Beginners are well looked after. There are nursery areas in or near both Corvara and Colfosco, several ski schools with English-speaking instructors, and many wide, gentle blue runs up on the Pralongià and Col Alto plateaus. Once you can turn, the broad blues between Corvara, La Villa and San Cassiano are ideal confidence-builders. Beginners usually need a lift up to the easier upper slopes, but the slopes there are friendly. The Sellaronda is not for true beginners.

This is where Alta Badia really shines. Miles of immaculately groomed reds and blues link Corvara, Colfosco, La Villa and San Cassiano. You can also do the roughly 40 km Sellaronda circuit around the Sella massif, either clockwise or anticlockwise, and both directions are doable for confident intermediates. The Dolomiti Superski pass opens up Val Gardena, Arabba, Cortina (via Passo Falzarego) and the Hidden Valley run from Lagazuoi. Allow plenty of time to get back before the lifts close.

Within Alta Badia itself the steepest test is the Gran Risa World Cup giant-slalom piste at La Villa. Otherwise most pistes are moderate. The Sellaronda brings in steeper terrain at Arabba (Porta Vescovo). With a mountain guide, there's serious off-piste such as Val Mezdì off the Sella and freeride from Sass Pordoi. Experts who only want steep pistes may find the local slopes tame.

Most lifts are modern gondolas and chairlifts, with few drag lifts, and the wide groomed pistes are great for carving. A few flat linking sections (for example on parts of the Pralongià plateau and some Sellaronda connections) mean occasional skating or unstrapping. There are terrain parks in the wider Dolomiti Superski area, but this isn't a freestyle-focused resort.

There's plenty of pleasant, peaceful stuff to do: winter walking and snowshoe trails, sleigh rides, an ice rink in Corvara, good hotel spas, and some huts reachable by lift or on foot for lunch with skiing friends. Shopping and nightlife are limited. A non-skier wanting lots of variety may find it quiet.

The resort feels safe and relaxed, with reputable ski schools in Corvara and Colfosco that run children's group lessons and ski kindergartens. There's lots of gentle terrain for kids to progress on, and many family-run hotels. Children's rates on the Dolomiti Superski pass help. Book ski school and childcare early for school holidays.

Après here is about a drink in the sun at a mountain hut, then a long dinner. Corvara has a few bars, and L'Murin is the best-known spot for a lively post-ski drink. Club Moritzino on Piz La Ila (above La Villa) can get going late afternoon. The real draw is the food: Corvara's La Stüa de Michil and nearby San Cassiano have Michelin-starred restaurants. If you want dancing on tables and late clubs, look elsewhere.

Corvara sits at about 1,550 m, with skiing up to about 2,500–2,780 m in Alta Badia. The Dolomites are often sunnier and drier than the northern Alps, so natural snow can be thin. However, snowmaking covers almost all of the pistes and grooming is excellent, so pistes are usually reliable from December to March. Late January to early March is normally the best time. Early December and late March/April are riskier for off-piste and lower runs, though the groomed pistes usually hold up. There is no glacier in Alta Badia.