Overall:
3.9.
Based on
20
votes
and
19
reviews.
Vote
Access: 3.9
(1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Pila.
Public Transport: 3.9
(1) There are no buses or taxis to Pila, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
Scenery: 4.5
(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.
Accommodation: 4.2
(1) No places to stay in/near Pila, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
Cheap Rooms: 3.5
(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.
Luxury Hotels: 3.1
(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Pila.
Ski in/Ski out: 4.5
(1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.
Childcare: 4.1
(1) There are no child care facilities at Pila, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
Snowsure: 4.5
(1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Pila is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.
Snowmaking: 4.7
(1) Pila relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
Snow Grooming: 4.8
(1) There are no snow groomers at Pila, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Pila are groomed daily.
Shelter: 3.9
(1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Pila is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
Nearby options: 3.7
(1) If snow conditions are poor at Pila, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.
Regional rating: 4.3
(1) Pila usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.
Lift Staff: 4.7
(1) The staff at Pila are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Pila are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.
Crowds/Queues: 4.3
(1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.
Ski Schools: 4.5
(1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.
Hire and Repairs: 4.7
(1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.
Variety of pistes: 4.4
(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Pila has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.
Beginners: 4.2
(1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.
Intermediates: 4.7
(1) No intermediate terrain at Pila, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.
Advanced: 3.6
(1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.
Snow Park: 3.9
(1) Not even a kicker at Pila, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.
Off-piste: 3.1
(1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.
Cross-country: 2.7
(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Pila, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.
Luge/Toboggan: 1.9
(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Pila has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
Mountain Dining: 4.6
(1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.
Eating: 4.0
(1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.
Apres-Ski: 3.4
(1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.
Other Sports: 2.9
(1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.
Entertainment: 2.7
(1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.
Winter Walks: 3.2
(1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.
Ski Pass Value: 4.3
(1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.
Value (National): 4.3
(1) Overall, Pila is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.
Value (Global): 4.4
(1) Overall, Pila is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.
My son and girlfriend were charged adult rates and when we asked for a partial refund they said it was our fault for not telling them, and the lady was incredibly rude. Also seems they only care about a company called Interski as I had to wait 20 minutes at the bottom lift getting very cold while about 50 students jumped the queue. Never seen anything like it!
Visited early March 2017; a bit of a hidden gem. We spent 4 days of our 7 in the area at Pila. Had an apartment in Aosta area and used gondola each day. Some great intermediate runs, especially higher up the mountain. The blacks were good, not too steep but steep enough to class them as genuine for sure, some good reds too. Overall, a good variety of runs. Many hotels in Pila appear to be ski in and out.
What I feel lets the area down is the number of slow old lifts, many only 2 or 3 seaters, although there was on the whole little queueing apart from weekends where it was much more busy. This does, however, mean that due to lift capacities the pistes were never busy apart from the main blue through the centre of the area.
Decent, good value places to eat can be found around the area.
Очень ухоженные трассы, современные подъёмники, умеренные цены, при наличии автомобиля -прекрасное сообщение с курортами Италии, Франции и Швейцарии (всё в пределах часа езды), чтобы были развлечения-лучше останавливаться не в самой Pila, а, в Аосте или около неё (до подъёмника в Pila с большой парковкой 5-10 мин., зато-магазины, рестораны, современный бассейн и пр.).
We (a group of 6 or sometimes 8) have been going to Pila since 2009. Every year we talk about going somewhere different, but we continue to ski in Pila. Lots of people return year after year.
Runs are good, never crowded, lifts are good, never crowded (apart from 1st run in the morning and weekends when the Italians descend). Night life is a bit quite, but I think that keeps Pila being the Gem that it is.
We (family of 5, with three teenagers) were in Pila in Feb 2013 and will be again at Christmas. Staying at the Hotel La Chance, on an Interski package, which avoids the lift up from Aosta every day. The hotel is very nice with a spa and good food.
The lifts are sometimes busy with the first lift in particular crowded when the ski schools go off. Never queued for more than 15 minutes here though. The pistes are all impeccably groomed and there is a good variation although I suspect that a good skier may want more challenge after a few days.
The resort does have just one run to the bottom lift into which all the pistes feed. At busy times in the afternoon, it can be quite busy, especially as the nursery slopes are there as well! The local Interski people call it the "M25" and like that esteemed road, best avoided at rush hour.
Not much night life that I know of but then again, we don't really do that anyway so probably not best placed to comment.
Shop and bar owners we spoke with were very friendly. Lot of good eateries on the mountain and available in all languages.
We really enjoyed it and will probably go back again after Christmas.
January 11, 2012
dave stephenson
from
United Kingdom
Christmas 2011
This was our first visit to Pila; preferring to ski either during Christmas or just before over the last 20+ years. The hotel was very good with pleasant staff and good facilities and good food with unlimited free wine at evening dinner! "Etoiles de Neige" - 100m from a chair lift and 200m from the main lift station, accessed via a moving walkway from just by the hotel. The snow conditions were perfect but a few of the lifts had not opened due to a big dump of snow just before we arrived; the main pistes were well groomed providing easy cruising skiing and two or three awesome blacks if required. The slopes were not crowded and we never queued for more than a few minutes all week. The pisteurs and lift staff were courteous and polite and there's a big cable car that foot passengers can take from Pila centre to the main slopes. I believe that Pila can be crowded at weekends as the Torinese flock to the slopes if the weather's good. The resort is compact, all pistes leading back to the main resort centre so getting lost is pretty well impossible. If you want the hectic nightlife then this resort is not for you.
The nursery slopes looked ideal for beginners and young children and the slopes were well served by restaurants and bars without the eye watering prices encountered in other resorts throughout the Alps; I mention no other countries but suffice it to say we now ski three times a year in Italy and have noticed the numbers of French people skiing in Italy grows noticeably year by year.
Should one wish for a "day off" then Aosta is a cable car journey away about 17 minutes (included in your lift pass) and is well worth the visit even if for only a half day.
We would certainly ski here again but would suggest that for the expert skier wanting to travel far and wide then they would run out of pistes after a couple of days.
Dave Stephenson Jan 2012.
Pila is a little gem of a resort. It's fantastic for beginners and intermediates. Expert skiers can have great fun depending on the weather conditions. The views are superb from Mont Blanc to Matterhorn. Sometimes it can get busy during weekends in the morning but nothing horrible - just 5 min wait. Food is the best in the Alps for the money you pay- Hermitage is the best place and value for money-. Please stay at Aosta or nearby, not Pila if you like to have a life after skiing. Aosta is a lovely town full Roman ruins , shops and bars. If there is fresh powder you will write a review yourselves because you can have so much fun and no crowds. Very easy to visit nearby resorts such as Courmayer, La Thuile, Cervinia, Crevacol, Monterossa - all of them less than an hour away. The lift pass can cover all these resorts with just few Euros extra. I love Pila and I keep coming back for powder, trees, perfectly groomed pistes and the relaxed feeling it has.
I've just got back from Pila where the snow was the best for 20 years. The resort had 3 metres at the top, and enough at the bottom to last past Easter. Reading other reviews, it's true that there is no life in Pila at night - you have to make you own fun after the lifts stop, and the week-ends, peak times are particularly shocking, as Milanese and Torinese day-trippers ascend in their thousands. The British schoolchildren are no longer a nuisance and the locals are very welcoming. On the plus side, it has one of the best views in the Alps, and a short 'Bubble' ride takes you to Aosta, a city small enough to explore easily yet big enough to have good shopping, culture and amenities.
I would say Pila is a great mid-sized resort with plenty for beginners and intermediates, and if you know where to look, experts, like myself, keep coming back. For variety there is always the option of an international day trip. These resorts are under two hours away: La Thuile/La Rosiere, Cervinia/Zermatt Courmayeur/Chamonix or the cheapest heli-skiing in Europe. The ski school and creche are well run and compared to France or Switzerland, everything is absurdly cheap. Now it is time to come clean - I have been going for 30 years and with two young sons, I will probably still be there in another thirty.
In fact, I enjoyed the last trip to Pila so much, we're going back next week.
Went with school for two years over new years. Very contrasting; first year powder, second year snow cannon. Slopes covered by snow cannons leave fairly limited skiing so beware if going early in the season.
Aosta isn't the greatest place to stay. Not a lot going on really. Few bars etc but wouldn't rush back. Bit too small for me.
Overall, good resort but probably won't be going back. Save your pennies and go to Tignes instead.
Went with Interski through school who do a good job of everything. so if you are going on a school trip you'll love it.
January 20th 2008
Fantastic, if small, resort. We are beginner to medium intermediates and there was just enough to keep us going for a week. I imagine if you were more experienced you could cover the runs in 2-3 days. Weather was amazing with fantastic views over Monte Bianco and the Matterhorn from our hotel room in Lion Noir, which is a great hotel. Apres-ski is almost non existent but chilled. Looking to go back for 3 nights on the 24th February.
P.s. avoid weekends if you can as it gets packed with locals.
United Kingdom
Russia