The best located hotel in Cortina is the Hotel de la Poste. Right in the center of the village pedestrian zone, it seems that virtually every tourist stops here to rest by the fire, eat in the cafe, or sit down to a dinner with friends in the restaurant. Operated by the Manaigo family since 1835, the architecture and decoration are Alpine. The cafe is so popular that you need to make reservations two days in advance and the main restaurant is superb. Thanks to extensive soundproofing, I slept without earplugs despite the hotel's proximity to Cortina's discos. This is where Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones stayed when Farewell to Arms was being filmed. I have a real soft spot in my heart for the de la Poste because their staff was wonderfully kind to me when my Avis rental car reverted to its roots as metal scrap. The Hotel de la Poste maintains their own web site, but if it is down just give them a ring at (0436) 4271, fax (0436) 868 435.
My friend Anna Maria comes to Cortina every summer with her family. They stay at the Hotel Fanes, via Roma 136, 32043 Cortina D'Ampezzo tel (0436) 3427, fax 5027. "It is a nice place run by a family where you're not just a number," Anna Maria says, "and only five minutes walking from the center of town." I've never stayed there myself but the Michelin guide gives it a listing and says the prices start from 120,000 lire per night.
If you don't need the "big city" excitement of Cortina and would like to be another 600 meters higher, consider staying next to beautiful Lake Misurina, 15 km from Cortina. Recommended by several guidebooks is the Hotel Lavaredo, 32040 Misurina, tel (0436) 39227, fax 39127.