Grande Claviere Hotel

Had a week at the Grande Claviere at the beginning of February this year - booked through Crystal Holidays. The place definitely had its pluses and minuses, but for me the pluses outweighed the minuses and I would definitely return. Pluses:- You arrive via Turin. I've been on countless ski holidays and nothing fills me with dread more than having to spend a minute more of my life at Geneva airport on a winter Saturday! Short transfer. An hour and fifteeen minutes after leaving the airport you're there, and barely a hairpin bend to speak of. Location. Okay, so this year has seen the best snow for many years but we really did ski to / from 100 yards of the back door. Village centre a brief stroll away. Skiing. As I've said already I've been skiing every year for the last 20 or so and therefore I've seen many different resorts. I thought the skiing in Claviere and Montgenevre had it all but without the mountainside price tags that other resorts have and, without the crowds. Never waited once for a lift and never spent more than 10 Euros on lunch! Food. Dinner in the Hotel was excellent. They had a few teething problems at the start of our week because one of the chef's had left but the staff tried really hard and should be commended. You choose your dinner whilst at breakfast - so you can look forward all day. My wife is a vegetarian and she always had an option. Childcare. This was a must for us with a 4 and 1 year old. The facilities are located downstairs and we were perfectly happy to let the staff look after our 2. We booked the full day creche for our youngest, the only negative for her was that the baby sleeping area had no window blinds so it was pretty light! Our eldest was in the whizz kids club, we just dropped her off after breakfast and they did the rest. Ski school starts at 11 in Claviere so the staff took the kids down, signed them over to the instructor and collected them at 1. All looked very secure to us. Minuses:- Decor. The hotel needs an internal bomb! The public areas look like something from the 70's. There is not enough space for all the guests to sit in the evenings so we ended up staying in the restaurant area, until they chucked us out of there to clean. It then became a British bun-fight to see who could fing a sofa / table in the bar / lounge! Rooms. Beware 110! We had a family room that consisted of a very small double that had a large bedroom attached with 3 single beds, that we used for the kids as it was further from the door. Our room, although on the 1st floor was under the eaves and must have had very little insulation because it felt very cold (we had friends staying in the room opposite and the temperature difference was amazing) We have a baby monitor that registers temperature it showed 15 degrees C in the kids room, which isn't really warm enough for a 1 year old Noise. Rm 110 sits above the kitchen. During the middle of the week the Hotel fitted a new extractor fan in the chimney which runs up the corner of the room. The noise from which was, and I don't say it lightly, deafening til 8.30 pm. We tried to put our girls down at 7 and neither could sleep. We complained on many occasions and eventually demanded that they turn it off at 7 pm. On the kitchen staff's night off go to Le Grand Bouc Restaurant - It's just down the road and was wonderful. Hotel reception will be more than happy to book a table for you. A word on Lift passes. I've read all the reviews posted on this site and I was dreading this bit but it seems like the tour operators have listened to us! (shock horror) If you're anything better than a beginner then BUY THE 2 COUNTRY PASS. Claviere - as you know - is in Italy, as such it is part of the Milky Way (ViaLattea) ski area that also comprises Sauze D'Oulx, Sansicario, Sestriere. You could buy the entire Milky Way pass but the links down and across the valley take a long time. Montgenvere, (France!) is also well connected to Claviere - In fact one of the lifts out of the village is on that pass only! the ski to Montgenevre is easy in fact the transition across the border is seamless. The trouble is politics! the French don't like a lot of people to use their slopes on a ticket they bought in Italy even though its 100 yards away! So this is the compromise, you choose the best. Claviere / Cesana pass - entitles 1 day in Montgenvere 1 day rest of Milky way remaining time ONLY in Claviere. Milky Way - entitles as many days on Italian side as you buy plus 1 day in Montgenvre. 2 country - As much time in Claviere AND Montgenevre as you like plus 1 day on rest of Milky Way. Your rep WILL now be able to sell you a 2 country pass before you need it Monday morning. If you pre-book your pass on line, book the local Claviere one and they will upgrade that on request. It works out cheaper. The skiing in Montgenvere is excellent! Think i've covered it all - any members who would like to ask more feel free to message me

We Stayed at this hotel from the 11th to 18th January 2009 and had an excellent holiday. The staff were very friendly and helpful and always took the time to ask about your day and give you advice on where to ski should you ask. The seating area was small but we found it great for mixing with other families. There is also a bar area where you can sit and have a drink and a chat. We made a few friends and had a few great nights! Our room was OK, a little small but it had everything you needed for a comfortable stay including some nice toiletries! The food was excellent, we complemented the chief almost every day. You could have a lovely continental and/or full English Breakfast and after a great days skiing you were welcomed back to a nice afternoon tea. Then in the evening you were given a scrumptious 3 course evening meal. In fact on our last night the whole dinning room had a collection for all the staff that had given us all such a great holiday. The ski area in Clavier is OK but as an experienced skier it didn't have as much runs as I would have liked. You do of course with a local ski pass get to ski one day in the milky way and one day in France. However getting to the Milky way took us two hours and although it was good when you got there we didn't go again due to the time it took us to get there. However we really enjoyed our day in France, so much so that we bought an extra day. On the whole I really liked this Hotel and the area and look forward to going back another time!

Was a little hesitant about arriving at the Grande after reading some of the reviews but was really pleasantly surprised on arrival. Yes the public area is a bit small and yes it is a little outdated in places but it is spotlessly clean, very welcoming and has the friendliest staff I have ever encountered - nothing was a problem and all the chalet team greated you with a smile. The food was really good quality and my husband is very particular - my daughter is extremely fussy and the staff did everything they could to accomodate her - even making her chips last minute when she decided she could not eat one of the pasta dishes. The rep in the hotel was there all the time and again really went out of her way when we needed help. My daughter did not use the childrens clubs but I observed the kiddie reps over there and again found their service impressive. The bar prices were comparable with others in the resort so I cant really agree with the cost (maybe a bit more but nothing we really noted) however costs in the resort obviously are high given the dreadful euro rate. I would recommend the hotel to anyone except those who dont want to be around children (there were a lot there) but if you enjoy a comfortable clean hotel with good food and excellent staff and dont mind compromising seating in the evening (we dont as we are always too tired after a full days skiing) then this is perfect. Just a couple of points on Claviere - try to remember all your essentials as the costs in the resort for toiletries/batteries etc were really high - make sure you try the Kilt in the resort and the Mon Soliel on the mountain to eat. For me the better lift pass was the two countries pass - we skiied over to the Milky way once (a day was included in the two countries pass) and I found it complicated where the link to Montgenerve was really easy and the exit from the slope brought you out opposite the hotel so you had the bonus of not walking uphill with skis!!! The cash point in the resort does not work! Take enough money with you, use your card in shops and restaurants if your cash is dwindling and ski over to Montgenerve as this has the nearest cash point. The snow is glorious at the moment so if you are going soon enjoy xxx

We skied in Claviere January 2008 and had a wonderful time. We stayed in the Gran Clavire hotel. The Claviere resort was small but compact and best suited to beginners and intermediates. The skiing was excellent, as they had just had a huge snowfall. The hotel rooms were great (we had a large family room on the top floor) with great views of the resort (see photos), the food was good and the British staff very helpful. A couple of negatives: The bar prices in the hotel were quite expensive. However, my biggest downfall with the hotel was that I felt the lounge area needed modernising and lacked an adequate amount of comfortable seating. Every evening the guests had to compete for 4 comfortable sofas. Albeit, in general the hotel is good value for money and a very good choice for families with children. If the lack of comfortable seating is not a problem for you, you ought to find the hotel great. Hope this review helps!

After seeing some average reviews before booking I was very relieved to find that the staff were friendly, hardworking and very helpful, the rooms were fine and the food was very good. Obviously it can vary from season to season as the staff changes, with the crowd that was there this time, i would recommend it to anyone.

Claviere was brilliant. I'm 16 and when I was there in Feb there where plenty of people my age and we all got on brilliantly with the Crystal staff. They showed us the best ski spots and night life in the area. My young cousins really enjoyed the pyjama club so it's great for their age group but I wouldn't reccomend staying n the hotel without children. Our rep advised us on Apres ski and we found it really helpful. Claviere is a small fairytale village and the skiing is perfect for begginers and intermediates. There's a great ski park on the slopes aswell which added a bit of variety to the skiing. The food in the hotel isn't great but there's free tea,coffee etc in the afternoon after skiing that we really enjoyed. I would definetly return to the Grande Clavirere in the future.

We recently stayed here for our ski trip. Normally we stay in Chalets, so this was a trip to "the unknown". It is definitely a family hotel so if you want to avoid children, then don't stay here. They take over the Hotel so if you want somewhere to chill at the end of ski-ing you need to head out - not a problem on a ski holiday though! The rooms were very comfortable, well heated, clean and well serviced. Any query we had, in that regard, was swiftly and politely dealt with. We found no fault with the staff and the Rep was very helpful and knowledgeable re- the area...and where to go to find "sanctuary". The huge downside of the hotel was the standard of the food. The breakfast was fine - a large choice of Continental, English Cooked and Fruit/Cereal. What let it down badly was the evening meal. We are not fussy eaters.....not in the least....but did begin to wonder what our fellow diners ate on a regular basis? We heard the odd "good food" being muted....maybe they only ate breakfast and dined out elsewhere like us???...as we did on increasing nights! The fish was rubbery, our vege member was served up a very cremated offering of carbonated mozarella and aubergine, our rice pudding was very under cooked (we were told "there have been a few complaints" re-same and not offered any alternative) and ....well I could mention more but.... As I said we are not fussy eaters and had looked forward to Italian fare - how can someone burn pasta? But we were told it is a British run hotel with British cooks...who didn't seem to be able to cook? So we found "The Kilt" that served delicious pastas,pizzas,desserts mmmhhh and seemed to do a trade in Hotel Claviere guests?? Very highly recommended. As is the food in the bar beside the tennis courts.... forgotten name...delicious and both reasonable. Loved the ski-ing...though we did get a huge dump and sunshine to follow. Signs on slopes in Italy are a challenge but if you've sense of adventure you'll be fine. If heading over to Cesana cannot recommend the restaurant "La Vecchia Lira" enough. The owner was very warm and welcoming and the food was very fresh and tasty. Very cheap too. It is at the bottom of the Cable Car. A real find and we made a point of going for lunch and vino caldo. Claviere, itself, is compact and limited, so it depends on what you are used to for apres ski.

The Crystal run Claviere provide good clean accommodation. Our twin room was spacious and had a balcony and dual aspect windows. For the cost of the hotel the food was excellent buffet breakfast with a full cooked option every morning or porridge or boiled eggs, cakes and biscuits from 4pm until 5pm and 3 good courses in the evening with wine. The hotel is seconds from a snow covered walkway which you can schuss into ski school or to the lifts in claviere. There is a ski and boots store in the hotel or you can pay to leave then at ski school at the bottom of the slopes. The skiing was compact but enough for a competent skier. Links to Montgenevere are simple and Sansicario and Sauze D'Oulx a little further but all on skis and you can do it in a day. Ski school was great even for advanced skiers! The hotel ran a day trip to Serre Chevalier too which was well worth it. Claviere itself is smallish but great for families and couples. There were a couple of groups in the hotel and they found enough the keep them entertained. We didn't take kids but those who did seem very satisfied with the options for kids! We would definitely return, great value, clean and no problems!

we stayed at this hotel for our first ever skiing trip in dec 2006. although very basic accommodation it was perfect for us. after a days skiing all we were able to do was crawl into bed anyway. the place is staffed by crystal reps and they did a great job even though it was the first week of the season, which led to some minor teething troubles, they couldn't do enough to make our stay very pleasant. the food is very good if a little basic, more choice for cooked breakfast would have been nice. we travelled with two small children (4 & 1) who used the kids club evry day and were very well looked after. they had a great time in the hotel creche.

Had a great stay in the Club Hotel Grande Claviere, which was run by Crystal. I was pleasantly surprised how lovely this place was as we booked it as a last minute bargain. The resort itself is a beautiful little village and the skiing was excellent despite the time of year. There are lots of lovely red pistes which are very much like the French blues, and there are loads of places to explore. The resort of Montgenevre is a mile down the road and you can go further to the Milky Way area, but the links to other Italian resorts are not as good as claimed, reportedly involving a very long journey by chairlift. This would be much better if you were to hire a car and drive over to Sestriere and Sauze D'Oulx. We were given a family room which was two adjoining twin rooms in the loft and it was beautiful, with wooden beams in the style of a chalet. The staff at the hotel were great, and the food was lovely. I would strongly recommend a stay at this hotel.