Farway Journal
10 design hotels in Italy for special moments with children
Ten design family hotels in Italy, from the Dolomites to Puglia: places that are beautiful for grown-up eyes and happy for children’s days, chosen for anyone travelling as a family without giving up on beauty.
10 June 2026
There was a time when travelling with children seemed to mean giving up on beauty: noisy holiday villages, tired carpets, entertainment at full volume. That is no longer the case. Italy has filled up with hotels where the design speaks quietly and children are real guests, not merely tolerated.
We chose them by a simple rule: places that are beautiful for grown-up eyes and happy for children’s days. Ten addresses from Trentino to Puglia, for a weekend or one of those weeks you remember.
In short:
- Ten design hotels for families from the Dolomites to Puglia: Cavallino Bianco, San Luis, Vigilius, ADLER Ritten, Le Massif, de Len, Lefay, Casa di Langa, Borgo Egnazia and Torre Maizza.
- The three criteria we used: what is outside the door, short distances inside, liveable beauty (wood, stone, real fabrics).
- In summer the mountains are often easier with little ones; the Puglian sea is at its best in June and September.
- Family rooms are scarce everywhere: for July and August, book months ahead.
01 — Cavallino Bianco, Ortisei (South Tyrol)
The family hotel by definition, more than once awarded a place among the best in the world for families: everything — from the rooms to the pools to the theatre — is designed for people travelling with children, inside a large white building in the heart of Val Gardena. The alpine elegance is there; the chaos is not.
02 — San Luis Retreat, Avelengo (South Tyrol)
Wooden chalets and tree houses around a small alpine lake, in the silence of a private wood. For children it is the tree house of their dreams, with the lake in front of it; for parents, a warm, quiet design retreat above Merano.
03 — Vigilius Mountain Resort, Lana (South Tyrol)
You can only get there by cable car, and for a child that alone is worth the trip. At the top: a resort of wood and glass designed by Matteo Thun, meadows, woods and a whole mountain to explore on foot. No cars, no rush — the mountains as they should be.
04 — ADLER Lodge RITTEN, Renon (South Tyrol)
Design chalets on the Renon plateau, with the Dolomites on the horizon and the feel of an elegant mountain refuge: sauna, natural pond, meadows as far as you can see. Children live outdoors from dawn to dinner; the grown-ups watch the Sciliar and Catinaccio peaks change colour.
05 — Le Massif, Courmayeur (Aosta Valley)
Contemporary alpine design at the foot of Mont Blanc, a short walk from the centre of Courmayeur. In summer it is a perfect base for first walks at altitude — the Skyway cable car, picnics in Val Ferret — and for coming back there is the pool with a view of the peaks.
06 — Hotel de Len, Cortina d’Ampezzo (Veneto)
Pale wood, clean lines and a sustainable soul in the heart of Cortina. It is the mountain design hotel in its gentle version: human scale, long breakfasts, and all the Ampezzo Dolomites around you for family outings.
07 — Lefay Resort & Spa, Gargnano (Lake Garda)
Suspended among the olive trees above the Lombardy shore of Lake Garda, the Lefay is an eco-resort where the luxury is the view: the lake, the lemon groves, the silence. Families find space and pools to be together, and the lake below for boat trips, ice creams and lakeside walks.
08 — Casa di Langa, Cerretto Langhe (Piedmont)
Among the hills of the Langhe, an earth-coloured sustainable boutique resort, with vineyards all around and sunsets that stop conversations. For children: a pool, meadows, farmhouses and the gentle freedom of the countryside; for the grown-ups, one of the most beautiful stretches of countryside in Italy.
09 — Borgo Egnazia, Savelletri (Puglia)
A Puglian village built with real craft: white stone, courtyards, little squares and bougainvillea. It is famous around the world, and yet with children it works like a real village — you get around on foot, life happens in the square, and the sea along the Costa dei Trulli is five minutes away.
10 — Masseria Torre Maizza, Puglia
A sixteenth-century masseria — the traditional Puglian farmhouse — turned into a light-filled resort among centuries-old olive trees and herb gardens. The elegance is Mediterranean and relaxed: children between vegetable gardens, meadows and the pool, days measured only by the sea and the light.
How to choose the right family hotel
Three questions to ask before booking, learned the hard way:
- What is outside the door? A meadow, a wood, a village beats any kids’ club: children remember places, not programmes.
- Are the distances inside short? Room–breakfast–pool: if each leg takes ten minutes, with a child they turn into expeditions.
- Is the beauty liveable? The best design for a family is the kind that is not afraid of small hands: wood, stone, real fabrics.
Packing for a special hotel
In beautiful places, dressing well comes naturally — and for children a few right pieces are enough: a dress or a shirt for dinners, natural fabrics for the daytime, colours that look good in photographs among stone, wood and olive trees. A small capsule, chosen with care, weighs less and works better.
If you need inspiration, the Farway occasion collections were made for exactly these moments.
Frequently asked questions
Does a design hotel make sense with very young children?
Yes, if it is designed for families: the quality of sleep matters more — quiet rooms, real cots, proper blackout — than any service. The ten on this list look after little ones for a living.
Mountains or sea for a first trip?
In summer the mountains are often easier: gentle temperatures, safe meadows, natural rhythms. The Puglian sea is at its best in June and September, when the light is soft and the crowds are gone.
How far ahead should you book?
For July and August, months ahead: family rooms are scarce everywhere and go first. Spring and autumn are more forgiving.
For a taste of it closer to home, slow weekends in Lombardy are the perfect place to start.
The perfect trip with children is not the one without mishaps: it is the one where even the mishaps happen somewhere beautiful.
