Grande Claviere Hotel

2 readers found this review helpful

In our opinion this hotel does not have the facilities and comfort of a three star establishment as claimed by the tour operator. It is shabby, in need of refurbishment and thorough cleaning. The hotel has a seventies feel to it and judging by the decor it was probably the last time any money was spent on it. We are aware that skiing accommodation can be basic and have stayed in a club hotel before (Thomson) but this does not excuse poor hygiene standards and lack of basic maintenance. We found the restaurant staff helpful but slightly chaotic as there didn't appear to be anyone in charge which meant often having to persue staff for a cooked breakfast and glasses which often seemed to run out. The food in general was ok, the high point being the italian meal on the final night, childrens tea was disorganised with their often not being enough places available for the number of children attending. It would have been helpful if the childrens menu was available alongside the adult menu in the evening as our youngest either had to eat on her own earlier or have the adult menu later on which wasn't always to her taste (again Thomson offered this last year). The bar area was cold and unwelcoming not helped by the surly bar staff who spent their time scowling at guests. Another offputing aspect was the smell of cooking oil which seemed to have impregnated all the towels and linen! On a positive note Claviere is really beautiful with fantastic skiing and I would certainly recommend it to people just not this hotel.

On arrival our rooms had been mixed up, when we finally got our room it was dirty and dusty and the toilet looked like it hadn't been cleaned in weeks. When I asked the manager about this he called me a liar and I was told they were cleaned every day. The hotel is run and cleaned by a group of teenagers, who are there only to ski/snowboard. The manager is extremely rude and ignorant and did not help us with any of our inquiries ( when he was even around to answer them and not skiing!) On two accounts he was verbally abusive and a member of our party was attacked by a young lad who was part of the crystal team working in the hotel. Police were called but no futher action was taken. We were later informed that this was the 3rd time this rep had threatened a guest. People like this should not be working as a rep, especially with children around.
Here is a quote from a young rep working in the hotel " Not alot of poeple like the manager here and we get complaints but we think he's alright as he lets us off the hook alot. If we do something wrong he lets us learn from our mistakes, instead of other crystal managers where you get 3 points and your gone, here we can mess up as much as we like".
The hotel had no ice at the bar, on 3 accounts they ran out of bread (when soup was being served!), The childrens menu is not suitable for children at all, not to mention the length we had to wait to receive our food in the evenings. This hotel is not worth staying in!

12 readers found this review helpful

The comment about the lift pass is absolutely accurate except for one point, you can buy the combined French/Italian pass both in Italy and France - so you can pop down to the local lift pass office in Claviere and buy the combined pass.
All the Tour Operators in Claviere (Crystal, First Choice and Equity) offer either a Local Pass or a Area Pass - the Area Pass is horrendously overpriced at 175 Euros at high season and is an absolute NO for most people.
The Local Pass at 112 Euros gives you 6 days of skiing in the Claviere Area (which is not the biggest, but has some lovely runs), 1 day in the Milky Way and 1 day in the local (and gorgeous) French resort of Montgenevre. Now the major point, it only costs 20 Euros for an extra day in the Milky Way!
The Area Pass at 175 Euros (! although this does reduce to 155 Euros during Low Season) gives you 6 days of skiing in Claviere and the Milky Way, and still just 1 day in Montgenevre. (17 Euros for an extra day regardless of which pass you have) So to do a bit of maths, you need to ski 4 days (out of 6) in the Milky Way to make the area pass worthwhile!
Now the somewhat *secret* pass that none of the Tour Operators offer - a pass which covers Claviere AND Montgenevre + 1 day in the Milky Way for 149 Euros. (with the 20 Euros per extra Milky Way Day option) This pass is considerably better as Claviere and Montgenevre are (mostly) excellently linked - certainty better linked than Claviere and the Milky Way which involves a lot of lifts. This pass is head and shoulders better than the other options for both the Advanced and Beginner Skiers or Boarders - you'll have to find a bloody decent Rep to know about this pass as the Tour Operators will avoid mentioning it as they do not have a contract to sell this pass. (and so cannot make any profit out of it)
For Advanced Skiers, Montgenevre has dozens of excellent runs, a half-pipe and a border cross - and for Beginners offers another alternative in the form of a long nursery slope to the Claviere nursery slope so an absolute beginner is not stuck on a single slope for the week.

2 readers found this review helpful

We enjoyed the holiday. The food was good and the Hotel staff helpful.
However there was an issue with the lift pass. On the Ski Club of Great Britain website many contributors say that ease of access to other parts of the Milky Way is exaggerated and this was our experience. It was good to get across to Sansicario but involved a lot of time on lifts. The skiing in Claviere was good but there are not sufficient runs to spend too long there. The best skiing is probably in Montgenevre.
Which brings us to the problem. The lift passes sold in Claviere and promoted by the Rep are of two types. You can have a local pass which gives unlimited use in Claviere but only one day in Montgenevre and one day in the Milky Way or an area pass which gives unlimited access to Claviere and the Milky Way but only one day in Montgenevre. But if you avoid the Rep and walk 20 minutes up the road to Montgenevre you can buy a local lift pass giving unlimited access to Claviere and Montgenevre and a day in the Milky Way or an area pass giving unlimited access to everything.
For most beginner to intermediate skiers the local lift pass bought in Montgenevre is the best option and, according to the Crystal brochure, about €60 cheaper. To stay in Claviere and buy a pass which only gives one day in Montgenevre does not make any sense but that is what the Rep will try to sell you.