Faure Hotel

2 readers found this review helpful

When you go on a skiing holiday, I think its important to remember what you are there for, ie the skiing. Unfortunately, peoples experiences of resorts and hotels are often tainted by the weather. If you go skiing and its hot, or there is little snow to ski on, its easy to say it was a bad holiday. We unfortunately didnt have any fresh snow during our week late Feb 2008, and what snow remained as the base layer was very quickly disappearing in the searing heat of the day!
First things first; Sauze lies at one end of the Vialattea ski area. It is definitely not a place for beginners, because virtually all runs are reds, although they are all wide and lovely long cruising runs. Ideally its a place for people who are comfortable skiers, who like to crunch the miles or get a bit of speed up. If the weather is good (in terms of good snow) it is well worth going over to Sestriere for a few days, as the skiing over there is more varied and technical, and there are also some easier runs over to the right near the Olympic Village for less experienced skiers. The best route over is off the back of the top lift in Sauze, ski down to the 4 man chair, take that up to the Gondola which takes you all the way into Sestriere. You can ski the link all the way if you want, but its a narrow track, and isnt much fun. There is also the Banchetta run at the top of Sestriere which is a must for anyone who is a reasonable intermediate or above.
I also recommend taking a tour operators trip to Montgenevre. Again, you could ski the link, but it would take hours to get there and back. The trips are about 20 euros and you get a coach which takes you there for first lift and back again late in the afternoon. Its another varied ski area, and well worth a day out for a change of scene.
Sauze itself is a nice little resort at 1500m. Unfortunatley, the snow record is not great, and it lived up to its poor billing when we were there. There was enough snow in the base to make it a good weeks skiing, if you didnt mind being choosy about which runs you did, but by the end of the week the link to Sestriere had no snow left and it was closed. It has had some new lifts, but many are still old and slow, and i some cases possibly a little dangerous.
The village itself is actually quite pretty. It is not the neon nightclub which its reputation in the 80s gave it at all. Yes, there is some llively apres if you want it, and one or two places in the evening where you can have a dance, plenty to drink, and do a quiz if you want. Paddy McGintys is one such place, but that said, I have only ever seen happy smiling people in there, as its a good time place.
There are plenty of bars to choose from. Ghost is pleasant and drinks are better priced, and there is a nice place called The Lounge in the village square. But theres plenty to choose from. The Queens Lounge is a good place in the evenings to see a band or a singer, and then the clubs at the top of the village are ok for the nocturnals. Its a nice little resort with something for everyone, although the shopping is limited. Unfortunately, at 1.25 euros to the pound, a pint of lager was a whopping £4.
As for the hotel itself, Hotel Sauze is in a great position virtually at the bottom of the Clotes lift and run into the village. You can pop out of your bindings and be in the hotel in less than a minute. However, dont expect spectacular views, as its stuck behind other hotels so you cant see the slopes. You can however get an idea of what the days weather is going to be like as you are able to see up the mountain to the ski area.
The owner is a bit of a dour Italian, who doesnt like skiing strangely. I think over time he has seen enough of the English, getting drunk, being sick and making noise. Unfortunately, there were 3 all male parties in the hotel the week we were there, and as a result we suffered badly from lack of sleep. The hotel is built around a stairwell, and the corridors all echo the slightest sound. We even heard every minute of the couple having an intimate evening next door one night! People come and go at all hours, and expect to be woken up each time someone returns. There is a quiet policy after 11pm, but no one takes any notice.
One night we were woken up by some odd noises outside our door, only to find unconscious on the floor flat out from booze. His mates made even more noise moving him.
The rooms are particularly basic. Dirty tiled floors that had never been swept, and 2 small twin beds put together. There is a balcony that runs all round the edge of each floor, so you have no privacy to put things out, and we had to speak to the neighbours about leaving skis and boots outside, to make sure no one was going to steal them! There is no boot room. The bathroom was large, but the shower was just a tap attachment so you could not actually have a shower. There was also only a limited supply of hot water each night. Rooms score 2 out of 10.
We were half board, and the restaurant downstairs is actually ok. Breakfast was a help yourself buffet of cereal, bread and some cooked items, as well as fruit and yogurt. Dinner was a choice made the night before, and always something for everyone. The food was always hot and reasonable portions, although it was hardly cordon bleu. This is a 2 star hotel after all, and we booked it because it was cheap, so you get what you pay for. The head waiter is ok, but be careful, he is very moody and quite aggressive when he wants to be. You need to be a little bit cute with the staff to get them to really wait for you. The head waitress is also a little fiery, but by the middle of the week we were laughing and joking with her, and she was kissing us all goodbye on the last day. Food scores 6 out of 10, as there was always something we quite liked.
There is a small bar on the ground floor, and a pool table and TV in a lounge, but the TV is not showing sky, and the pool table is one of those horrible massive ones with huge pool balls and thin cues, and right up in the corner so you cant play down one end. Hotel facilities score 2 out of 10.
The rep from First Choice was useless. He was a camp welsh boy who was only interested in texting his boyfriend all day and night. We didnt understand a single word of his welcome meeting, and he lied to us about lift pass prices, saying that pedestrians had to pay for the full pass, which is totally incorrect. He had little knowledge of the ski area either. First Choice are not a good company to go on a skiing holiday with, as they seem to be more of a holiday firm than a ski specialist holiday company. We had to complain to him about the noise on day 3 after 2 sleelpess nights, but he was neither interested or firm enough to do anything about it. In fact, he may as well have not been around at all. First Choice score 1 out of 10, and thats for the price.
Overall, Sauze is a good place to ski when its got good snow, and this hotel would probably get a better score from me if we hadnt experience the drunk all male parties. But its less than basic, and has little to offer in terms of comfort or facilities. But at the end of the day, a hotel on a skiing holiday should really only be somewhere to sleep and eat, so I never expect much. Unfortunately, this was much worse than the usual Austrian standards, and on a par with the worst of France. I wouldnt recommend this hotel, despite its location, but Sauze is a fine place for intermediate skiers on a budget.

1 reader found this review helpful

Stayed in the Hotel Faure which is a converted House. It has about 8 rooms (i think) and has been recently updated and is absolutly gorgeous. Our room was massive with some really nice features, our bathroom again was huge and had been newly decorated! The staff are so helpfull and firendly with fantastic English!! It was B&B, the breakfast was a simple continental nothing amazing, but was by no means terrible!!
This Hotel has been rated as a 3*, but I think its worth more than that! There is a Spa downstairs which offers discounted rates to guests of the hotel, and you also get discounted rates with ski and boot hire at the Faure Sport Hire!!! Its in a great location near some really fabulous restaurants and Bars. The pictures do not do the hotel justice!! I would def book again!!!!

This is a charming little hotel which has been recently renovated to a very high standard. The staff are friendly and very helpful often going out of the way to accommodate requests from their guests.
The one down side to this hotel is that there is a noisy pub next door. Fortunately, it was due to be closed down in March 2007 because it was not in keeping with the overall tone of the local businesses of the town. It should be replaced by a restaurant attached to the hotel.

The chalet is located in the tiny old part of the town and is a typical local chalet reconverted recently in a hotel. The hotel is family run and people are making you feel right at home. They all speak and understand English.
Bedroom and bathroom were very spacious and well heated. They are nicely furnished and nothing is missing in the bathroom equipment. Unlimited hot shower...
The location makes it very nice in the evening to go for a drink or for dinner. In the morning it is a bit of a climb to get to the closest lift (~10mn walk with all the gear on a quite steep road).
The breakfast was standard. Nothing bad but nothing worth a mention.
The Spa is more of a joke than anything but if you can get it in the deal, it is always nice to go for a jump in the Jacuzzi after a day skiing. If Jacuzzi is not your thing, forget about this spa altogether.
In 2007, some rooms were above a very noisy bar (should be close by the end of the season and replaced by a quieter outlet or restaurant for the next season). Impossible to sleep in those rooms until late in the night (ask to be away from that). The other rooms are very quiet (1m thick stone wall probably helps a bit)
Overall a great place to stay in Sauze d'Oulx.The special mentions go to the room standard and the effort of the staff/family to make you comfortable during your stay.

Hotel is absolutely beautiful and unrivalled in terms of comfort and presentation. Set in the beautiful Old Town of Sauze D'Oulx where there are the best restaurant around. Staff and very kind and helpful.
In four skiing holidays this is the best accommodation I have had by an absolute mile.
The one negative point is the walk to the ski lift although the bus stop is not too far and this will take you to Sportinia ski-lift.