Puez Hütte

HIKERS, PLEASE READ!! We stopped at Rifugi Puez as part of an 8 day hiking trip on the Alta Via 2. As with most days, you are limited to a single refuge as you are literally in the middle of nowhere, this is the problem with Rifugi Puez and their owners. Rather than editorialize a review, I'm going to give you the facts: PROS: It's suitable as a shelter. CONS: Ordered a sandwich for lunch and asked for mustard or mayo and was told there was none. Asked another waiter and he provided. Turns out the bar has a large dispenser of condiments. All waitstaff seem very unhappy and this seemed directly related to their interaction with the owners. Booked a room 3 months in advance. Ended up in a dormitory with kid matresses. In the ceiling of the building with no space between others Showers were provided reluctantly and shut off at 15:30 and reopened at 17:30, we asked at 15:00 to use them and the owner mumbled and seemed upset. No clothespins were provided for hanging clothes. After repeated requests, no change to room situation. The lady owner who speaks English only responded to a junior worker in Italian to say no and walked away... The worker rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. Lasagna wasn't available on their menu for dinner. That means 20% of menu wasn't available. No advanced notice of that. Went to bar for a beer, the team was eating dinner. Had to wait for roughly 10 minutes while they laughed at me for waiting, they could've put a sign saying the bar was closed. Secret menu with fish for VIP's, no way to order this yourself. Hot water is .50c a glass. No tap water available. Turned off power to outlets at night so no charging devices and no instructions on this. The owners don't care. They realize that people do not have a choice and their service reflects that. They do the bare minimum to get people in and out. Further they do not care for people who are not Italian or German speaking. Customers generally are put up with but the English speakers are best not to ask for anything extra. I don't care if one refuge has a good view, what matters more is the fact that we as hikers are having our summer holiday in the dolomites and we expect to be treated fairly despite what language we speak. Myself and several others who had the spaghetti Bolognese for dinner, which wasn't on the menu - replaced the lasagna, were sick in the bathroom at 1:30am. I tried to sleep the rest of the night but had a fever from the food poisoning. Finally, If the owners of this business don't want customers OR to make an effort, just sell your business, please. Hikers, if you have the energy, hike down to Corvara and spend the night.

I'll start out with the positives: -spectacular view! -good, no-frills food, especially the dumpling soup -bed is comfy-ish Neutral things: -It doesn't say that a sleep sack and pillow case are required, but I would bring them. I doubt those sheets and blankets are washed often. -The dorm room we were in sleeps 11 or 12 people. (which contributed to getting 2 hrs of sleep) -The guidebook I have (Walking in the Dolomites) says this hut accepts credit cards. They do NOT accept credit cards. (I should have double-checked.) -The shower is 2 Euro. And now the negatives: -I made a reservation in March (for early September) and the grouchy woman I spoke to didn't have a record of it. Luckily there were open beds....... -When I tried to check in the unpleasant woman gruffly told me to come back in a half an hour (3:30 too late to check in apparently). -Did I mention the grouchy woman? The entire staff is like that. Rude, stressed out, whatever. They weren't great. (We were greeted by pleasant, friendly employees at every other hut we stayed at.) -When showing me the dorm room, the grouchy lady decided to put me at the top bunk (they are stacked three high), even though many bunks were available. I eventually said that wouldn't work for me, and she said "ok, fine." Why assign a bunk if you don't need to? -She also neglected to tell me that the generators shut down around dinner time, therefore there are no showers after dinner. That would have been super to know once I arrived. When I asked if we could shower in the morning, she said "I don't know, maybe" and couldn't give us a time when the shower would be back on. Ah, details. -The shower is in a shared washroom and has a clear glass door. So hopefully you are comfortable showing your business to the other hut guests if you do get a chance to shower. -The 7.50 Euro breakfast consisted of very stale bread and some spreads. Unforch this hut is the only option in this part of the park, so you get what you get. There are no roads that lead to it, which probably explains the no frills scenario.

Great panorama over the Dolomites. Takes a while to reach but worth the trip. We've had a cappuccino which was good. They do serve food as well but we didn't order any.

+ Nice location looking onto sheep pasture; warm showers - Unfriendly, rude and inflexible service - Dangerous 3-level bunk beds without guard rail - No avail. medical kit - Stinky, loud and poorly-maintained diesel generator - Overall poorly-maintained, (e.g. loose bench banks which fell off while people were sitting on them!) ---> Do NOT stay at this alpine hut if possible, and choose another one, preferably not on one of the major Alta Via's if possible!

Pros: Beautiful location, along the AV2 Pet rabbits roaming the property Food was fine Cons: VASTLY overpriced for what you get. Shower was 4 euros for 4 minutes - seems stingy not to give the extra minute that everyone else provides. Breakfast was 9 euros (!) for bread and a tiny container of jam, or 12 euros for a couple slices of ham and cheese - not enough for hungry long-haul hikers. We came in from a rainstorm so were cold and drenched. We looked everywhere for something warm to dry our clothes on - nothing. Had to hike on the next day with wet boots and socks and cold clothing. There was only one socket for charging- most other places offer at least a power strip so there are a few options. Just in general the stinginess of the place really put us off and made us grumpy even the next day. Apart from the dinner, it was absolutely minimal, but the price was absolutely maximal.

A very nice rifugio, perfectly located. The service was excellent, very prompt even though the place was full! Everything we ordered was tasty (Gulaschsuppe, Polenta, Hirsch Tagliatelle).

This place deserves a bit more credit than most of people give it. For a mountain hut, it serves good food, especially the apple strudel and the atmosphere is great. The staff is very friendly and helpful. It is a bit pricey, but given the difficult access, it is justified. I would say that it is worth 4 stars perhaps, but I also want to compensate for the (unjustified according to me) lower star reviews.

Really weird place. Absolutely beautifully located, but badly managed. Sleeping quarters are really cramped and overly full. Most personnel are really young (children) and some of the procedures, like giving out the breakfast are downright chaotic. On top of all that it was the most expensive hut I stayed at during my Alta via.