The Biancaneve is a family hotel run by the Riffeser family on the sunny side of Selva, the highest village in Val Gardena. It’s built around children: childcare, a huge play area, a kids’ pool and ski lessons that start more or less at the front door. For the rest of the valley’s hotels, see our guide to where to stay in Val Gardena.
Our take on the Biancaneve Family Hotel
This is the hotel we’d pick in Selva for a first ski holiday with small children. The two things that make family ski trips hard, getting everyone to ski school and keeping the youngest happy, are handled on site. The practice slopes are right next to the hotel, ski school instructors collect children from the hotel and bring them back, and the childcare runs all day in winter.
The trade-off is the atmosphere. It’s a family hotel through and through, so expect children everywhere, at the pool and at dinner. If you’re travelling without kids, Selva has plenty of calmer options.
Rooms and suites at the Biancaneve
The tourist office lists ten family room and suite types, from 32 to 60 m². The smaller family rooms, such as Saslonch (32 m², with a terrace) and Selva (34 m², wheelchair-accessible), take up to three people. The larger suites take five or six: Dolomiti Deluxe (43 m²), Brontolo (47 m², panoramic), Dolomitolo (49 m²) and the Sette Nani Prestige Suite (60 m², with its own panoramic whirlpool). There’s also a 54 m² rooftop suite for up to four. The names, from the Seven Dwarfs, fit the Snow White theme (“Biancaneve” is Italian for Snow White).
Check-in is from 3 pm and check-out by 10 am, and there’s a covered garage. Note that the hotel says pets will no longer be allowed from 1 December 2026.
Skiing from the Biancaneve
The hotel is ski-in/ski-out, directly on the Sellaronda slopes and the ski school practice slopes above Selva, at about 1,600 m. That makes it easy to start the Sellaronda from your door, and Selva is the tourist office’s recommended starting point for the circuit. Dolomiti Superski lift passes can be bought at the hotel, and it rents skis, boots and helmets.
The Val Gardena lifts are due to open on 4 December 2026 and close on 4 April 2027, subject to change.
Spa, pools and food at the Biancaneve
The pools are the highlight. There’s a 13 m outdoor infinity pool, heated to 34°C, with views across the valley, and an indoor kids’ pool (40 to 80 cm deep, 33°C) with a whirlpool area. There’s also a baby pool with water toys. For adults there are saunas, a steam bath, a fitness room, Kneipp baths and massages.
Breakfast is a buffet, and dinner is a gourmet menu with separate children’s cooking. The hotel caters for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free diets.
The Biancaneve for families
This is where the hotel stands out.
- Baby care from 12 months to 3 years, with qualified carers, every day in winter from 9 am to 8:30 pm. One-to-one care is available for an extra fee.
- A kids’ club for children aged 3 and over, with around 13 hours of daily entertainment.
- A 450 m² play area split into four zones for different ages, with a climbing wall, a reading corner, craft workshops and a separate playroom for the smallest children.
- A teen room with a chill-out corner, table football and ping pong.
- Ski lessons on the doorstep. Children’s courses with the Selva ski school are for ages 3 to 12. You can book group lessons at the hotel on arrival, but book private lessons in advance. Courses end with a race and prize-giving.
Ages and hours can change, so confirm them with the hotel when you book, especially in peak weeks.
Where the Biancaneve is and getting there
The hotel is at Streda Cir 36, on the sunny side of Selva. The church and shops are about a five-minute walk away, and the hotel says the bus from Bolzano and Bressanone stops a few metres from the hotel.
By train, IC and EC services stop at Bolzano and Bressanone, then it’s the bus up the valley. Bolzano airport is about 40 km away (around 50 minutes), and Innsbruck about 120 km. Verona is about 180 km, roughly two hours. Driving, leave the A22 Brenner motorway at Chiusa/Klausen and follow the road up the valley.
When the Biancaneve is open
The hotel doesn’t publish its 2026/27 winter dates on its website. With the lifts opening on 4 December 2026, check with the hotel directly before booking an early-December trip, and ask whether it takes part in the valley’s Superpremière offer (3 to 19 December 2026).
