Hotel Kabis — Hotel in Eisacktal - Valle Isarco

I'm writing an updated review: I last stayed at Hotel Kabis in 2011, and the hotel has had some major updates since then.||||I returned to Kabis once again as part of a large family group (about 25 people). They were remarkably patient with us, especially given that there were several of us with similar/same names and a bunch of last minute changes. (I joked that next time we should provide them with a family tree... I was joking, but I think I might actually do that!)||||As an orientation, Kabis has three buildings: ||1. The main building: This has the lobby, restaurant/bar, a small kid's playroom (new!), the dining area, and (also new!) the hotel's only elevator).||2. The nearby building: All hotel rooms; connected to the main one by covered -- but outdoor -- walkway/shallow stairs||3. A fully separated building across the street: All hotel rooms, except for a Wellness Spa on the lower level (see below for description). Also has a sun terrace outside.||||Walking into the the main building, the transformation is immediately apparent: They've done some major renovations. The entire main house is transformed: Everything is where it was, but the place was gutted and rebuilt to blend modern (clean lines, hard wood floors) with old (a few key pieces of art and furniture). ||||Our room (#17) was in the main house: a double room, no balcony, on the third/top floor. We heard a little bit of street noise, but minimal church bells. The room was again, a nice mix of modern and old -- bare hardwood floors, white walls, simple wooden furniture, with a lovely new bathroom. Those rooms in the other two buildings tended to be in the older style, and while perfectly serviceable, do feel somewhat outdated. (That said, the balcony rooms are still worth having -- can't beat those views!) I'd bet that they're planning to update those in the next few years.||||New amenities: "Wellness Spa" aka a whirlpool for post-hiking soaks, an infra-red sauna, and a steamroom. (I didn't use any of these, but I walked through the area and it was lovely and modern.) If you think you'll be using these frequently, you may want to request staying in that same building (they're housed in the across-the-street house, and you can get to them without going outside). There's also a beautiful and idyllic sun terrace directly outside that house, overlooking the valley.||||Food: Continued to be very good. Dinners sometimes felt like a little much with so many courses, but we persevered. True vegetarians will have to ask about ingredients, but those in our group did just fine -- they couldn't eat every single course, but between the large salad bar and a vegetarian main course (and of course, dessert) every night, they didn't hurt for calories. ||||Kid-friendliness: Last time I traveled here, I had zero kids. This time, I had two -- a baby and a toddler. Kabis staff were very helpful in all respects: Our room had two pack and plays (travel beds/cot, as I believe the staff called them over email) upon arrival, and there was always a high-chair for the baby (and never any complaints about the mess he made on the floor below it). There is a simple playground on the grounds, which has a slide, a swing set (including an infant swing), a sandbox, and a sort of merry-go-round thing. (If you're hiking in the dolomites, this kind of simple playground was pretty common at the Alms.) ||||Other:||-Our stay included a 7-day ticket for using the public transportation||-Staff was very helpful in pointing out routes/directions for hikes from the hotel||-Short walk to village, which has the public bus stop, tourist office (sells a great hiking map), post office, bakery, market, bank, and restaurant (Viel Nois)||||Recommendations for improvement:||-The small kids' playroom in the main building is a wonderful addition! However, the room itself is quite loud/echo-y. I'd recommend a few carpets to dampen the sound. The old-fashioned toys are lovely, but the addition of a simple play-kitchen (such as from IKEA) and a wooden train set would make the space more entertaining for the little ones.||-The hotel does offer wifi, as it did when I last visited in 2011. However, the coverage is very spotty -- we had wifi on one side of our room, but not the other, and none at all over on the sun terrace or on the front patio. I'm fully in support of an analog vacation, but consistent, high-quality wifi would have helped me enjoy my time more (I was traveling without a data plan and used the wifi to find my family members and also set up a simple baby monitor using...

Ask for Room 12 (it’s the best room I was told)||We stayed in the Kabis and were greeted by Sarah and Bruno who were delightful! They spoke English. 97 % of the people here are of German / Austrian decent. I had studied Italian before I cAme but I probably should have studied German. Only 3% are Italian (well they all are technically) but about 100 years Napoleon took this area over to control the mountains. The Austrians (who speak a slightly different dialect of German thAn from Germany) have Autonomy here. Their first language in school is German and they study Italian. Some , in nearby villages and speak Ladin (a language from before the Romans )|||I had purchased a big wooden bowl from a nearby town and needed to ship it back to the USA and the post office was two doors down so super handy. ($45 euros to ship a 7 kilo package so I could travel lighter) The tourist office was one building over. They spoke good English and helped us find good hiking and busses. The super market and bakery was a hop skip and a jump from the hotel. We were very close to a bus stop. The all day bus ticket was included. |||Food: We ate in the hotel and had a fabulous fish dish and price wAs decent with just the right portions. The included breakfast was a nice spread of typical Italian foods (assorted meat and cheese, boiled eggs, breads, pate, tea, fresh croissants, fruit, crackers, fresh juice and more. ||Beds: very comfortable ||Room: best hotel of 4 I’ve stayed in the little towns here. Huge room. There was a sitting room and a wall where the tv is able to twist to be viewable from either side. ||There was a separate toilet room with mini sink. Also a huge bathroom with a rain shower. The free standing tub was big enough for two people with a sky window to the mountains. ||In the next building over was a spA. There was a wet steam and dry sauna . There was a sitting area with the cutest chairs. Outside there were more lounge chairs with an incredible view. In the foreground there were apple trees. I’m from Phoenix and like it hit so there was a huge almost swimmable got tub. The other guests loved it but honestly it wasn’t hot enough for my taste. We sat and took in the view from the arched window. There were nice towels available. You could get a thick white robe but didn’t figure it out until we read the notes in the very descriptive book in the room. |||Great hotel and fair price. ||It was close to a church and we could hear the sounds of church bells that gave it that Italian feel. |||If you come here visit the Church of Giovanni. It’s a few bus stops and it is a tiny church in a meadow and one of the most photographed churches in the Dolomites. Well worth going. (Costs 4 euro and it’s a turnstile so put money on and quickly go before it locks) ||The front desk people were over the top helpful. Bruno even helped me download my photos from parasailing and was very patient. Very sweet! ||Highly recommend...

First and foremost, I don’t write many reviews. And only feel compelled to when my experience is outstanding. Which this was. ||||A friend and I checked into the Hotel Kabis after a long drive into the mountains. Konrad, whose family runs the hotel was there to greet us. He was great in getting us checked in and filling us in on the local information, hiking trails, dinner spots, photography opportunities. ||||The rooms were perfectly mountain esque. Wooden furniture. Remodeled bathrooms and super comfortable beds. Although I’m 6’6” and don’t like foot boards on my bed, it was long enough to accommodate me ( phew ). It was the best night of sleep I had in Italy. ||||In the morning after my hike and exploration of the Valle de Funes I was returning to the hotel where Konrad and Nadia had provided us with an excellent breakfast, helped us with printing some documents, and gave us a historical perspective of the valley. ||||On our way out we got a look at the spa. I’m not typically a spa user but when we saw it we were amazed how modern and zen it looked. ||||Long story short, this was a fantastic stay for us and I would definitely recommend staying here if you find yourself in this part of the Dolomites. I know I will be returning here again one day. Thanks Konrad for the hospitality....