Hotel Ambra Cortina - Living La Dolce Vita - The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover

Hotel Ambra Cortina - Living La Dolce Vita

Wednesday, 21 December 2016

From the moment I set my eyes on the beauty of Cortina, in the Italian alps, it captured my heart.

Cortina d'Ampezzo, or Cortina as it's often called, is one of Italy's most charming ski resorts, but there is more to do here other than ski. Defined by a history of visiting Hollywood stars of a bygone era, think Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn, and made famous by the 1956 Winter Olympics the resort had a style, chicness and class all of its own. A UNESCO world heritage site this area is perfect for hiking in the summer and exploring the beautiful Dolomite mountains, cute little restaurants, and exclusive fashion stores.

Our base for three days was the fashion boutique Hotel Ambra Cortina.

Hotel Ambra Cortina is situated perfectly just behind the main square in Cortina. From the outside, the hotel looks like an impeccable Austrian style building, with hard-carved wooden balconies, window boxes and wooden shutters and we were excited to see inside.

We were greeted warmly by Elisabetta, the owner of Hotel Ambra Cortina. Elizabetta is a third-generation hotelier with experience of owning hotels all her life. Born in the Veneto area, ten years ago she took over the hotel. Within the last six months, the hotel has had a complete makeover with the emphasis on a boutique ambience, every room is decorated in a unique way, with the best furnishings, and little luxuries and themed around fashion, cinema, theatre and nature.

There is a small lounge with stylish works of art and a small bar area near reception, where the professional and welcoming staff will make you the latest cocktail or a warming hot chocolate or cappuccino.

We were shown to our room, which was beautifully presented with a canopy bed and themed around nature in colours of greens and golds. The room had an ensuite marble shower and toilet as well as two seating areas and windows looking out onto the town and the beautiful mountains.

The shower had two shower heads, and as Elisabetta had explained earlier this was for 'romance'.

We had a lovely balcony which had our own Christmas tree, which was a beautiful touch, and an area with a table and chairs on which you can sit and enjoy the scenery.

Looking through this window we could see the beautiful Dolomites (see below)

We were greeted with a bottle of sparkling wine and a fruit basket in our room, and these sort of touches make you realise you are in a luxury hotel, as well as the glamorous surroundings of course!

As I was invited to review the hotel with my husband, Elisabetta invited us out that night to a lovely little restaurant called Dok which was almost next door. As we chatted over dinner she spoke to us about the hotel, which she described as a fashion boutique hotel. Elisabetta's vision is to sell a dream, somewhere you can visit that is special, romantic, artistic, fashionable, unique. You could see she has a real passion for her work and a love for her hotel. Being a hotelier is in her soul.

That night we slept well, being woken up by the chimes of the local church the next morning. To look through the windows and see the beauty of Cortina was the perfect start to our day.

“I believe, every day, you should have at least one exquisite moment. “ Audrey Hepburn

Breakfast was served in a traditionally styled Tirolean breakfast room. The breakfast was ample with a choice of pastries, fresh fruit, yoghurts, cured meats cheeses and cereals with egg dishes made to order. One day we even had chocolate cake, so if you wanted to indulge in that for breakfast then why not, you are on holiday after all?

After breakfast, Elisabetta showed us around the hotel. The 24 individually styled rooms are all subtly themed, think amazing furnishings, fresco paintings, and hand wood carvings. The 5 luxury roof rooms are designed with antiques and furnishings by local artisans. The 11 superior rooms are classified as 'emotion' and 'relax' rooms with canopy beds, with a double shower or double airpool bath and balcony. The 8 classic rooms are divided into themes of 'cinema'. 'fashion', 'nature' and 'theatre' . I will let the photos do the talking here as I cannot simply describe how gorgeous each room was.

The Sissi room, a super luxurious and fashionable room in a traditional style

The Hockey room has a mezzanine level, perfect if you are sharing with your family or friends

Many rooms have an airpool bath big enough for two

'Cinema' and 'theatre' rooms are full of drama

Amazing tiles in this bathroom

A room that is in a more classic style and a favourite of men

The hotel is full of chic touches like this photo of Clark Gable in one of the 'cinema' rooms

This 'fashion' room is so unique, modern and slightly quirky

A sexy touch!

An interesting feature in some of the rooms is the window in the bath and shower area, designed for couples to add some spice to their love life. However, you can adjust the blind if you don't want everything on show.

With every room, you get the use of bathrobe and slippers, luxury toiletries and a vanity set, minibar, high-speed wi-fi and a personal safe. Individual rooms have marble bathrooms, classic wooden flooring, stone cladding, and intricate wood panelling. Every room is different in its own way, super stylish, incredibly chic.

Mr W enjoying the view after a cable car trip up the mountains

Hotel Ambra Cortina is a perfect hotel for a romantic stay with your loved one, and Cortina is a place where you can relax and enjoy the gorgeous fresh air and alpine scenery. To read and see more of this beautiful alpine region check out our article A Weekend In Cortina D'Ampezzo, on our dedicated travel blog Fly Drive Explore.

To give you a better taste of the hotel here is a video Mr W made to show you the stylish rooms.

As Audrey Hepburn said “I believe, every day, you should have at least one exquisite moment. “ If you are staying at Hotel Ambra Cortina all your exquisite moments will come at once.