Wellness Ski Retreat in the Dolomites, Italy

The Dolomites are one of the most dramatic mountain ranges in the world, and this retreat is built around getting the most out of them in winter. Your host, Maria Paula Medina, knows these mountains intimately from 11 years of living here. She'll be on the slopes with you for six days, guiding you on a different itinerary each day. That's a big deal — you're not just buying a ski pass and wondering where to go, you're getting a local guide who knows which runs are best prepared that day, which lifts to skip, and which mountain huts do the best porcini tagliatelle.

The yoga practice here is specifically chosen to complement your skiing. It's not about intense vinyasa flow — it's a 90-minute evening session split between 30 minutes of pranayama and silent meditation, and 60 minutes of yin yoga and gentle stretching. The idea is to open up hips, hamstrings, and shoulders after a day of edging and absorbing the bumps, and to settle the nervous system before dinner. Maria has been practising since she was 19 and has trained in Argentina, Europe, and India in Hatha and Vinyasa, so she brings a solid technical base to the gentle format.

Arabba itself is part of the Dolomiti Superski network — the biggest ski carousel in the world, with 1,200 km of pistes and 450 lifts on one pass. From here, you can ski across to the Sella Ronda and up to the Marmolada glacier, all without taking your skis off. The hotel is a comfortable base with a proper spa — pool, whirlpool, sauna, steam bath — and the staff are used to hosting skiers, so they know you want a quick breakfast and a hot dinner. This is a mature, well-run retreat that appeals to skiers who want everything taken care of and some genuine local knowledge.

What's included

- 7 nights accommodation in a shared superior room - Half-board: breakfast and dinner daily - 6-day Dolomiti Superski lift pass - 6 days of standard ski and boot hire - 6 days of guided skiing with your host - Daily yoga classes (yin and stretching) - Daily pranayama sessions - Airport pickup and drop-off from Venice, Innsbruck, or Treviso - Welcome meeting with ski program briefing - Pre- and post-retreat support from the team

What's not included

- Flights to and from Italy - Additional spa treatments (beyond pool, sauna, steam room) - Additional activities not listed in the itinerary - Travel insurance - Visa fees - Lunches (half-board only)