Room Service: FORESTIS
What it's truly like to stay at one of the most Instagrammable hotels in the world
Welcome to Room Service, a series where I review the most hyped-up hotels to see if they’re really worth your time and money.
This time, I headed to FORESTIS, a hotel in the Dolomites that’s been on my radar for a really, really long time. It’s dominated my Instagram feed for years, with its gorgeous panoramic mountain views, stunning pool, and the promise of an over-the-top spa. It was recently awarded two Michelin keys and deemed an exceptional stay by the Michelin guide. I’m sure you’ve seen it on your feed; it’s a celebrity’s paradise. Justin and Hailey Bieber have checked in, Brad Pitt has visited on his motorcycle, and countless influencers have used the hotel as a stunning backdrop for their #content.
Obviously all of this glitz and glamor comes at a steep price. I can only afford stays like this for special occasions, as I’m not a centimillionaire with a face built for TikTok. I booked this for my six year anniversary, and I booked the lowest room class, which still cost 1000EUR a night. Read on to see what my stay was like as a normal person who doesn’t have a huge social media following for upgrade and special treatment collateral.
Design: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
FORESTIS did everything in its power to highlight the stunning views here—the mountains are the main event, after all. But the design inside the hotel felt a bit sterile and left a bit to be desired. FORESTIS feels like the love child of the Kardashian-West home and The Land of Milk and Honey—think super long hallways with plush white carpets I was deathly afraid to spill on, and no traces of artwork, flowers, landscaping, or color. Compared to the classic geranium-clad refugios of the Dolomites, it felt a bit cold, soulless, and dystopian… they’ve taken millennial minimalism to another level, and the whole property lacks the warmth I was craving.
There’s no music playing anywhere on property. Everyone whispers. I didn’t even feel comfortable using an outdoor voice outside. I sometimes couldn’t even hear what the waiters were saying. There was a deaf couple staying at the resort, and I didn’t even notice they were deaf until the second day, since no one here speaks.
Our room was stunning and spacious—the bed was super plush and heavenly, we had a HUGE balcony, and the separate living room was ample in size. That said, booking the lowest room class won’t get you the sweeping views that are plastered all over social media—these tower suite rooms are an additional $400-600/night, so if you want the full experience, you’ll have to pay 40-50% more. There’s definitely a huge difference between the rooms located in the original building and the rooms located in the newer tower suites.
The bathroom was… Fine. If I’m spending over $1000/night on a room for a special occasion, I expect a tub and two sinks. The Dyson hair dryer was a welcome slay, though. There’s nothing worse than a luxury hotel having a terrible hairdryer, which happens too often.
The pool and spa were unbelievable, as was the dining room. Props to FORESTIS here. My one huge bone to pick with the spa—there are multiple saunas, but no hot tub! I am a firm believer that every mountain resort should have a hot tub. Sure, saunas are great, but I want to boil alive on vacation. I want to feel something! However, the pool was heated, but on the uncomfortably cold side.
Note: you’re not allowed to wear clothing in 80% of the spa, which is standard for Europe, but might make for some awkward encounters if it’s not something you’re used to. We didn’t know the rules on the first day, and an employee chased us into one of the saunas to ask us to remove our clothes.
No phones were allowed in the spa; I tried to take a photo at one point when no one was around but was instantly reprimanded.
The property is really remote. If you want to go into town or go on specific hikes, you’ll definitely need a car. We were under the impression that there would be more walking trails accessible directly from the property, but that wasn’t really the case. Thankfully, we had a car.
The Crowd: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The people watching here is A+. One of the things that stood out was the amount of networking I overheard. Everyone was flexing HARD, and the last thing I wanted to hear about in the pool were random KPIs and new business ventures. One random guy pitched his influencer fiancée to us out of nowhere, and then sent a LinkedIn request to my husband… I wish I was kidding.
Naked couples would start full blown conversations with other naked couples in the sauna, and sometimes it felt kind of flirty? At one point, after taking an edible, I was lowkey paranoid and convinced myself that it was a swinger’s resort and that we were the next target.
We saw an incredible proposal unfold from our balcony—it was 5pm and rainy, and the hotel staff was scattering rose petals and lighting hundreds of candles, only for them to be blown out by the wind seconds later. After 20 minutes of struggling, the couple emerged. He was wearing a tux, and she was in the viral Lionness maxi dress. There were three photographers and a videographer on the scene to capture content, and about 20 people were watching the moment unfold from the deck area and from their rooms. It was incredibly public, and somehow she seemed genuinely surprised that this was all happening. When he presented the ring, she squealed, “It’s exactly the size and cut I wanted!!”
Golden hour is content hour here—when the sun starts to set, everyone flocks to the garden area to take photos for social media. It’s crazy, and I’ve never seen anything like it at any other resort. Some girls had incredible stamina, posing and directing their partners for over an hour in multiple locations. I don’t judge people for taking photos, but the length of time being spent on this activity felt sad to me, especially since we were surrounded by nature.
Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
My god, the food—it’s every bit as incredible as you’d expect, and arguably the best part about staying here. Obviously everything is sourced locally, and it’s noticeable. The breakfast buffet situation was the best I’ve ever encountered. Five different types of butter, a make-your-own-juice bar, and some of the best berries I’ve ever eaten. I genuinely wanted to go to bed early every night just so breakfast would come sooner.
The main dinner restaurant has pre-fixe options and a-la-carte. We did the pre-fixe one night, and it was really good, but dragged on forever. We much preferred to take our dinners on the garden patio, snuggled up in blankets, overlooking the fire. I will say that after three days, it felt like we had run out of menu choices we actually wanted to eat. There’s not a terribly large amount of variety here.
Note that there’s a new tasting menu in the wine cellar that’s 650EUR per person and takes 4 hours—I overheard multiple people complain at breakfast the next morning that it was a total rip off. Everything was fermented and funky (one woman said she was up all night with stomach issues), and the cost didn’t include drinks. This was the incident that got people to finally raise their voice to an acceptable volume for eavesdropping. One guy said that the spent $1600 on dinner for him and his wife, not including alcohol. Suckers!!
Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
We found the service to be generally good, and the staff to be friendly, but I felt like they had a hard time picking up on social cues, and interactions were sometimes stilted and awkward. At one point, someone interrupted our anniversary make out to offer us a complimentary sunglasses cleaning service. Service at mealtimes was mostly fine, but mistakes were definitely made—every time we ordered a salad, it came completely undressed. The wrong drinks were delivered to us on more than one occasion.
Value: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
It’s expensive. Really expensive. And if you’re not staying in a tower suite, you’ll likely feel the difference. I really loved our time at FORESTIS, but the best parts of our time in the Dolomites were the hikes and adventures outside of the hotel. I’m not sure I’d go back, but its’s a great place to celebrate a milestone or anniversary.
Easter Eggs
AKA hidden features you should know about
If you eat in the main restaurant for dinner and choose pre-fixe option, ask to take the dessert and cheese course in your room. Go back to watch TV, make love, whatever, and then have the last two courses as a snack after. Thank me later.
The rooftop is always virtually empty, and the view is fantastic up there.
If there’s something that you want that’s not on the menu, just ask—we called room service begging for tiramisu, and they made us one the next day, despite it not being on the menu. It was divine.
There’s pebble ice dripping down in the spa near the cold plunge—obviously this is to rub on your body, but my intrusive thoughts led me to eat it. It was some of the best pebble ice I’ve ever had.
Final Verdict
FORESTIS is the perfect place to celebrate a special occasion for 2-3 days, but any more time would feel like overkill. The people watching is incredible, the food is fresh, and the spa is a delight. Just beware that if you want the full room-with-a-view experience, it’ll cost you a pretty penny. I’m super glad I came and don’t regret my stay one bit, but I don’t see myself returning. The next time I’m in the Dolomites, I want to do hut-to-hut hiking instead, to fully immerse myself in nature and the local culture.