Hotel Principi di Piemonte Sestriere

Just returned after a fabulous week at the Hotel Principi di Piemont in Sestriere. Entry into the hotel is a wonderful sight with all the elaborate winter and Christmas decorations everywhere. The reception staff were speedy but thorough with information and welcoming. We were given a superior double room where we had a bunk bed too. The beds were extremely comfortable, a little firm for some maybe but certainly didn't affect sleep at all. I loved them. The room was clean and tidy with a large double window overlooking the mountains and sunrise. A very decent sized fitted wardrobe with plenty of hangers. Bathroom had a great hot shower with jacuzzi bath, though didn't use that. Soap, shampoo and haidryer was provided as was a coffee machine with espresso pods, but bit too strong for me as no milk. There is a fridge. The restaurant has various dining areas. We were overlooking the mountains and the buffet style provides a huge array of food. Breakfast starting at 7.30am included cereals, fruit, pastries and a typical fried offer. Two coffee machines that were never too busy. Also a decent selection of tea bags. Evening meal started at 7pm and again offered a huge choice. Large salad bar with optional seafood, a daily soup, choices of anti pasta, a main course of meat, fish or vegetarian. Deserts were plentiful and typically Italian... Ask behind the serving counter for ice cream. It's probably best to select your deserts at the beginning to ensure you get the best choice... same with the cheese. I finished most nights with a small cheese board. Having 5 or 6 plates of food you'll never ever go hungry. They sell you bottled water for dinner at 3 euros... But it is what it is. They also have a massive selection of wines if you wish. The only niggle would be that both breakfast and dinner main courses were never piping hot, but warm. The very large bar area is excellent and wonderfully decorated with comfy areas for bigger groups or areas for a couple to relax after skiing. We soon integrated with two other couples for a sociable week in the evenings and even did a group ski on the last day. There are also TVs showing Italian and Premier League football but thankfully with no sound so you can chat and listen to the piped music. There's a wide range of local lagers and spirits including a decent Guinness; all beers cost 7 euros. The only niggle it was a little cool in the bar on some evenings which is very unusual for a mountain hotel bar. It would have been nice to have had the roaring fire. The spa was okay, the pool a little too cold for me. It costs 10 euros pp for the week and a robe and slippers provided. You need to book the spa the day before, I guess to prevent overcrowding. The locker room was just outside and downstairs. Electronic lockers that some were not working... Sometimes you can't beat a good old fashioned key. Both set of skis and boots can be stored in one locker and the heaters work ... Though I have been in much warmer ones. S

Please make sure you read the March reviews carefully before even thinking about booking this hotel, because they are absolutely spot on! In a nutshell, 4 start decor and facilities, 2 star food and 1 star service overall. Rooms are clean, a little tight but ok. More space in a family room. Nice bathrooms with jacuzzi bathtub and good shower. Great view. Ski out system ok, but you have to climb up a hill, which people slipped on. Also the route back is complicated for anyone below expert. Food - bland bland bland, cold and you will be told you have 5 minutes to leave whilst you're still eating and they start packing food away 30 minutes before end of dinner at 9pm. They also turn the lights off while your still eating to make you leave!! They had a microwave out to het up individual plates of food. There is no water available and you are told not to bring water into the hotel from anywhere else, including no water bottles at dinner! Have you ever heard of a hotel dinner service that doesn't even offer tap water and bans water bottles??? There was tea, coffee, water and juice at breakfast - why not offer this at dinner? No fried eggs at breakfast, unless you pay extra and simple omelettes were €8. Overall, breakfast was still better than dinner. There was no lunch during lunchtime available, but you were told not to bring food or drink from anywhere into the hotel. So no eating lunch in the lounge! Outrageously, our belongings were moved from the store space in the hotel, down to the ski storage area in the basement WITHOUT our consent and also while were out. They then locked the store room and put up a sign for us to return to. They chose this invasive, aggressive action over politely informing us in the morning that we could no longer use the room. This would have been fine. I was deeply offended by what they did instead and had to come to reception and ask someone to find the hat I'd had left and now couldn't find. We felt unwanted and uncome. Our is nearly all black African/ Caribbean decent. I hate to think that this has anything to do with our treatment, but it is worth highlighting. The ski storage area contains lockers that do not lock. They obviously did at one point, but not anymore. It's small, crowded and inconvenient. There were some pleasant members of staff, especially the therapists in the spa, the fantastic mini bus driver and the very smiley lady working in the bar. Also credit to the cleaners, as the room was clean on arrival and bathroom cleaned well. Good service from the rental shop staff and some receptionists. Other reviews report other helpful members of staff, which I agree with but there are equally some very rude and miserable team members. Management are driving this hotel's demise! I spoke with a couple who stayed at the hotel 2 years before returning and they said that standards had drop dramatically in food and service. They took said they will never be back! I travelled with a well established ski group

The food was dreadful. Cold and inedible every night. Do not do half board..it spoiled our holiday completely. Lots of unhappy guests. We complained to Crystal rep but nothing was done about it…………………………………………………………………..,,…………..,,..