 Poster: A snowHead
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Just got back from a week at Sauze d'Oulx. First day and last day had poor visibility, but the rest of the week was beautiful. Snow generally pretty good on pistes, and trammelled but OK off.
Stayed at Hotel Miravalle. On this trip it was a case of someone else organising and I had no idea what was happening. A case of tell me where to turn up, and what to wear. Just been to busy at work to pay attention to the organisation. So, found out on the flight out that out package was all inclusive. This made me a bit nervous, as I had heard stories of "all in" hotels being a bit riotous.
Arrived in resort to see what looks like a 70s building, but re-furbished. Nothing pretty to look at on the outside. Fairly easy access though, and some parking space at the front. Inside you could see evidence of refurbishment - quite nice decor, new fittings, all nice and tidy, and clean.
Rooms were ready when we arrived (about 13:30) and the three of us went straight up. So three guys sharing a four bed room. Plenty of space for us, very comfortable beds and duvets. Linen etc perfect. Plenty of cupboard space too. Lots of hangers, some drawers also. Bathroom was minimalist, but looked quite new. Very good shower. All tiled in grey slate. Nice balcony out the back. Only minor problem (discovered later) that electronic door locks were a waste of time, you could push the door hard and it would open. Not a big deal for us, as none of skied with lots of valuables, but worth a mention. The room had a free safe in case you needed to lock stuff away. The room heating and hot water was all fine, maybe a bit hot at night - you had to have a window open.
The dinner was very good. Big buffet to start with, then pasta or risotto course, then main followed by desert. You had to book selections (usually from three choices) the night prior. Buffet was a bit of a free for all if you went straight into dinner (they should have called tables by number I think - would have reduced the chaos) but we generally hung back in the bar until the crowd went down. Frankly, you could have made a full meal from the starter buffet alone. Really nice fresh cooked Italian stuff, plus some plain food for kids or conservatives.
Pasta and risotto's were the best bit - really nice. Even after all that mains were substantial. Lamb Shank was especially big. I could never manage the deserts, just had some fruit, but everyone else said they were very nice.
All meals were on the same table, there was a little card with the party leaders name on it.
Breakfast was simple - lots of bread, jam, fruit, toast makings etc. Also some scrambled eggs and bacon in a hot box - replenished regularly. Tea and coffee from a machine - not the best, but did the job.
Bar was "free" from 4:30 to 10:30. This was the bit that made me nervous. I was worried about people getting hammered and kicking up. However, the week we were there everyone was very civilised. Noisy, but very friendly. Only downside to an all inclusive bar seemed to be that it effectively overloads the physical space. Basically, people have less incentive to go out in the evenings, and most hotels don't assume this in the design. So, you get a bit of crowding in the bar area. Not a huge problem though. A free bar also impacts on surrounding business too; I talked to the owner of the Grand Trun just up the road. She said that casual trade had definitely taken a hit since the Miravalle went all inclusive.
Lots of all in bars supply low end drinks brands. Not so here - all pretty good stuff. The beer was Carlsberg. Lots of soft drinks to choose from too, coffees etc.
Ski room was very basic. I think it was heated, but not very. Ski racks and boot shelves aplenty, but they needed a few more benches.
Access to slopes was a bit slow, but fine. Easiest was to walk about 100m down the road and get the free bus. We took this up to the Sportinia lift. On the way home from the slopes at the end of the day we skiied down to the Clotes lift. Form there it was a 5/10 minute walk back to the hotel.
So, overall, really nice. I liked this place and would go back. Definitely for a lads (or girls) trip it was ideal. If I had young kids with me I would think twice, mainly because you never know what other groups are going to be in the party.
The manger said that the transfer day can be a problem. People arrive, and have empty stomach's, then drink from 4:30 until late. They obviously could get noisy / troublesome. Seems to me an easy fix would be to put on some sandwiches to line people's stomachs.
The manager and his wife were really friendly and helpful. As were all the staff in fact. Really nice people.
Good trip overall. Sauze has a bit of a bad rep but I thought it was great.
Any questions, please post.
best,
Titus
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