Sestriere, Hotel Du Col

Good hotel, friendly staff, excellent food, good location, excellent location for skiing.

After visiting Sestriere and inpaticular the "Hotel Du Col" in March 2008 all I can say is that we had a great time.

I'll start with the Hotel. Great location, you really couldn't get closer to the slopes.

The rooms were very clean and comfortable, yes a little basic, no kettle in the room but that was about all. TV only has a few channels, Sky News I think was the only English one but hey, who wants to watch telly when your on holiday!! The staff were very polite and helpful from the manager right down to the chambermaids, we thought they were all great. The Restaurant and Bar staff made the evenings enjoyable and entertaining. They were all very kind, polite and helpful. We had a waiter called Giovanni assigned to our table and he just kept bringing us more and more of the free wine!! The food itself was fine, although the Breakfast got a bit repetitive after a while but the evening meal certainly didn't, there was a different choice of meats each night we were there as well as choices of pastas and local foods and salads too. The packed lunch let them down slightly but it was still worth collecting even just for the free bottle of water. Afternoon Tea and Coffee again maybe could of been better but after a hard days skiing I welcomed the coffee and biscuits, it was fine. I read one report before we went that said that the bar was small and could of been better, yes, perhaps it was a bit small but I didn't think it made it a bad hotel, in fact I think it created a more friendly atmosphere. The only thing I would say is wrong with this hotel is it's "Star Rating" is to high, yes it was clean and comfortable and everything I've said in this review is true but if your used to staying in 4-Star hotels in the UK you will probably feel let down, I'd give it a 3 if I were in a generous mood.

Sestriere and The Ski Resort. If your looking for great Aprez Ski then this is NOT the resort for you, we weren't and therefore we were happy. That doesn't mean we didn't enjoy it, we liked the hotel bar and the "Cavern" which both had Sky Sports so I was happy! There is a nightclub in Sestriere but we didn't go to it so I can't comment on that. The town itself is a nice little place, plenty of tourist shops, typical of a Ski Resort.

The Ski Area. As you probably know Sestriere is in the middle of the "Milky-Way" ski area. For beginners Sestriere and Borgatta are great and enough to get you started, for the more advanced skier Sestriere and Borgatta do get a bit repetitive but you can get the Gondola to either Sauze D'oulx or Sansicario we had a great day at both of these resorts but prefered Sauze D'oulx. There were a few more challanging and scenic runs, although the Olymipic at Sansicario is very nice, not too difficult, but very scenic. If you get the chance to visit Montigenevre in France it's worth it. You can get there by Gondola but I have no idea how long this took as we took the coach. This provided the best days Skiing we had. The Black runs were "Real French Blacks", if you've skied France you'll know what I mean, the Italian resorts were ok for beginners and intermediate skiiers but if your an advanced skier then perhaps Italy isn't the best place for you, I must admit I got a little bored by the end of the week and that wasn't because of a lack of things to do or runs to try, a lot of them were just very similar and not very challenging.

Resort Prices. It has to be said that the cafes and bars on the slopes weren't too bad at all. No more expensive than any tourist resort in the UK. The beer in the Hotel Bar was about £3.50 a pint, not cheap but it probably wont ruin your holiday.

I've tried to cover a few different areas to give an overall fair report. My report is just my opinion so don't rest all your hopes on what I've said and likewise don't disregard Sestriere on the report I've give, after all I opened by saying that we had a great holiday. If you've booked up for Sestriere next year I'm sure you'll have a great time, If you're just thinking about it then I hope this all helps. Remember that there's nothing like seeing something for yourself! Enjoy, Dave

I could not fault the location of this hotel. It really is ski to door. The snow was beautiful and we had fantastic sunny weather. One large snow fall during the week (over night) ensured that conditions remained fantastic throughout. I thought that the choice of food was excellent - so much to choose from that I didn't know where to start. An Italian buffet, (pastas pizzas ratatouille etc etc) An English carvery, salads, all this every night - so yummy! Some of the decor may have appeared a little tired, but hey, does it matter when you have a fantastic location, excellent snow, very friendly helpful staff and fantastic food?

Ask for a room on the slopes side. Better views and less noise. Roadside was terrible, if it wasn't the traffic and delivery vehicles it was drunk English people walking home. Lights in room were all 40w bulbs. Pillows awful, try and take your own or get a second one upon arrival. We paid half price for half term week so it was great value for money hence positive impression overall, had I paid full price I might well be writing a letter of complaint to Thomsons.

Ice rink is a must one evening. Local swimming indoor/outdoor pool is brilliant especially if it is snowing.

On the slopes the Italians could learn a lot about piste management from their French neighbours but the snow making was of the highest order.

If you want a bath you need to ask at reception for a plug, never had this happen before but its not big deal. If you are 6' 2" tall like me you might want to give the bath a miss anyway, it's way too small.

Hotel Du Col:

Right out the backdoor and a very short ski takes you on the Pistes. Plenty of lockers for your gear and it's always dry by morning.

Food and drink very good with a reasonable variety to suit all tastes.

Bar quite small for larger groups but nice for couples/foursomes.

Lack of leisure facilities might put some off, it would be nice to have a Jacuzzi to relax in after skiing.

Village is great with plenty coffee shops/restaurants and the usual ski shops.