So one of the things I love about travelling to the Alps is the huts, and Italy’s huts are by far, the best. Here’s why!

First up was Rifugio Alberto Primo. Five star views.

We got there pretty late, but Keith gave them a heads up about that, so they knew to save us some dinner items. Look at the cozy dining room! THIS IS IN A MOUNTAIN HUT!

Our bunk room, with the world’s most comfortable mattresses. Seriously, we slept like babies.

^The bathrooms were top notch as well.

Starter course: Spaghetti! House red, and a slice of bread!

Main course: Wild mushrooms, with polenta, and cheese.

Dolce: Crème brûlée!!!

Lunch before we left: Fried eggs, potatoes, and speck. I got beef goulash. The food was better than any of the Italian you could find in Seattle.

The second hut was Rifugio Toni Demetz. This hut was accessible via a gondola:

The owner was the son of Toni Demetz! He knew all the local climbing beta.

I didn’t take a photo of the rooms, but they were like the previous huts. Perfect. The bathrooms were even better, super clean, modern, and it had nice looking showers (you had to pay for them, so we skipped that).

Also, the food was just as good! When we showed up, the whole smelled of chocolate. Turns out, they were baking chocolate cake for dessert!

The starter was pasta, and the main was polenta with beef! The house red and white wines were superb as well. Again… these are the meals that are being served in alpine huts, and the meals (dinner and breakfast) were included in the cost of a night’s stay, which hovered around $65/night!

Next was Rifugio Dibona. This was the baller-est of them all! This place had it all. A bar, a restaurant, and huge outdoor deck with views of everything.

You knew they were serious when they handed out dinner menus and set the silverware

The ravioli was amazeballz.

The pork chop was perfect. The salad was fresh and crisp, and the bread and red was everything you could ask for!

Also, they had photos of Mr. Dibona himself crushing it… in 1911!

^He’s wearing a cowboy hat!!!

The beds were nice here too! We shared a big hostel-like room with some others. They had clean bathrooms, nice and free shower facilities, and WiFi! I could spend a lot of time here and not get sick of it.

We told them we were getting up really early for our climb, so they left breakfast for us by the front door 🙂

The last spot was Rifugio Auronzo. We were here two nights. This was the largest and most touristy of them all. The rooms weren’t as nice, as this place is a hotspot for tourists, so they were a bit worn out, but it was still a super nice place when you look at the big picture!

Auronzo had a huge cafeteria to feed the masses that visit every day. Those who stayed the night, got a really nice dinner. I mean, look at this… What more could you ask for? This was pasta, homemade beet ravioli, chicken thighs, the most buttery potatoes ever, and peas that were really tasty. Also, tiramisu!!! Granted, this was previously frozen tiramisu, but still, it was delish. The wine was good too… but I guess it’s hard for Italy to mess that up!

The morning of the climb, we had breakfast in our rooms; since we were getting up early. It was a spread of breads, jams, cheeses, and juices. Can’t complain! The dinner on the second night was about the same as the first night, I think they changed the ravioli stuffing… and I had cheesecake for dessert.

Keith got a flattering photo of me demolishing breakfast on the second day (when we slept in, and had the cafeteria breakfast). Two nights here cost about 42 euro! or something around there… Pro tip: Ask for climbing club discounts when staying at huts! The AAC membership got us discounts here!

But look at this buffet spread… yogurt and muesli, I’m 90% my way through a fabulously fresh almond croissant, and about to wreck that berliner… Also juice and cappuccinos!

So yeah, If I had to rate the huts… All of them are four stars, and Dibona was five stars. Italy is the best!