Rosapetra SPA Resort - Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Great stay, lovely staff, super helpful to organise walks around the area, amazing spa

I’ve always admired Rosapetra SPA - its location in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the wood-and-stone charm, the promise of calm, combined with being pampered. So when we finally booked three nights for €****, I was thrilled, certain this would be the highlight of our Dolomites trip. That’s what makes writing this so difficult: what we experienced simply didn’t live up to the standard or value I’ve always associated with Rosapetra SPA. —> Room comfort: For a room in this price category, the lack of air conditioning was very surprising but might have been fine if we could ventilate. Unfortunately, almost every time we opened the windows, cigarette smoke from other guests drifted in. On our third evening, a traditional event took place around the hotel and in Cortina - involving the burning of big celebratory fires stacked up all across town. It just wasn’t possible to open windows without feeling like a smoked trout. This resulted in yet another day in a very hot room. One afternoon, while we were out, staff entered, left the lights on in both the main room and bathroom, and left a window open - resulting in a room full of mosquitoes, with stings all over our bodies and a sleepless night. When I highlighted this problem to reception, they offered me a tabletop plug-in fan to help. That left me speechless. This was an absolutely needless negative impact the hotel staff caused. Not being able to find relaxing sleep on your holiday - it’s the best that can happen… —> Maintenance issues: I’ve always imagined Rosapetra SPA rooms as immaculate, but ours had a scratched wooden floor and ceiling windows with clear water damage from past rain exposure. The photographs we took show stained, weathered wood that should never be present in a luxury setting. During the day, the room heats up enormously - temperatures got up to 33°C, which is a huge challenge without air conditioning. —> Breakfast atmosphere: I’ve had expectations of serene mornings here, but on our first day, lawn mowing, leaf blowing, and other garden work began at 10 a.m. right beside the breakfast tables. The video we recorded captures the full “lawnmowing concert” - a complete break from any sense of peace. Service was very friendly but slow; on two mornings, a cappuccino required three reminders and nearly 15 minutes, despite only a few occupied tables. —> Dining: Dinner was the final blow - beautifully plated in some cases but small and underwhelming for the price. A €35 aubergine parmigiana was starter-sized, a chicken breast was completely bland and came alone on the plate with a few potato wedges, and sides felt like an afterthought. No love in the food. —> Service: The staff were visible but seemed disengaged, with little attentiveness. Some few were really friendly and good. Overall, hit and miss. Overall: Rosapetra SPA still has its breathtaking views and Alpine charm, but the hit-and-miss service, the hotel-staff-caused mosquito incident, disruptive maintenance scheduling, visible room neglect, and underwhelming dining left us feeling let down. It might be that Rosapetra SPA is a great hotel to stay during snowy winters, but it certainly missed the mark in summer. I wish I could recommend this stay, but it breaks my heart to say I absolutely cannot.