THE TEMPLES OF THE COCKTAIL MARTINI

 Hotel Adler Dolomiti, Ortisei

Frankly, we didn't expect much from the Adler Hotel in terms of Martini cocktails. An hotel renowned for its spas and 'water world' and saunas and healthy living usually frowns at the elegant pleasures of life represented, in our mind, by classic cars, old-fashioned skiing and....Martinis.

It was therefore a pleasant surprise to find a pair of shockingly educated young men, Mattia and Giuseppe, tending the Adler's bar. The shelves of the bar groan under the weight of lots of bottles of rare and lesser-known gins, ranging from Bombays and Tanquerays to exotics Martin Millers', Hendricks, LeGin and so on. A spectacular variety put to good use by professionals really knowing their stuff. 'Our' Martini was perfectly stirred, cold, dry and the invisible drop of bitter proposed by Mattia, or the (optional!) ginger infusion favored by Giuseppe were amazing variations on a classic theme.

We have to say that the hotel could improve. In an expensive 5-star resort it's not pleasant to be forced to check out at 11 a.m. sharp, no late check-outs allowed, especially when the porters cannot cope with the requests of the guests all departing (obviously) at the same time, so the guests themselves have to carry their own suitcases to their cars.

Who knows? Maybe the Adler will set up a classic-cars meeting on the style of the BCCM in Sankt Moritz, and thus we will enjoy again its style and open-air hot tubs. Meanwhile, we can only recommend its Martini to every connoisseur travelling in style in the majestic splendour of the Italian Dolomites.

Hotel Adler Dolomiti
Tel: +39 0471 775 001
E-Mail: info@adler-dolomiti.com
I-39046 Ortisei - Val Gardena - Dolomiti - Italia

P.S.: Hotel Adler Bagno Vignoni

Being a member of the 'Comitato d'Onore' of the 2013 Mille Miglia, I followed the convoy from Brescia with Anna in our Bristol 409 as a guest. The weather, unfortunately, was quite rainy; when we reached San Sepolcro, a sudden, heavy thunderstorm made us leave the convoy before reaching Rome to find a confortable shelter somewhere near the return leg of the MM. We had been very pleased with our stay at the Adler in Ortisei some months ago, so we decided to try its Tuscany twin, the 'Adler Thermae' in Bagno Vignoni.
This is a really extraordinary hotel, even better than the Ortisei one. Built around a large sauna/ spa/ fitness center, the 'Thermae' is amazing for the many ideas that they did put together to offer their customers a great experience. If you mix the spaces and hospitality of Interalpen with the good service and overall cure to detail of the Adler Ortisei you could have an idea of the quality of this resort. The opening roof over the restaurant is an extraordinary touch of luxury....
Unfortunately, the bar will have to improve to match the expectancy of the customers of an expensive 5-star resort. The bar is well stocked, maybe not as well as the Adler Ortisei's but quite satisfying anyway; the bartender was very kind and put a bottle of this new fashionable Schwarzwald botanic gin, the 'Monkey 47', in the freezer for us on request. The quality of the Martini cocktail itself was therefore quite good.
Sadly, a Martini is not (only) a bit of good gin in a stem glass, it means style and good manners as well. In this, the Adler's staff failed quite spectacularly. The waitress was clearly not happy to tend our table, even the bar was empty at 7,30 p.m., and didn't get us anything to go with the Martini. When we asked, she curtly answered that we had to help ourselves at a self-service table in the main room (!). One wonders if this rude treatment was due to the fact that we were probably the only non-German customers of the hotel...
My Monkey 47-based Martini came without an olive. On the side, there were some black monstruosities from Cerignola that no thinking person would ever put in a Martini cocktail. When we asked for it to the bartender, we obtained some 'classic' olives, but they were small and stoned. Too bad, because the bar is very pleasant, the piano-bar player excellent and the view out of the large windows on the Tuscan hills is breathtaking. For these reasons, judgment of this lounge will be held until, during a future visit, we will be able to assess it more accurately. We also hope that any other member of the (otherwise very kind) hotel staff could tend our table next time