It was an eventful weekend! On Friday afternoon we took the kids out of school early, and drove north to the Dolomites – the southern Alps in Italy. We had intended to take the train, but there was a national rail strike (at least they warned us) so Guillermo put his newly minted International Drivers License to good use.

Outside of the car, the drive is gorgeous. The high peaks jut up into the sky unexpectedly at every turn after Verona. There are random medieval castles and forts looking down on the rows of grape vines. Inside the car, unfortunately Vivi is battling motion sickness, and we quickly run through her clean shirts packed for the weekend. She is a trooper, though, and we later learn that antihistamines can help, so the way home is much less eventful.

The Dolomites are in the South Tyrol region, or Alto Adige in Italian, which only became part of Italy after WW I, and had been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire previously. You can see it in the architecture, the language, and the people – you kind of feel like you’re in Germany, but everyone’s warmer! And the towns look exactly how you’d imagine Swiss ski towns dotted with chalets. Apparently the majority (80%) speak a South-Bavarian dialect of German.

We chose the Cavallino Bianco Family Spa Grand Hotel, a family-friendly “kinder hotel,” which are apparently popular across the Alps. A handful of Boundless families went to other kinder hotels during the mid-cohort break and raved about the kids clubs, the food, and the amenities, so we were intrigued. Cavallino Bianco has been catering to Italian families since 2002, won “best family hotel” for 5 years in a row in the 2010s, and they’ve been in hospitality since 1559, so we thought, why not?

Although the hotel name is “little white horse,” their mascots for children are Lino and Valli, 2 little mice. Their pictures and stories are everywhere, and Melissa is feeling that maybe this is a bit too kitschy for her taste. But the amenities are stellar (child-sized sinks, beds with safety nets, baby food at the buffet if you need it, communal washing machines), the service is incredible (they even vacuumed our stroller), and they cater to families in a way that keeps children in a fun, safe, engaging space of their own, while allowing adults to relax. The hotel offers childcare/activities from 9am to 10pm in “Lino Land,” including meals from their separate kitchen. The facilities are huge (we couldn’t really take pictures), and kids aren’t causing a ruckus in public areas; they are funneled into age-appropriate spaces behind locked doors (with identifying bracelets), and there’s actual programming like cooking classes, nature walks, and even a visit to the hotel petting zoo. And the pool area has everything for infants through grandparents, including toddler/kid slides and jet beds, all in very warm water, on a padded floor. Guillermo reassures Melissa the “mice” are just in the kids’ areas, and he’s right.

Our kids are not the type to let us drop them off all day (as we receive a tearful call from Lino Land one morning), so on Saturday, after many demands from Guille to ride a gondola, we decide to go up Seceda, an impressive peak whose rock face we can see from the town below. After multiple long moving walkways, with pictures depicting how to hold your skis, we take a gondola, then a cable car up this 2500m mountain.

As we step off the cable car, Guille decides he no longer wants to be there, and an epic meltdown begins, one that even elicits a stern response from a random German (South-Bavarian?) grandfather. Melissa pushes Vivi in her stroller up the steepest part of the peak, fueled by annoyed embarrassment, while Guillermo sits in the dust to negotiate with Guille. A helicopter flies by and lands on the mountain, and even that doesn’t snap him out of it. At the top, the views are stunning and other-worldly. You’d think the wind at 2500m would drown out a 4yo’s “nooo!” but maybe it just carries it further. On the way down, Vivi finds the Alpine slide and decides her brother is going too slowly.

Back on ground level, the kids take naps and Guillermo explores the spa – 2 dry saunas, a steam room, various “silent” rooms all filled with loungers – and picks up a sizable booklet describing their various massages. THIS is what we’ve come for.

The kids take turns spiking fevers and getting sick in the middle of the night, and while it’s good to know there’s a pediatrician on-call at the hotel, we’re able to get the kids comfortable again. Suddenly, the meltdown at the top of the world makes a little more sense.

Sunday and Monday we stay in and take turns going to the spa, the pool, and generally relaxing. We earn sticker “leaves” for every structured activity, and the hotel encourages us to find a balance between “me time,” “two time,” “kids time,” and “family time.” These are added to our wooden tree that we’re apparently supposed to fill up each stay. The drive for brand loyalty comes into focus. The kids enjoy the novelty of it all, even with dinner starting at 7pm. We use the opportunity to teach them about how to act in restaurants, and knowing that everyone around us is dealing with the same stress of managing tired, hungry kids at the end of the day, the usual embarrassment at their whining doesn’t materialize. It’s still hard to truly enjoy a 4-course, white-tablecloth dinner with little kids just being little kids, but we appreciate the moments when we can. On Monday, the hotel celebrates its 24th anniversary by hosting a “pink and white” party for Lino, complete with original music and dances, that all the kids around us seem to know. It was a truly Italian experience.

Today, we piled back in the car, and stopped by Kettmeir winery on our back to Pistoia, a recommendation from our Camas wine-bar owner. Their newly renovated facilities were fun to explore, the wines were delicious, and the kids even got to do their own apple juice “tasting.” This whole experience of finding parent-friendly spaces and activities has been very warming and rewarding, and we can’t imagine traveling without a kinder hotel.

Guille’s favorite part of the weekend: exploring the pools
Vivi’s favorite part of the weekend: water slides