Perfectly placed in the centre of the picturesque mountain town of Cortina D’ampezzo, Hotel Ambra Cortina provides a luxurious yet homely base for those looking to visit the ski resort.
But as I quickly learnt, Cortina isn’t a place just for skiers – it’s one of North Italy’s go-to resorts for high fliers and fashion lovers, with a main street packed with designer boutiques.
And Elisabetta, the hotel’s owner, has put her heart and soul into creating an atmosphere that oozes the sophistication and rustic glamour one would expect from such a destination.
Introducing Hotel Ambra Cortina
Styled as a “four star hotel that feels like a five”, Hotel Ambra Cortina offers bijou accommodation for the refined traveller.
Recently renovated to turn Elisabetta’s vision for the hotel into a reality, each floor has a theme: cinema, nature, fashion, theatre and luxury, with every room named and given its own unique design.
Four poster luxury…
Loved this wall!
A theatrical experience
During our visit we stayed on the theatre floor in the lush Red Room. With deep red soft furnishings and decorative wooden panels, it really did exude a theatrical vibe and lying on my four-poster bed it was easy to slip into delusions of grandeur!
Although the rooms couldn’t be considered exceptionally large they did feel spacious, with room for a small sitting area and lots of storage space. Plus we were lucky enough to have a room with a balcony that provided amazing views of the Dolomites mountain range. It was such a wonderful sight to wake up to every morning!
I also loved our bathroom, with its lighted glamour mirror reminding you of the theatrical aura of the room and decadent double shower. There’s lots of lovely personalisation to be found here too, with Hotel Ambra Cortina toiletries and even the slippers, dressing gowns and bath linen monogrammed with the hotel’s logo.
Double shower – for ‘romance’…
Bathe like a star, ‘darhling’!
Hotel Ambra Cortina toiletries!
Special touches
And as a sucker for those ‘little touches’ that turn a hotel from somewhere to lay your head to something special, I loved the sweet touch to our turndown service, which saw us return to a room lit by mood lighting and heart-shaped chocolates left on our pillow.
Eager to see how our rooms compared to elsewhere in the hotel, we were given a sneaky tour around each floor, allowing us to see how each theme different. They all had that ‘Hotel Ambra Cortina’ feel, with high quality furnishings and the like, but there was a definitive change in the colours, styling and decoration used.
For example, the nature-themed rooms felt clean and relaxing with pale shades of green, and the cinema rooms crisp and bright, with beautiful artwork of classic stars and movies adoring the wall.
Of course it’s no surprise that without fail the most beautiful of the rooms are found on the top floor, where you’ll find the luxury suites, replete with boiserie panelling and the gold styling. If that wasn’t enough some also come with an inviting Jacuzzi bath!
A fashion-themed room.
How fresh and relaxing does this nature room look?
A cinema-themed room…
Oh so beautiful, huh?
Bathroom goals!
The rooms themselves are the highlight of this hotel, but you will also find a pretty little lounge area and bar in the lobby. Here you’ll find more of the kinds of coffee table books and stylish magazines that are displayed in the rooms, plus a member of staff will make you the drink of your choice. A great place to meet friends before venturing out, I tried the house cocktail, made of tonic water, orange juice, gin and prosecco and I now have a new favourite tipple!
Breakfast is served in a cosy space in the hotel’s lowest floor, decorated in a classic country style with wooden chairs and benches.
Along the length of the rooms lies a continental spread fit for a king, with everything you could ever think of wanting for breakfast from hams, cheeses, breads and pastries through to cereals, yoghurts, biscuits and cakes – one day this included an exceptionally rich chocolate cake!
Love the baroque feel of the lounge.
The cosy breakfast room.
What a breakfast spread!
What we thought
At Hotel Ambra Cortina you feel like an honoured guest: always greeted with a warm welcome when you walk through the door, as well as a Baci chocolate on the reception! The team of attentive staff are always happy to help with any requests or questions, recommending places to go and offer advice on what to see. We loved their restaurant recommendation for LP26 – if you’re a fan of prosciutto, this is the place for you.
On the downside we did miss having a kettle in our room and we also found that it wasn’t really clear that hot breakfasts were also available – we discovered this on our last morning – but these small issues far from marred our stay.
Overall our visit to Hotel Ambra Cortina was memorable for all the right reasons. The hospitality of Elisabetta and her team could not be faulted and it was wonderful to stay somewhere so stylish yet so warm and friendly.
My stay at Hotel Ambra Cortina was complimentary for the purposes of review but as ever, all views are my own.
Wow looks like a beautiful hotel! #FarawayFiles
It was ace Lolo, I loved how each room was unique…
I would like to stay at this hotel! It looks so luxurious and cosy and as you say the little touches are the things that count. Baci chocolates are one of my favourite little touches too. We are looking for a place to spend Christmas in Italy this year so popping over to their site now. Thanks for sharing on #FarawayFiles
Oh you’ll be in Baci heaven here Katy! 😉
I love the room with all the wood paneling and the jacuzzi tub! So lovely. Thanks for sharing with #FarawayFiles, Erin
It was my favourite too Erin, so beautiful!
I had to read this post because we may be planning a trip to Cortina next winter with a group where someone has a house – but not everyone can stay at the house as it’s not big enough. Definitely saving this – looks beautiful and glamorous! #farawayfiles
Oh excellent, well I hope this helps you guys out, def a great option if you’re looking for a hotel there!
Looks like a fabulous find, Keri. That hotel cocktail sounds like my perfect drink. I really like the idea of having different themes for the rooms on each floor. I’d want to check out all of them before deciding which one to stay in. Thanks for sharing this on #FarawayFiles
Yeah it was quite an exciting surprise when I arrived to find out what kind of room I’d be in! 😉
Those interiors look so stylish and the hotel looks like such a cosy retreat Keri!
It was lovely Shikha, so cosy when it was -15 outside! lol
This hotel sounds lovely. That cinema-themed room with the paneling is gorgeous! Very informative review. #citytripping
The panelling was amazing right? So pretty…