Snowsure: 4.3
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Sestrière (Vialattea) is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Sestrière (Vialattea) Ski Resort
Click here to submit your own review of Sestrière (Vialattea)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
January 24, 2010
Francisco Bernardes from
Portugal
Francisco Bernardes from
Portugal
Just got back from a sunny week in Sestrière I agree with an old review.
Stayed in the Villagio Olimpico apartments. Nice for 3 persons or 2 plus a kid, just check that you are not in the far end blocks (which we did...), that will bring a 200mts walk to the lifts.
As for the skiing, the slope classification at Sestrière is a bit pessimistic, the only time I found a track challenging was when I wasn't in one, pistes are wide, well groomed but a lot on the easy and cruising pace, most of them are well scenic, great views to the valleys. With the exception of Sestrière and Mont Genevre most of them run within the trees.
Mont Genevre is reachable for more than a couple of runs providing that you are an experienced skier, got the chance of skiing the Chalvet and some more tracks and get back in time to Sestrière.
The city itself is quiet, no aprés-ski, no nightlife worth mentioning.
As for eating, the mountain restaurants, and the ones in Il Centro, as Mama Lia (with the arrogant waiter until he notices that you may be a good customer after all) are all places to eat well, all my dinners were in between 25€ (Il Centro Pizzeria) and 45€ (Mama Lia).
Would I return there? With family yes, with my regular bunch no.
November 10, 2009
Hilary from
United Kingdom
Hilary from
United Kingdom
We stayed at the Olympic Apartments in Sestrière in December 2007 with our 2 children then aged 14 and 10.
The apartment was clean and spacious but it was a rabbit warren. For what we paid, it was unbeatable value, if a bit soulless and yes, noise in the corridors at night can be a problem, but on the whole it was fine.
It was an steep uphill stroll to the ski school meeting point and main life system which can be hard in ski boots carrying ski's but great to ski back to the apartments.
We went the week running up to Christmas and the snow was the best we have ever had and there was hardly anyone on the slopes in the week, but quite busy at weekends, not packed.
Good lift system.
The town is noticably more disabled friendly than other resorts I have been to.
The main down side of the resort is the lack of things to do in the evening, particularly for children. We skied at Passo Tonale the previous year, which is very family orientated and which I would highly recommend for families. Sestrière is more for adults.
May 10, 2009
tony from
United Kingdom
tony from
United Kingdom
We stayed at the Olympic, at Sestrière, in late March - 8 of us. No complaints at all and we would certainly go back. However, we didn't have to pay any deposit. I suppose this was covered by our travel package.
Whilst the Olympic is an eccentric rabbit warren, this was part of its charm. Everybody spoke adequate English; they preferred it to my Italian.
Skiing at Sestrière was excellent, although it was exhausting not having to queue all week.
April 04, 2009
John from
United Kingdom
John from
United Kingdom
We stayed in Sestrière in March 2009 at the Olympic apartments. The weather was great and the snow conditions: excellent, although a little slushy in the afternoon as the temperature rose.
My family (wife and children: aged 6 and 8) stayed there for £420 a head including flight, transfer, apartment, lift passes (youngest free), premium ski hire and lessons for the kids.
We went expecting the worst and were pleasantly surprised.
Pros:
The apartment was clean with great access to two lifts taking you to the skiing in Sestrière and Sauze.
The runs were fairly long and very pretty. Especially on the Sauze side where there is plenty of ski-line skiing. Of course, when the snow is bad, Sestrière has a much better ski record.
These resorts are seen by the Italians as weekend resorts so the lifts are quiet. We were told this was common throughout much of the season.
The gondolas between Sestrière and Sansicario/Sauze provided you with quick links. It was very easy for us to ski the morning in Sauze/Sansicario and be back in time to pick the kids up from ski school in Sestrière.
There are lots of small mountain restaurants. Even though the ones in Sestrière were self service; they were really pleasant. None of the huge motorway style ones you find in France and Austria.
Ski school for the kids was great.
Cons:
The olympic village is a rabbit run but for the money, we weren't complaining. We didn't pay a deposit but an English group who did, got their money back in a few minutes. Our apartment was quiet but I can imagine it could be bad if the village was packed out.
The lift guys in Sestrière need to be more safety concious when it comes to children. Some of the chair lifts come around very fast. When they hit our kids, there were instances when the lift person did not even slow the chair down, despite our child clinging on to the side of the chair. Our youngest had to jump off some of the chairs at the top and it was a worry that you had lift employees sitting in their booth, feet on the desk, reading a book.
We were told by someone working in the resort that the higher lifts close if gusts of wind exceed 45kph. We could not access some of the higher lifts nor get across to Sauze for three days. However, the person we spoke to said that they had a much lower death rate than other countries, especially France. So a con but better than coming home in a box.
Restaurants in town were a mixed bag. There is one (Mama Lio???) where the food was good but the waiter was so arrogant it really meant you never wanted to go back. Il Centro was good and La Baita was excellent - packed with locals - cash only.
It is misleading to say that Montigenevre is part of the resort. If you take lessons in Sestrière in the morning, I don't think you would have time to get over there in the afternoon.
Would we go back? Yes
January 26, 2009
Steve Rollason from
Italy
Steve Rollason from
Italy
Just come back from Sestrière where I stayed in the Olympic Village Apartments. I can confirm that the complex is a rabbit warren and I still didn't really know my way round by the end of the week. However, the staff were all courteous and there was no problem retrieving the deposit. We simply phoned reception to say we were ready to check out and then went down with our receipt to get the money back. There was no inspection of the room required.
The skiing in Sestrière and the neighbouring resorts covered by the lift pass is excellent for intermediates like me. Loads of long wide red runs; normally not very busy. Advanced skiers may find it all a bit unchallenging but I thought it was great.
June 03, 2008
Dave Taylor from
United Kingdom
Dave Taylor from
United Kingdom
After visiting Sestriere and impaticularly 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 you're 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 you're 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 you're 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 preffered Sauze d'Oulx. There were a few more challenging and scenic runs, although the Olympic at Sansicario is very nice, not too difficult, and 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 skiers but if you're 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 won't 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 given, 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
March 13, 2008
Shell&Dave from
United Kingdom
Shell&Dave from
United Kingdom
Just returned from Sestriere-Italy. Warning to all out there; we stayed at the Olympic Village and it was the worst place ever.
The staff are horrible and useless (as previously stated, do not care if you are dead or alive). The accommodation was ok (average standard) but don't be fooled by the pictures, it's nothing like you expect.
They have a 100 Euros deposit rule and be warned; it's a nightmare getting it back. They list everything down to the tea spoons in the apartment and have a price for everything in case you lose it (a lot of the items were not in our room that were on the list). Then 10 mins before you get on the coach back home they check your room and delay giving you your deposit back as much as they can.
Be warned; the deposit has to be paid in cash, even though you might read elsewhere that they take card.
And finally, it's very noisy in the rooms. It's like a rabbit run maze to all the apartments and every voice and noise made echos through every room (lets face it, the Italians are not that quiet).
Otherwise, Sestriere is great for skiing. It was just the Olympic Village that let it down. No English speaking staff, no English music, no English entertainment and if you have children, their kiddies activities are only Italian (they will be bored out of there mind). You have been warned.
Stay somewhere else in Sestriere.
February 17, 2008
Fire499 from
France
Fire499 from
France
Stayed in Sestriere 1st week in February 2008, in the Olympic Village. Good skiing and that's as far as it goes. No atmosphere, horrible architecture, expensive even by Irish standards and the staff at the Olympic Village didn't care whether you were alive or dead. We won't ever go back. Going to stick with Austria in future.
January 19, 2006
richard jacobs from
United Kingdom
richard jacobs from
United Kingdom
Went to Sestriere in the week just before Christmas 2005. Skiing has been very limited due to the mass building construction being set up for the Olympics. Shame really. Ideal for advanced skiers but beginers beware TOO MANY REDS as my wife found out. I recommend the Irish Igloo where shaggy will entertain you
January 07, 2005
zammospur from
United Kingdom
zammospur from
United Kingdom
It's a funny old place, Sestriere, probably about as urbanite Italian as you will ever get in the Alps. If you want fantastic huts and dancing on tables in your boots at 16:45 then you know where to go: Austria. But if you're after a bit of civilization you could do worse than spend some time in Fiat's alpine weekend resort.
I've been a couple of times, mostly because an Italian friend owns an apartment there and although the skiing is (predominantly) far from challenging there's lots of it, a good snow record and, if you're prepared to get off the beaten track, some lovely options through the trees.
Just for once, ski like the people that live in the Alps, not like the English and Sestriere will look after you. If you can't live without the fancy dress three-legged pub crawl you can always get a cab to Sauze!
Nearest