after a modern space with the latest in-room technology then the rooms might not be for you, but we found the space peaceful and blissfully quiet.
The view from our room was a bit uninspiring so we’d highly recommend requesting a room with a view if you want to wake up to the beauty of the mountains.
Food and drink
The hotel has four restaurants, which is an impressive selection for a hotel of 51 rooms. Each restaurant is unique, but all focus on high-quality produce – organic where possible – from the local Val Badia Valley.
Half-board reservations include dinner at restaurant Les Stues, which serves simple and traditional Tyrolean cuisine – think hearty alpine food with an Italian twist. Interiors are inspired by a traditional Dolomite farmhouse, and wood panelling, salvaged from the original house renovation, make it feel super cosy.
The Bistro serves food all day and of all the restaurants it feels the most Italian. It’s the spot to visit if you’re looking for rich pasta dishes and creamy burrata. Their tomatoey ‘Mancini’ pasta dish with anchovy and bread crumbs was the perfect pre-hike fuel.
Cross the gardens and you’ll find Ladinia, the hotel’s traditional Alpine-style hut in the heart of the old village. It serves hearty plates of Ladin food including specialities like Tutres (little fried pastries stuffed with wild nettles and spinach).
La Stua de Michil is the hotel’s one Michelin-star restaurant and, unsurprisingly, it’s in high demand. If you’re hoping to visit, make sure you book ahead of your stay.
Alongside its restaurants, Hotel La Perla has one of Italy’s most renowned wine cellars which includes the most complete collection of Sassicaia wine outside of Tuscany (there’s a bottle from every vintage from 1968 – 2021). If you want a sneak peek, book a tour at reception.
Spa and wellness
Newly renovated for 2024, the hotel’s Salus per Aquam spa is the perfect sanctuary after a heavy day on the slopes or a spot of hiking. There’s an indoor pool with a variety of jets and whirlpools, plus two dry saunas and a steam room. On our visit, we particularly enjoyed the Kneipp paths, which involved walking through pools of hot and cold water to improve circulation. It really helped to soothe our tired legs after a morning of hiking and we used it for recovery throughout our stay.
The spa offers a great selection of treatments from Mountain Massages to Alpine-inspired body wraps using herbs, plants and flowers from the local area. The La Perla is the signature massage, but if you’ve had an active holiday and want to aid muscle recovery go for the Saasongher massage which uses arnica to reduce inflammation.
To do
Corvara’s location in the middle of the Dolomites makes it one of the best skiing and hiking destinations in the world. The area is a true winter wonderland with 500km of alpine ski and snowboarding slopes, all of which are connected to the Dolomiti Superski area which has a further 1,200km of perfect slopes across 12 resorts. Conveniently, Hotel La Perla offers ski-in ski-out via the Col Alto lift, which was the first ski lift built in Italy.
Wildflowers pepper the slopes in the warmer months and hiking takes centre stage. The in-house hiking guide at Hotel La Perla is on hand to recommend routes, all of which can be tailored to your ability. We took the Boe gondola up the mountain and explored the glacial valley of Vallon via a stop at the Franz Kostner mountain hut to refuel. The paths are well marked but take a map, enough water to sustain you for a few hours and warmer clothing (things get much cooler up at the top).
For adventures closer to home, Hotel La Perla offers a foraging experience with Ladinia’s head chef, Aldo. I joined Aldo on a sunny August morning and we set off, wicker baskets in hand, to scour the hills for ingredients. We picked hops, dandelions, nettles, mountain spinach and wild rhubarb and headed back to the kitchen to make traditional Canederli, a farm-style dumpling made with bread, egg and the ingredients we’d picked that morning. Guests can book the experience at reception during the summer season and it lasts approximately two hours.
In a nutshell
There are many things that Hotel La Perla gets right, from the restaurants serving the best of local produce, to the spa which offers a refuge of relaxation between outdoor adventures, but it’s the staff and personable hospitality which makes Hotel La Perla truly unique and is sure to leave a lingering impression long after check-out.
Factbox
Rooms start from £500 per night in winter (half-board including dinner) and £430 per night in summer (breakfast included) based on two people sharing.
Address: Str. Col Alt, 105, 39033 Corvara in Badia BZ, Italy
Phone: +39 0471 831000
Website: laperlacorvara.it/en
Photography courtesy of Hotel La Perla, Casa Costa 1956 & Gustav Willeit.
