A little off topic from 3D printers and drones: a week with my family at Majelletta in Abruzzo, one of the best holidays of my life. It's cheap, friendly, in the centre of Italy, and it's the only place I know where you can ski down a slope while looking at the sea.
A place I'd never heard of
Until a couple of months before our trip, I didn't even know Majelletta existed. It sits in the heart of Abruzzo, in the province of Chieti, high in the Apennines. We picked it for one reason: the hotel we found was right on the slopes. From the photos it looked nice, but we had no idea how beautiful it really was until we got there.
The resort has about 7.4 km of slopes, well maintained and suitable for every level, from your very first turns to more challenging runs.
Skiing with a view of the Adriatic
This is what impressed me the most. While you're going down a slope, you can see the Adriatic Sea. I had been told about it, then forgot, and it hit me while I was on the snow. To be precise, I was mostly sitting on the snow, because I was taking snowboarding lessons and spent a lot of time on my backside trying to understand the basics. Up on a cold mountain full of snow, I could still see the coastline. It's something really unique.
A word on snowboarding: I started at 45, and it's not easy, believe me. But once it clicks, you're hooked. And being hooked is expensive, because when I got home I spent a little money on my own gear.
Hotel Mamma Rosa, and people who became friends
We stayed at Hotel Mamma Rosa, the highest hotel at Majelletta. Don't expect a four- or five-star luxury hotel. Mountain hotels in Italy are all more or less the same: built in the '70s and renovated in the '90s. But it was extremely clean, and every time I looked out of the window I saw snow, sky and, yes, the sea.
What really made it special was the people. After a week, it felt like a family. Everyone knew my daughter and my son. The kids would go to the bar to get something, and the staff knew I'd come by and pay later. We became friends with everybody: the ski lift operators, the bar staff, the instructors. They were so kind that I honestly wondered whether they were for real. My kids cried on the day we left, and we promised to come back next year.
Weather, snow and prices
We were lucky: beautiful weather from Sunday to Friday, and the best snow you could hope for that winter. On Friday morning it was too windy to ski and it started snowing heavily, so the drive down was a bit of a hassle on a road full of snow. The best part is the price. Our Monday-to-Friday ski pass for one adult was €100, so around €20 a day (weekends are a different story). You can have a drink or a hot chocolate at the chalet without fearing a huge bill.