Surrender yourself
There are hotels you check into, and then there are hotels you surrender to.
High up in the Dolomites, Forestis feels far removed from everything else. It sits above the noise, both literal and mental. Nothing is trying to pull you in, but somehow you still comply. Willingly. In a green robe.
Getting there feels like part of the initiation. Forestis is roughly a 2 hour drive from Innsbruck, or closer to 3 or 4 hours from Milan, Munich, or Venice, traffic and weather permitting. I arrived just after the first snowfall of the season. The road winds up the mountain, the world turns white, and by the time you arrive, you’ve already lowered your voice instinctively.
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The hotel itself is modern and minimal, but not stark. No wallpaper. No loud art. No decorative clutter pretending to mean something. Everything is there for a reason. It’s a quieter kind of luxury. Neutral tones, clean lines, wood, stone, glass. It’s soothing in the way silence is soothing. Your eyes don’t have to work very hard, which is exactly the point.
And yet, despite the cool palette, nothing feels cold. The service is warm, intuitive, quietly attentive. You’re welcomed, given your robe (a deep forest green), and from that point on, you understand the uniform and sort of… stop changing clothes.
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The rooms, especially the Tower Suites, are beautiful. Floor-to-ceiling mountain views, generous balconies, beds you sink into. The sun rises late, so you leave the curtains open. When you wake up, the mountains are already there, waiting. It feels like a good day.
You start noticing familiar faces quickly. Not because you’ve met before, but because you keep meeting again. Morning hike. Afternoon by the pool. Evening sound healing. Sauna ritual. Wrapped in the same green robe, everyone starts to feel coordinated, intentional, slightly cultish, but in a very good way.
Forestis isn’t a health retreat, and it’s not a grand alpine palace either. It lives in a sweet spot between the two, where you’re encouraged to disconnect and unwind, but without feeling like you’ve signed up for a juice cleanse or a spiritual rebirth you didn’t ask for. Its luxury without the excess and wellness without the OMMMs.
The Spa
An indoor-outdoor heated pool lets you swim between warm water and icy mountain air. Step out too quickly and the cold hits immediately, reminding you exactly where you are.
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Days fall into an easy routine: pool, sauna, pool again, eat something nourishing, repeat. One sauna is textile, others are no-textile, which comes with the standard “enter at your own comfort level”. There’s also an outdoor ice bath filled with actual iced mountain water, often referred to as the Hailey Bieber plunge. It’s shockingly cold, slightly unhinged, and absolutely worth trying at least once.
Food at Forestis is surprisingly dynamic. Dining in a resort can feel repetitive, but here it never does. There are different restaurant options, and dinner is built around choice: a detox menu or a set menu that changes daily. Even though you’re eating in the same space, the experience never feels static.
Breakfast and dinner are served in booths assigned to you on arrival, and they remain yours for the duration of your stay. It’s a small detail, but it creates a sense of grounding and belonging. The same staff you see poolside may be your waiter at dinner, or the person who greets you at breakfast, already aware of how you take your coffee, what you avoid, what you love. Not “taken care of”, that’s too basic..but considered.
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The breakfast buffet is meticulous to the point of being hypnotic. Almost reverent. Bowls of fruit arranged with precision, six different butters, and everything replenished the second it’s touched. There are different mountain honeys, seven lactose-free cheeses, and toppings that feel custom made for every yogurt bowl imaginable, with cereals, granolas, brans, and every berry you can think of. Classic American pancakes and eggs cooked exactly the way you like them are also on offer.
Then there’s the juice room, which somehow manages to break the quiet rigidity of the place. You choose your fruits and vegetables, juice them yourself, and suddenly there’s a small window for experimentation. A little creative chaos in an otherwise perfectly curated routine. It gives you freedom, lets you play around, and makes you feel like the rules can bend just enough to suit you.
That’s Forestis, really: structured, intentional, and deeply pleasing, visually, physically and emotionally.
And before you know it, you’re part of the green robe club.
Image credit: @forestis.dolomites on Instagram
Thalia is obsessed with food and luxury travel, so much so that she basically lives on a plane. She’s always curious about the story behind what she’s tasting or where she’s going, and loves sharing those discoveries with the world… sharing is caring.
