Our coach left Verona Airport and began to wind its way slowly up the mountain, round one hairpin bend after another, each turn revealing a view more spectacular than the last. Finally we arrived at our destination: a brand new kosher hotel in Canazei, in the middle of the stunningly beautiful Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy.

The obvious way to avoid the often difficult challenge of finding kosher food while on holiday abroad is to stay in a kosher hotel, but such establishments are few and far between. I’m pleased to report that My One Hotel in Canazei is first-rate in every respect. The 53-room boutique hotel is owned by Belinda and Avi Netzer, who have managed to overcome the complicated logistics of running a kosher hotel that is miles away from the nearest major city and has to be accessed through winding, mountainous roads.

The couple found it by chance when they were travelling in the area, looking for a suitable hotel to take over for the winter. “We were told there was a hotel for sale nearby and we thought we’d take a look. Although it was in the process of being built, we fell in love with it as soon as we saw it,” recalls London-born Belinda. They had long wanted to run their own hotel and it suited them perfectly to buy this one before it was completed because it meant that they were able to create a specially designed kosher kitchen with meat, milk and Pesach sections.

The Netzers’ home is in Milan, Avi’s native city. Before buying the hotel, the couple worked for eight years in the industry, running popular kosher Pesach and summer programs in hotels in San Remo and Rimini. They are very pleased that their own hotel is in the Dolomites.  “This is a region that has winter and summer tourism,” explains Avi. “Canazei is a well-known resort that offers beautiful hikes and cycling in summer, and great skiing and other sports in winter. We’re next to a fast-flowing stream with a towpath leading into town and the ski lifts.  There is an ice-skating rink nearby, and in the hotel there is a swimming pool, jacuzzi and a play area for children, and we’re adding a spa and a gym.”

All the kosher food is brought from Milan, which is three-and-a-half hours away from Canazei. The food is frozen and stored according to the menus which are planned carefully in advance. Fresh fruit and vegetables are bought locally and all bread, rolls and cakes are baked on the premises. At breakfast, everything is laid out ready for guests to prepare their own packed lunch of sandwiches to take with them for the day. There is a meat or fish dish at every evening meal served to your table, a buffet with salads and other main course options, and a selection of excellent wines. The kashrut is Mehadrin. “We want to cater for everyone, and want all our guests to feel comfortable,” says Avi. During our stay, there were guests of various shades of religious observance and also a non-Jewish couple who had come, they said, because they like kosher cuisine. There is a shul in the hotel and on Shabbat guests are treated to a wonderful kiddush on the terrace outside with delicious herring that Avi prepares himself.  Most of the staff at the hotel have worked for Avi and Belinda previously, so there is a real family atmosphere. Indeed at Shabbat lunch, Avi introduced all the staff individually.

My husband and I were part of a group tour from Israel to Canazei this summer. The group’s program offered full-day excursions to Lake Garda, Venice and Innsbruck, but it isn’t necessary when you have such beautiful scenery to explore in the local area, to undertake coach journeys of several hours before you even reach your destination, leaving only a short time to visit places which need a few days to do them justice,. The Dolomites, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site in 2009, contain gigantic rock formations with tall peaks that reach 3,000 meters. One day we went on a picturesque walk to a local ski lift and rode by cable car up to Col Rodella. The views on the way up, and when you get there, are utterly breathtaking.

On another day we took a local bus to Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites. Words simply can’t do justice to the beautiful scenery. We went to a museum which charts the fascinating history of the Dolomites during World War 1. The border between Italy and what was then Austria-Hungary ran through Marmolada and it became an almost continuous front throughout the war. It was the scene of intense fighting, much of it in extremely harsh conditions. Standing there on a cold and windy July day, I could barely imagine what it must have been like for the soldiers in winter.

Whether you go on a lengthy day trip or a local outing, you are assured of a warm welcome when you arrive back at My One Hotel.  Each day, complimentary tea, coffee and homemade cakes are available.  The clean, comfortable bedrooms each have a view of the Dolomites. There is a tranquil quality to the place that means you can’t help but relax when you are there. “We like to pamper our guests and provide top quality service,” says Belinda. Indeed, the Netzers show such attention to detail and are so friendly that it was a real pleasure to stay in the hotel. Having thoroughly enjoyed our summer holiday, we would love to go back and sample Canazei in the winter season.

www.mykosherhotel.it