Albergo Eden is a lovely family hotel right near the main slopes in Passo Tonale. We were not sure what to expect given the mixed reviews, but can report that it is the friendliest, most helpful hotel we have ever stayed at " excellent value for money. And we tested this in many ways during the week.

The location was very good " on the main road 100m from the lift pass office, and main slopes " slightly uphill on the way there, but better yet, slightly downhill on the way back at the end of a long day.

We felt the food was good " with a very home-cooked style. If you are thinking about the vast diverse buffets at a 5* Sheraton city centre, you will be disappointed. But if you are thinking about staying over at an Aunt ' s guesthouse or grandmother ' s home, you will be closer to the mark. Breakfast was cold " yogurts, fruit, cereal, cakes, crusty rolls, home-made preserves and meat/cheese and the same each day. Dinner was always 4 courses and we found the food very good. The first course was vegetables " a salad bar with cold veggies, bean salads, lettuce, tomatoes, etc, and always a hot buffet with excellent grilled courgette, aubergine, spinach and cheese, cauliflower with white sauce, bruschetta and more. Then an appetizer, which we had a choice of three, and which was closer in portion to a main course " lasagne, pizza, spaghetti carbinara, or tortellini soup are some examples. THEN came the main which was always meat/potatoes " the rabbit was really fabulous, chicken breast, fish or a hamburger that my son says was the best hamburger he has ever had (and he has had quite a few).

Everything was cooked on site and tasted like a (large) meal I would have at a family gathering. We didn ' t always have room for dessert... tiramisu, Chantilly cake, apple cake, and more but when we did it was worthwhile. We ended up only eating a very light lunch to save ourselves for the huge dinner which we looked forward to each night. Yes you do have to buy water/wine. We could perhaps have asked for a pitcher of tap water but in the end couldn ' t be bothered.

The rooms were basic and functional " tiled floors, simple bare wood furniture and a small ensuite with a small shower and they were the cleanest hotel rooms I have ever seen. The housekeeping staff could teach a lesson to the staff at the last two 5* hotels I stayed at in Shanghai and Cyprus " it was immaculate and our rooms cleaned and tidied every day.

Because of the tile and hard surfaces, we did hear some noise from the hallways at night (we joked about the Clown Feet family that prowled the corridors) when all was quiet but it didn ' t keep us awake after a hard day ' s skiing. We did hear some room noise from the room next door -they were pretty loud, admittedly- because our headboards backed against a common wall (you can guess how we figured this out) whereas our children had a very quiet room so it might be luck of the draw. Again, this is not the plush, damask upholstered 5* type style " but we felt it did the job " it was what we needed for a skiing hotel room that becomes strewn chaotically with ski-wear, helmets, and bits of wet clothing . The rooms had a large safe and good hair dryer (a proper hair-dryer, not the half-hearted hose-type).

The family running the hotel "Anna, Luisella and siblings were amazingly friendly and helpful. Their English was certainly better than my Italian but I recommend you brush up on the basics in any case. They waited up for us upon our late arrival at 10pm with delicious bean soup and sandwiches surmising correctly that we would be hungry.

The benefits of staying at a family hotel were fully tested when on the last day of skiing my 12 year old son took a bad fall, hit his head and developed amnesia. We went to the medical centre and were then sent by ambulance to the hospital 50km away for further tests. (I can report the hospitals are very good "efficient and sensitive to children with good facilities and staff) Luisella and her family went out of their way to arrange a taxi for my husband and me to/from and supported us as a family would in a time of need. Luisella ' s brother and pregnant wife even waited up for me upon my return from the hospital at midnight offering pizza, tea and real concern for my son (who recovered thankfully). On the morning of our departure at 6am, Anna, Luisella ' s mother raced out to the bakery as soon as it opened to get fresh bread and made us sandwiches for the journey to the airport. It was something my mother would have done. Would you get this at the 5* Sheraton city centre? I think not.

So if you are looking for a posh, cookie cutter Hilton type hotel, something fancy to impress your friends, a package holiday resort that serves beans on toast witha full English breakfast or a raucous base for midnight clubbing, then you should look elsewhere. But if you want an Italian experience " to be well looked after by familiar faces in a family atmosphere who, if you reach out to them, will happily reach out to you and go the extra mile " then you won ' t do better than Albergo Eden especially for the low price, anywhere.

ps. We booked the hotel directly and arranged our own taxi from Verona (I can recommend Cesare Guida at Lake Guarda Taxi " an immaculate and timely 8 passenger van cost only 200 euro each way for a 2.5 hour journey " book via email at cesare.guida(at)hotmail.com).

Have just spent a week at the Hotel Eden and was extremely pleased with the accommodation. It has recently been refurbished, our room was good and the bathroom really nice. The owners are quite strict about meal times, so don't be too late, otherwise they will clear up. The food was really good. There is a locker room at the hotel to keep your ski stuff in. However, for 7 Euros we left our ski gear in the locker room where we hired our equipment from. This was directly opposite the main Gondola in Passo Tonale, so it saved us walking back to the hotel with all our gear. It's probably only 5 minutes away but tiring in your boots at the end of the day.