Visitor reviews for Santa Caterina Valfurva

• March 04, 2008
  Mike George from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  We have just returned from Santa. Went in Feb half-term. Party of nine including five teenage boys. Enjoyed some fantastic weather. Great hospitality at the Campagnoni Hotel, very friendly, very helpful. The resort is small and compact but has plenty of challenging runs for the experienced and some easy stuff for the more inexperienced. Lift system with new cable car makes access to the top quick and easy, had no queues all week. It is a quiet resort with a great deal of local warmth and charm. The ski bus which is free with the lift pass included a 25min ride to Bormio which is well worth the trip also. The teenage boys who are experienced skiers found plenty to keep them occupied on the slopes and found a couple of bars to keep them occupied in the evening. Overall, a little gem of a ski resort and will definitely return for another visit.

• February 20, 2008
  annabel from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Just returned from our 7th visit to Santa Cat. Something - maybe the olde worlde charm - keeps drawing us back.
  The pistes have been extended over the last few years, particularly in Sunny Valley and are always immaculate. Mostly red runs, skiing right down into the village at the end of the day and straight into Bar Centro.
  Everyone is extremely welcoming and friendly and you could not wish for a more beautiful setting.
  Nightlife is limited to say the least, don't bother bringing your older teenagers, but it's ideal for keeping younger ones under control!

• November 29, 2007
  Danny from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Beautiful little resort; friendly and charming people. The new gondola into the "back bowl" right up at the top of the mountain has extended the skiing with some lovely cruising runs. The women's downhill (the Compagnoni run) presents a very challenging red right back down to the village. Can get busy during English school holidays, but often very quiet. The pizzeria in the village centre does beautiful pizzas cooked in a traditional wood oven.

• December 08, 2006
  James Cooke from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Im 19 years old and this is my fifth year going. Its a brilliant family resort, but not very lively night life, but that doesnt mean its not good. It still supplies cheap beer and friendly locals as well as guests. The skiing is very limited and the big problem is that the red slopes are up the mountain where only a black run goes down to the village, although it is labeled a red it is far more for the experienced skiers. Another negative is that it is heavily used with only one chairlift up the mountain meaining when the locals are skiing ques can be huge, but with the new cable car, queuing times have been minimized. I really enjoy skiing here, but look to use other places as well. Great family resort.

• November 20, 2006
  valodja from CZECH REPUBLIC
  

  I have been there 4 times in last 5 years. So I can say, that really a lot has changed. In 2002´s late March I remember having one 2km slope having all the morning just for myself and my RC40s :-) Yes, it used to be a reaaaaally calm place, something of old-school. Now, after the WorldChampionships, there are new cable-cars with nearly a one-km ascent in ten minutes, so you can ski yourself to death if you want :-) But the fact is, that there is also a lot more people, but still nothing compared to some comparable Austrian/French resorts. It is still a small resort, but he who loves intimacy of high-mountain nature and the challenge of going long and sometimes quite steep runs with over km of descent one after another (like me), he will probably love this place. If you go to the newly opened high plateau in the back part of the resort will be amazed by the beauty of the >3000m mountains all around you.
  What next to say. SC has some problems with natural snow - all around are mountain crests well over 3500m with extensive glaciers, so the majority of snow falls there and until the Italian guys started up a system of snowmaking, there was sometimes a problem at the beeginnig of the season. And there is still what to improve :-) Yes, but after the snow falls onto to the pistes, it remains well to late April. Probably the best time to go there is the classical main season, because the majority of slopes are real north-north-western, so the slopes are dark for a major part of the day until mid Feb or so. But yes that this resort has some potential for gorgeous week all around the season. And the few lifts? Nobody will really force you to use them ;-) The gondolas do their work perfectly.

• November 21, 2005
  Richard Heart from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  too quiet, not enough skiing, no nightlife, cold, long transfer, lousy drag lifts...........

• October 31, 2005
  Harold Blair, Grimethorpe from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Small village with intimate atmosphere. Many Brits return year after year - particularly at half term (feb). Skiing somewhat limted - but more to be had at Bormio (1/4 hour away by skibus).

  Nightlife limited to a couple of lively pubs aimed at the younger market and the hotel bars - but this is a QUIET RESORT.

  Difficult to pin-point the precise appeal of the place other than it has an indefinable charm, friendly locals and reliable snow at non-rip-off prices. Even the mountain bars are not expensive.

  Wherever you are in the village is going to be no more than 5 mins from a lift to take you up the mountain. A new gondola lift added in 2004/5 made a significant differnce to the lift infra structure. There is one chair lift and the rest of the ski area is served by drag lifts. Because the ski area is so small this is not really a problem but I can imagine it would put many off.

  Not a place for anyone wanting a quick airport transfer (4 hours), with a taste for riotous nights out or those in search of expansive ski areas. Good for those who want quiet nights, friendly locals, reliable snow and charming small resorts at reasonable prices

• October 19, 2005
  Monique De Vitalis from FRANCE
  

  S.Caterina is a very nice mountain village.
  I have been there in March 2005.
  The lifs are ok: it was built a new cable car that it goes up from the town until the top of the mountain;
  in the ski area there are slopes suitable for every type of skier and the snow is perfect (also at the end of March!)
  The people are friendly and the food is execellent.
  S.Caterina is a very nice and quite place for holiday!

• November 26, 2003
  John Lancashire from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Santa Caterina is a charming alpine village where you happen to be able to do a bit of skiing. It's very friendly; very Italian; very unpretentious. So many people return to the place that it's very unusual not to bump into someone you've met there in a previous year; they'll remember you as will many of the locals.
  If you're looking for wild apres-ski, this is definitely not the place for you and your teenage children will probably prefer lively Livigno. You'll be happy they're here.
  The ski area may be small and the lift system a little antiquated, but there is enough variety here to satisfy the intermediate leisure skier especially if you're one those who tends to say 'let's try that one more time, but better', rather than 'right that's that piste ticked off, on to the next'.
  Being a compact resort, nowhere is very far from the lifts and because there is only really one run down to the village it's unlikely that you're going to lose your friends and family at the end of a day's skiing.
  This is a perfect family destination. If Faliraki, Benidorm or Blackpool is your bag, look elsewhere, however if your looking for the alpine equivalent of a Cornish, Breton or Costa Brava fishing village then you've found it.