Road biking and Trail Running in the Dolomites - June 2017

Hi Christin,

Our cycling and hiking trip in the Dolomites was the trip of a lifetime!  The planning, coordination, and communication from Christin and Augustina were top notch.  We’re already excited for our next trip back and for the opportunity to work with the team at Dolomite Mountains again.  We would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for fun and adventure in the Dolomite Mountains!

Planning and Coordination:
We appreciated the flexibility in having a conference call early on to talk through our vision of the trip and walk through many of the initial questions we had at the time.  The input we received gave us a great framework for building the trip.  Additionally, the itineraries prepared along the way were right in line with our wishes.  Christin and Augustina were responsive as well as patient with several changes we made as we scheduled our adventure.  Lastly, we got engaged while out on the trail and Augustina and Christin went above and beyond providing thoughts and ideas for a special celebration.

Accommodations:
Hotel Gran Fanes in Corvara
We loved our stay at this hotel.  The staff were informative, cheery, kind, and downright exceptional.  We made the comment on a couple of occasions that the hotel staff grew on us so much that they felt like family.  The meals and service during dining hours were excellent - we especially liked the salad bar prior to dinner every evening.  The complimentary laundry service for washing cycling kits was something we didn’t expect and really appreciated.  

Rifugio Averau
Friendly staff!  Excellent service!  We loved our stay at the Rifugio Averau.  The food, accomodations, and interaction with the staff were positively memorable.  The room was clean, the beds were comfortable and the views were breathtaking.  

Hotel Ambra in Cortina
A lovely hotel, conveniently located in Cortina.  The staff were all very friendly and helpful.  We were even given complimentary champagne one evening while awaiting our taxi. The room was beautiful, the linens were fresh, and the views of the mountains were mesmerizing.  We would absolutely stay here again.

Due & Due Bike Shop in Cortina
The guys from the bike shop were friendly and attentive; however, we ran into a couple of issues with our bike rentals.  Through the course of booking our trip, we had arranged for specific bikes/models.  Prior to arriving in Italy, we learned the bikes we requested were not available.  Christin from the Dolomite Mountain team was able to provide various solutions to the dilemma and Due & Due offered a discount on our rentals.  In the end we were happy with the outcome.  On our first day out on the bikes we discovered the brake pads associated with the disc brakes on one of the bikes were completely worn down.  Braking was questionable and a bit scary.  We had to stop at a bike shop to have new brake pads installed.  When we informed the team at Due & Due what happened, they reimbursed us for the cost of the pads and they were very nice and apologetic.  We’d likely rent from Due & Due again, but would be sure to double check our equipment before departure.  

Jenni & Kirstin