Chalet Al Foss Hotel Review: Is This Italian Alps Hotel Worth It?

I booked Hotel Chalet Al Foss in Italy for two nights in August 2026 to celebrate my wife Amy’s 30th birthday. It was right at the top end of what I’d normally be willing to pay for a hotel, but for such a special occasion I wanted to book somewhere that would hopefully live long in the memory.

Having seen Chalet Al Foss Resort countless times online, I was keen to find out whether it would actually live up to the hype. What was it really like staying high up in the Italian Alps? Was the experience worth the price? And, perhaps most importantly, were those incredible mountain views every bit as spectacular in person?

We had flown into Bergamo and I’d pre-arranged a hire car with ToRent for the journey to the hotel. The drive took us around two hours and 45 minutes, with the scenery becoming increasingly impressive as we made our way further into the mountains. If you’re planning the same journey, it’s worth comparing flights into Bergamo to see what’s available for your dates.

Some of the roads towards the hotel can be a little tricky, with tight bends and plenty of cyclists to navigate around, but if you’re a reasonably experienced and confident driver, you shouldn’t have too many problems. Just take your time and enjoy the views along the way. There were plenty of parking spaces at the front of the hotel and, on top of this, they had basement-level parking too, so you shouldn’t have an issue finding a space.

Already considering a stay? You can check the latest prices and availability for Chalet Al Foss here.

Arrival

We arrived at Chalet Al Foss at around midday, having let the hotel know in advance that we’d likely be arriving early. Despite being three hours ahead of the official 3pm check-in time, we were told our room would be ready in around 30 minutes, which was a great start.

We used the time to explore some of the hotel grounds — and experience the bathrooms. Yes, experience. I’m using that word deliberately.

Even the public bathrooms at Chalet Al Foss were completely over the top. The men’s had been given a James Bond-style theme, while the women’s had their own equally elaborate design. Best of all, there was an ‘experience’ button which, when pressed, suddenly blasted loud music through the bathroom — loud enough that you could hear it from elsewhere in the hotel!

It was completely unnecessary, slightly ridiculous and exactly the sort of attention to detail that made us realise very quickly that Chalet Al Foss wasn’t going to be an ordinary hotel.

One of the team also took us up to meet some of the hotel’s resident animals. Chalet Al Foss is home to alpacas, rabbits, chickens and several other animals, all of which appeared incredibly well cared for. It made for a really relaxed and friendly introduction to the place we’d be calling home for the next 48 hours.

By the time we’d finished exploring, our room was ready. The team had already taken our cases and bags up for us, so there was nothing left to do but head inside.

As this trip was for Amy’s 30th birthday, I’d arranged for flowers and balloons to be waiting in the room as a surprise. Everything had been beautifully presented and immediately made our arrival feel that little bit more special.

And then there was the room itself.

Our Unique Chalet room

I had booked Chalet Al Foss’s ‘Unique Chalet room’, mainly because of the uninterrupted views towards the Presanella Glacier and the fact that it appeared a little more private than some of the other rooms. I also loved the look of the unusual hanging bed, freestanding bathtub and open-plan design.

We paid €1,510 for our two-night stay, which included breakfast. There are cheaper rooms available at Chalet Al Foss, as well as more expensive options with their own private hot tubs, but for us the Unique Chalet felt like a good middle ground and had everything we were looking for.

Prices vary considerably depending on the room and dates you choose, so I’d recommend checking Chalet Al Foss for your own dates rather than using our €1,510 stay as a guide.

Thankfully, the room was every bit as impressive as it had looked in the photos.

It was spacious and felt genuinely bespoke, with a large walk-in shower area, separate walk-in wardrobe, freestanding bath and, of course, the feature bed suspended by chains from the ceiling. The quality of the fixtures and fittings was excellent throughout; this certainly wasn’t somewhere that had spent all its money on the views and then skimped on the room itself.

Everything was also spotlessly clean. The housekeeping team kept it that way throughout our two-night stay, seemingly appearing whenever we weren’t around and disappearing again before we returned. It was another example of the unobtrusive service we experienced throughout our stay.

Outside, we had our own balcony overlooking the mountains, while the bed itself was extremely comfortable. And yes, the fact that it gently moved while suspended from the ceiling added a little extra fun to the room!

Pool with a view

Once we’d finished taking everything in, we got changed and headed for the pool we’d spotted earlier.

The swimming pool is elevated above the hotel’s main reception entrance, which makes for a pretty spectacular setting. Rather than staring at another hotel building or a row of sunbeds, you’re looking straight out towards the mountains and Presanella Glacier.

By the time we arrived in the afternoon, the sunbeds immediately beside the pool had already been taken, so we settled onto some of the larger loungers on the level below instead. We certainly weren’t complaining — they still came with that same incredible mountain backdrop.

Before getting into the pool, we decided to order some lunch and went for a toastie each. At €16 each, this was one of the few times during our stay where we felt the value wasn’t quite there. We’d expected something a little more substantial for the price and both still felt hungry afterwards.

Fortunately, the pool itself was a different story.

For a relatively small boutique hotel, it was more than big enough, particularly as we were told August is one of Chalet Al Foss’s quieter periods. The staff said the hotel was only around half full during our visit and, surprisingly, there were times when we had the entire pool to ourselves.

The water was kept at a lovely warm temperature, presumably with the snowy winter months in mind. Even during the heatwave we experienced, with temperatures approaching 30°C, it was still pleasant enough to cool off in. There are also several hot tubs dotted around the property, giving you plenty of options to spread out — something I imagine becomes more important when the hotel is full.

Visiting in August also showed us just how different the Italian Alps can feel outside the ski season. With warm weather, mountain views and plenty to do without a snowflake in sight, it’s an area that’s well worth considering at this time of year. If you’re planning a similar trip, read our guide on spending summer at ski resorts in Italy, including what to expect and why they’re worth visiting outside winter.

Not exactly a quiet Alpine retreat

One thing I’d noticed repeatedly when reading reviews before our visit was the music around the pool, with some guests complaining that it was simply too loud.

Having now experienced it for ourselves, I can see both sides.

If your idea of an Alpine escape is lying beside a pool in complete silence listening to nothing but the birds and the mountains, Chalet Al Foss might surprise you. The music is upbeat and lively, with an atmosphere closer to an Ibiza beach club than a traditional mountain retreat.

On our first day there was a live saxophonist playing around the pool, while the following day there was a DJ. Both liked the volume turned up.

Personally, we really enjoyed it. It gave the pool area a fun atmosphere and suited the celebratory feel of our trip perfectly. But this is definitely something worth knowing before you book. If you’re coming to Chalet Al Foss purely for peace, quiet and complete relaxation, the poolside atmosphere might not be for you.

If, like us, you enjoy a bit of music and atmosphere while you’re lying in the sun with the Italian Alps towering over you, you’ll probably love it.

Dinner at Bio Agritur Maso Celesta

We opted for two very different dinner experiences during our stay. For the first evening, we decided to venture away from Chalet Al Foss and try Bio Agritur Maso Celesta, a farmhouse restaurant just a couple of minutes’ drive from the hotel.

Chalet Al Foss made getting there and back incredibly easy, offering us a return shuttle for €20. Everything was arranged through WhatsApp, and the whole process was really straightforward — we simply enjoyed dinner and messaged when we were ready to head back.

Bio Agritur Maso Celesta is an organic farm restaurant working almost entirely with zero-kilometre produce, which was a big part of the appeal for us. We loved the idea of eating somewhere focused on local produce and decided it was worth giving a try.

For our first course, we both chose different pasta dishes and they were absolutely lovely. Fresh, full of flavour and exactly the sort of food we’d hoped to find in this part of Italy. The dish I ordered was an orzo pasta, which looked beautiful and tasted just as good.

For the main course, we both ordered the herb-crusted beef. This was probably the weakest dish of the evening. The beef itself was good quality, but we found the dish quite oily and there wasn’t really much of the promised herb crust. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it didn’t quite live up to how good the pasta had been.

The wine, as you’d probably expect in Italy, was excellent, and we finished with a selection of homemade desserts.

Overall, we had a really enjoyable meal and thought it was reasonably priced, despite having read a few reviews beforehand suggesting otherwise. Not every dish was perfect, but we’d happily recommend it if you’re staying at Chalet Al Foss and fancy trying somewhere different for an evening.

Cocktails back at Chalet Al Foss

After dinner, we took the shuttle back to the hotel and headed to the bar for a cocktail before bed.

This ended up producing one of those small, unexpected highlights of the trip.

The barman clearly had a real enthusiasm for mixology and took genuine care over what he was making. We ordered Singapore Slings, which came with particularly high expectations — the year before we’d been in Singapore and had tried one at the bar where the cocktail was originally created.

Somehow, the one at Chalet Al Foss was every bit as good.

It was another little touch of class and a good example of the quality that seemed to run through so many aspects of the hotel. It would have been very easy to serve a perfectly acceptable cocktail and leave it at that, but there was a genuine sense that the person behind the bar cared about getting it right.

The bar itself was very quiet that evening, though, with not much happening once we’d finished our drinks. We decided to call it a night and head back upstairs.

Fortunately, our room was a pretty nice place to retreat to. The TV was a great size and came equipped with all the usual streaming apps, so we finished the evening relaxing in bed before another packed day ahead.

Breakfast with a view

For our second day at Chalet Al Foss, I’d made two bookings: a hot stone massage during the day and the Alpin Chef experience that evening.

But first, breakfast.

And genuinely, this was one of the best hotel breakfasts we’ve ever had.

We were seated beside the windows with an incredible view directly over the Presanella Glacier and handed menus with a huge selection of dishes to choose from. Rather than picking just one, we were told we could order as much as we liked.

Naturally, we took full advantage.

Breakfast quickly turned into a multi-course affair, accompanied by teas, coffees and a mimosa while we sat looking out towards the mountains. Everything was freshly prepared and brought directly to our table, which felt far more premium and relaxed than the usual hotel buffet experience.

There was also a patisserie selection that the team brought around to the tables, filled with freshly made croissants, pastries and cakes.

Over our two mornings we worked our way through a fair amount of the menu, including local meats and cheeses, French toast, eggs Benedict, pastries and cakes. Everything we tried was first class, and combined with the service and that ridiculous view of the mountains, breakfast became one of our favourite parts of staying at Chalet Al Foss.

It’s not often we’re particularly excited about a hotel breakfast, but this was one we genuinely looked forward to the following morning.

Hot stone massage

After allowing some time for all that food to settle, we headed downstairs for our hot stone massage.

The treatment rooms are tucked away on the lower level of the hotel in a separate spa area. It was quiet and serene, and we were given plenty of time to get changed and comfortable before the treatment began.

We’d booked a hot stone massage each and both really enjoyed the treatments themselves. Afterwards, we were given water and some time before making our way back upstairs and eventually returning to the pool.

This was probably one of the few experiences at Chalet Al Foss that didn’t completely blow us away.

The massages were of a good standard and we were certainly glad we’d booked them, but compared with some spa experiences we’ve had elsewhere, the overall experience felt fairly simple. Given how much attention to detail there is throughout the rest of Chalet Al Foss, we’d perhaps expected the spa experience to have a little more of that same wow factor.

That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable — it absolutely was — but if I were choosing between the various additional experiences available at Chalet Al Foss, there are others I’d prioritise first.

With the massage finished, we headed back to enjoy another afternoon around the pool before getting ready for what would become one of the highlights of our entire stay: the Alpin Chef experience.

Alpin Chef experience

On our second evening, we got ready before being taken up to the forest area for the Alpin Chef experience, just a minute’s walk from the main hotel grounds.

We could hear the evening before we could see it. As we approached through the trees, music was playing and one of the waiters was singing through a tiny electronic megaphone. It was slightly chaotic, completely unexpected and very funny.

The setting itself couldn’t have been more different. Fairy lights were wrapped around the trees and a long dining table had been beautifully laid beneath them, decorated simply with fresh herbs in glass vases. With the forest surrounding us and the mountains peeking through the trees, it genuinely felt like something from a fairytale.

At one end was a small outdoor cooking station where our chef would prepare everything for the six of us that evening. Although we were sharing the experience with four other guests, it still felt surprisingly intimate and exclusive. We actually really enjoyed getting to know the others over dinner, but the table was long enough that you could easily keep to yourselves if that’s more your thing.

The atmosphere was much more fun and relaxed than we had expected. Upbeat music played throughout the evening, while our waiter regularly appeared with his little megaphone, dancing and singing along. He essentially became the entertainment for the night and had us laughing from start to finish.

Dinner began with warm, freshly baked bread and a light white wine, before the team started bringing out dish after dish, each accompanied by different wines. I’m not much of a wine drinker, but even I really enjoyed them and the pairings felt perfect for the setting.

The food itself was hearty, rustic Alpine cooking and there was a lot of it. We started with a huge board of local cured meats and cheeses with preserves, followed by dishes including creamy polenta with grilled cheese and roasted potatoes topped with fried eggs. Everything was cooked right there in the forest, and we finished with a rich mushroom risotto.. By this point we were struggling to find room for another bite.

Everything tasted incredibly fresh and was beautifully presented without feeling overly fancy. Herbs and other ingredients were growing around the cooking area too, adding to that feeling that the meal was very much connected to where we were eating it.

In true Italian fashion, dinner wasn’t quite finished yet. Coffee arrived along with freshly prepared desserts, by which point we were completely full.

And then I’d made the questionable decision of preordering even more food.

As it was Amy’s birthday, I’d arranged a bottle of champagne and a birthday cake as a surprise. We ended up sharing the cake with everyone around the table, which was actually a lovely way to finish the evening. Thankfully, our megaphone-wielding waiter reappeared to give the cake the suitably chaotic birthday presentation it deserved.

It was easily one of the most memorable experiences of our stay, not just because of the food, but because of the setting, the people and how much fun the whole evening turned out to be.

Was the Alpin Chef experience worth it?

None of the experiences at Chalet Al Foss were particularly cheap, but at €240 per couple, we thought the Alpin Chef represented surprisingly good value. Considering the amount of food, wine pairings, private chef and the incredible setting, it felt like we got a lot for our money — particularly compared with what you can easily spend on a fine-dining meal elsewhere in Europe.

The setting was beautiful, the experience felt intimate and exclusive, the food was genuinely excellent and, perhaps most importantly given the amount they served us, we certainly didn’t leave hungry.

From start to finish, it was an evening we won’t forget anytime soon, and that was exactly what I wanted when planning Amy’s 30th birthday. Chalet Al Foss is clearly a hotel that knows how to make an occasion feel special, and the Alpin Chef experience certainly delivered on that.

We took what was left of our bottle of champagne back to the room and called it a night.

Alpaca walk

The following morning started with another exceptional breakfast, this time sampling a few different dishes alongside some freshly made fruit juices, before heading off for the final activity I had booked: the alpaca walk.

Because of the heat, the hotel had warned us beforehand that the walk might be slightly shorter than the advertised hour. They needed to make sure the alpacas didn’t get too warm, which we completely understood, and in the end we were out for around 50 minutes anyway.

Sophia took us up to meet the alpacas first before introducing us to the two older boys, Happy and Bernie, who would be joining us for the walk. They were absolutely delightful.

Something that was particularly important to us was seeing how much Sophia genuinely cared for the animals. We’ve never been interested in animal tourism where the experience comes at the expense of the animals themselves, and it was clear that their welfare came first here — even shortening the walks when the weather was too warm.

The walk itself was really special. We followed a gentle path leading up and away from the resort, stopping at several viewpoints along the way where Sophia helped take some amazing photos of us. Happy and Bernie seemed perfectly content too, grazing at every opportunity and happily plodding along beside us.

It’s also a very easy-going experience. You don’t need to be particularly fit, as it’s only a gentle climb up the path before looping back down towards the resort.

Walking alpacas was something we’d always wanted to do, and it was absolutely worth it.

Eventually, though, it was time to leave Chalet Al Foss, and we were genuinely sad to be going.

After walking in the heat, we headed to reception before setting off and were about to ask whether we could have some water for the car journey. Before we’d even managed to get the words out, the receptionist handed us two ice-cold bottles.

It was such a small thing, but it perfectly summed up the level of service we’d experienced throughout our stay. At times, it felt like the staff knew what we needed before we’d even thought to ask.

Is Hotel Chalet Al Foss worth it?

At €1,510 for two nights before adding the cost of the extra experiences, there’s no getting away from the fact that Chalet Al Foss is an expensive place to stay. Whether it represents good value will ultimately depend on what you’re looking for from the trip.

If you’re simply looking for a luxury hotel in the Italian Alps, there are undoubtedly cheaper options. Chalet Al Foss feels like somewhere you come for the whole experience — the setting, the service, the animals, the food and all those slightly over-the-top touches that you probably wouldn’t find elsewhere.

For us, celebrating Amy’s 30th birthday, that was exactly what we wanted.

And I think that’s probably what we’ll remember most about Chalet Al Foss. The alpacas, mountain views, breakfasts and Alpin Chef experience were all incredible, but it was the attention to detail and those little moments in between that made the stay feel genuinely special.

If Chalet Al Foss sounds like your kind of hotel, you can check current prices and availability for your dates below.

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