Want to explore the Dolomites but aren't quite sure where to base yourself? Look no further than the Hotel Gran Ander. Nestled on a hillside in the small town of Pedraces along the Alta Badia Valley, this gourmet hotel not only offers you a comfortable place to rest your head each night, but will regularly feed you some of the best meals of your life. Run by the extremely friendly, charming, and talented Irsara family for the past 50 years, Andrea now heads the kitchen, a responsibility he until recently shared with his late father. Each morning at breakfast, you are asked to select your entrée and dessert for dinner that evening. Andrea uses only local, fresh produce that he carefully chooses from the farmers around the Val Badia area in order to prepare numerous dishes from old family recipes. After a full day of hiking, cycling, climbing, skiing, or simply touring around this UNESCO World Heritage site, return to your hotel knowing that a beautifully crafted meal awaits, complete with an entire cellar stacked with local wine from which to choose your meal accompaniment. The hotel recently added a new spa, including an outdoor hot tub overlooking the surrounding craggy peaks, and opened a public bistro to share their food with more than just hotel guests. Even if you don't end up staying at Hotel Gran Ander, be sure to at least come for a meal...or two.