Sunny Valley Kelo Mountain Lodge

About Sunny Valley Kelo Mountain Lodge

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Sunny Valley sits at 2,700 metres in the sunny Valle dell’Alpe, between Santa Caterina Valfurva and the top of Monte Sobretta, in the Stelvio National Park. Built from 2007 in local stone and Kelo fir, it has suites with views of the Ortles-Cevedale, a Starpool spa, a Finnish sauna cabin in the snow and a bar, steakhouse and gourmet restaurant.

At 2,700 metres

Sunny Valley reveals itself only when the cable car tops the Sobretta crest: a valley white in winter and green in summer, ringed by peaks, at 2,700 metres in the Stelvio National Park, between Santa Caterina Valfurva and the summit of Monte Sobretta. The lodge was designed and built by its founder from 2007, in local stone and Kelo fir; the bar and restaurant opened in 2008 and the suites followed ten years after work began.

Snow Wellness

The spa is a Starpool spa. You choose a path, Excite or Purify, put on the bracelet and are guided through the heat and cold: a Middle Eastern hammam, the dry, intense heat of the savusauna in charcoal and grey tones, cold contrasts and a weightless float bath. Outside, an original Finnish sauna sits in a small cabin in the snow, so you can step from the heat straight into the snow in the high, dry air.

Pure relaxation in a place near the sky, in absolute silence, in the lodge’s words.

Suites

The suites are each different, in Finnish Kelo wood with furniture by local artisans, and look to the Ortles-Cevedale, the Passo Gavia and the snowfields of the park. Alpina Junior Suites are the most intimate; Kelo Suites add a bathtub, freestanding in some; Signature Suites have a separate sitting area; and the suite at the top of the lodge has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a private entrance, a panoramic living room and a freestanding bath in the master bedroom.

Eating and drinking

There are three areas. The bar, with a fireplace, seats more than 100 for coffee, cake and sandwiches between runs; the restaurant and steakhouse grills meat over wood and seasons it with Himalayan salt; and the gourmet room, with a panoramic view of the Ortles-Cevedale, serves from brunch to dinner. The cellar, on show in the dining room, includes Sunny Valley’s own Nebbiolo from the Valgella area, made through the Adopt a Vineyard in Valtellina project.

Our advice: book the top suite, take the snow sauna at sunset, and stay for dinner when the day skiers have gone down.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Sunny Valley Kelo Mountain Lodge before you go.