This hotel in the Dolomites is entirely designed around babies and young kids

There’s something a bit strange about being in a restaurant where every single table has kids sitting at them.

While I know children are absolutely allowed to take up space in public places, trips out with little ones still come with a slight amount of worry – are they being too loud? Too messy? Is it unfair on the poor child-free couple trying to have a peaceful meal next to us?

But all those feelings are totally eliminated at AKI Family Resort Plose, a five-star, luxury resort in South Tyrol, northeast Italy. It’s completely geared towards families – in fact, you can only stay here if you have kids in tow.

There’s a growing trend, across Europe and particularly in Italy, for family-friendly hotels. Not garishly coloured, plastic-full places with a kids’ club open a few hours a day, but resorts that genuinely think about how to make life easier for families – with an almost mind-boggling attention to detail.

I visit with my partner and the best available critic for the job: our daughter, who is a few months away from turning two.

The hotel opened in 2024, and while it has previously been closed for a month a year, moving forward it will be permanently open – so families can enjoy skiing in the winter, and outdoor activities in the warmer weather.

We visit at the end of September, when the weather is warm, flying from London Gatwick on the tiniest commercial plane I’ve ever seen (“It’s basically a private jet!” one of the airport staff tell us excitedly), into Bolzano, a small airport deep in the Dolomites.

This means our transfer is only 50 minutes – a godsend with a toddler who won’t last much longer in the car, and unusually short when you’re travelling this far into the mountains. We’re given our first taste of how child-friendly the  resort is when my toddler starts getting restless about 40 minutes into the trip, and the driver immediately switched on soothing nursery rhymes.

The hotel itself is made up of Scandi-style wooden structures nestled into the hills, almost blending into the forest behind it. Inside, there’s a play area immediately facing the reception (think slides, mini cars to ride around on, toys galore). Everything in the design has children in mind, the hotel’s sales and marketing representative, Eleonora Martinelli, tells me.

Take the windows with the panoramic views of the mountains – they go down to the ground, so crawlers and toddlers “can also see outside with no barrier”, Eleonora says.

Perhaps the panoramic views of the Dolomites and the herds of sheep gazing out the window have a calming effect on the children too. Mealtimes don’t feel nearly as raucous as you might expect.

“Everything has this concept of nature,” she continues – from the natural colour palette to the wooden materials used.

“This is not a place where children are ‘accepted’ – this is a place for families,” she adds.

Next to reception, there’s a 24-hour baby bar with boiling water, baby food and formula readily available – and then there’s the rooms. Any young family who’s gone on holiday will be painfully aware of the sleeping dilemma: needing your baby or toddler close to you, but not necessarily in your space.

Here, each suite has separate zones – one for the parents to sleep in, and one for the kids (with a door between) as well as a lounge and a bathroom. The bathroom even has a toddler-friendly height sink and a change mat that magically pulls down from the mirror. Only the higher-priced suites have bathtubs, but baby baths are available on request.

I’m told families barely leave the hotel during their stay, and you can see why. On one sunny day, we visit the on-site farm (my toddler is thrilled by the alpacas, goats, rabbits, chickens and ducks living there), and she spends hours on the vast wooden play equipment perched on the side of the mountain.

And then there’s the kids’ club – divided into two main sections: babies (zero to three years old) and kids (three upwards). We visit during slots that parents can go in, helping acclimatise their children to the area, and see all the wooden toys and games available.

“There’s no technology because we’re following the Montessori ideology, so children can have their own creativity without digital [technology],” Eleonora tells me.

For most of the day, parents can drop their kids off to enjoy the activities. There’s everything from making chocolate salami in the kitchen to drawing and playing outside under the supervision of the staff.

This gives parents the opportunity to enjoy a bit of time alone – because yes, this is a family-focused hotel, but that doesn’t mean adults are forgotten. Perched behind the main building in the forest is an adults-only area, complete with a wellness centre, relaxation room and two saunas (I enjoy a particularly relaxing massage there one day, with views out to the trees).

But when families do want to hang out together, there are plenty of things to do – from the multiple swimming pools and water slides to a packed schedule of activities, including craft activities and family yoga.

One day, we venture out of the resort and take an easy five-minute shuttle to the nearby cable car (with a pass included in our stay) and head up the Plose massif (a series of several peaks near the town of Brixen). The hotel offers free hire of everything from mountain-ready stroller to e-bikes – we choose the baby carrier. With our toddler strapped to her dad’s back, we head up the mountain, ready to enjoy a circular hike along the mountaintop from the cable car station (called the ‘Woody Walk’, it should take families around an hour-and-a-half to two hours to complete).

The Dolomites have had UNESCO World Heritage status since 2009, thanks to its beautiful mountain landscape full of rugged rocks, towering peaks and jagged edges. While perhaps best known for its snowcapped peaks – there’s a reason it’s a skiing hotspot – its limestone mountains are similarly vibrant in the warmer months, set against the verdant alpine meadows. It’s a pleasant jaunt and even the mountain path has kids in mind, as it’s suitable for heavier duty prams and features activities along the way, like a slide and a marble run.

There’s no denying that travelling with children is hard – from the faff of making sure you’ve packed everything to navigating sleeping situations, nap schedules, keeping kids entertained and food away from home.

But no one can deny the benefits of families exploring new places and spending time together out of the stress of the home. While this hotel can’t entirely prevent the odd toddler meltdown, it certainly makes things a lot easier – showing what the future of family travel could be.

How to visit

AKI Family Resort Plose offers Family Suites from €788 per room per night in low season and €1,535 per room per night in high season, on AKI Full Board basis, which includes buffet breakfast and lunch, five-course à la carte dinner, non-alcoholic beverages, and coffee and tea specialities. Family suites can be occupied by a maximum of two adults and three children.

SkyAlps operates flights from London Gatwick – Bolzano up to four times a week from July 2026 from €148 each way – skyalps.com. Children under two years old travel free of charge, a 30% discount is applied to children until the age of 11.