Terra Nova Hotel

This was the third time we had stayed at the Hotel Terra Nova. We had enjoyed it so much in previous years that we decided to return - this time with other members of my family. There was 8 in total. The hotel itself has good sized rooms, with the luxury of a bath to relieve all the aches and pains of ski-ing. Of all the times staying at the hotel this was the worst by far with regards to the food and service. We prefer the buffet style as we had three children with us, but found that the buffet style did not work as when food ran out it was not replaced unless requested. I could hear constantly people moaning as they had ran out of things including glasses and dishes for cereal, and various foods. The english waiter 'James' was very pleasant and had the advantage that he understood what was being asked. The buffet dinner was also more like a queuing dinner as was really busy every night. We made sure we got down for 7.15pm. The waiter service dinner didn't relieve the hassle as the service was very slow and it was clear that they were under staffed, and had no-one senior to run the restaurant. As far as the bar was concerned they had done a happy hour for the first time that only lasted until tuesday as obviously the barstaff did not like being busy. As a party we went to the bar within the time to get the BOGOF offer but they said it had finished an argument did occur, it was clearly before 6.30pm but they said the till said differently another party had the same issue and got a refund after they had been charged full price. The bar staff then informed us the manager - that did not act like one was stopping it. The bar manager being all of 18 then proceeded to tell guests it was our fault that it was cancelled when in fact it was the fault off the bar staff. After that we still went to the bar but obviously no more happy hour and it was 6 Euros a pint - but we could afford it!! I would not go back again to the hotel, although for £350 half board we got a really good deal. Time for a change. On the plus side had a great time as the ski-ing was amazing the weather and the snow conditions were the best we had ever had - sunshine all the way apart from half a day. The ski-in ski-out is great. This is a great hotel if you have children that use the mini-club as we have done in prior years although it does tend to be mainly french children and they have to go to french ski school. Roll-on next years ski-ing and the Euro rate going up!

Stayed here 24th-31st Jan. Booked hotel a few weeks before travelling through Thomson Website for £389 each. Decided on half board because of the pound being so weak so thought this was a bit of a bargain. We didn't arrive til about 2.30am due to flight delays but the restaurant had left out food from that evenings buffet. Was a bit wary about some of it as had been out for hours and dirty plates everywhere but was grateful to have some soup and bread. Hotel is in a good location with ski in / ski out option. Hotel room was fine - good size, warm, nice view from window and great to have a bath. Its a little grubby round the edges - thick dust on skirting boards and round edges of carpet / flooring so just feels like they do a minimal clean most of the time. Sheets and towels were clean though and changed once during our stay. Breakfast buffet was good - continental with the option of boiling your own egg! (just watch out if someone takes yours or you have to start again!) Evening food was lovely - alternate nights of complete buffet one night and table service for main course the next plus 1/4 ltr wine each per night. So overall the hotel facilites and food were good and seemed a bargain for what we paid but I would not pay brochure price. The downside we found was the staff. There seemed to be an atmosphere between the restaurant staff sometimes - they are very young. One morning one of the boys was clearing tables, he dropped a dish and the next thing he's thrown the tray on the floor and stormed out of the restaurant - not the behaviour you expect to see. There were a few other 'tense verbal moments' between the waiters/waitresses at times. My husband asked for a teapot one morning only to be told 'NO' by some smug male waiter with a pony-tail. He pointed to a coffee pot but when my husband said that was dirty the waiter just smiled at him and walked off. My husband did manage to get a clean tea pot from a different waiter who was much more pleasant. A few other guests also had problems with the bar staff. We did hear an argument between the bar manager and a few guests one evening which didn't make for a pleasant atmosphere! Overall we feel we had a bargain and would go back again for that price but would not pay full price for it!

we stayed here two years ago and returned this year for a weeks skiing. Hotel well situated -ski to and from door, big ski range so loads of route choice food is good, with free 1/2 bottle of wine for thompson/crystal guests. Can turn into a bit of a scrum on buffet nights but standard was good. room clean and comfortable, bath an added bonus. there is noise from corridor and neighbouring room - but not to bad. safe is easy to use- set your code. if you want things from it- open it lock imediately- you can reopen later! nothing much to do if you dont ski, there is a gym in hotel, a pool in neighbouring resort-5mins on bus, a cinema, but not much else. with the pound so weak we found local food/bars etc very expensive In summary- they feed you well and give a good standard of accomodation to stay in.

After I left my jacket in the bar for an hour the ski pass was stolen. It was near some friends and the bar was just about empty. The jacket was handed into reception when the bar shut but the ski pass had been stolen from a fully zipped up ski pass pocket. The hotel staff couldn't care less. No management was available to look into the issue. Effectively, they may have an internal problem but no-one cared to check further. The problem is that the passes can not be canceled immediately even if you have the number - you can only get a replacement from the day after you report the loss. So the pass is sellable as a one day pass at least. This can obviously be a real pain for people who've waited for 18 months for a holiday and want to be skiing and not chasing around for ski passes. Now it was my fault for leaving the jacket - but the lack of any response from the hotel management was disapointing. That's if they knew - as the title said, the only staff we ever saw was the kids running the place. A friend of ours also had some slippers stolen from the boot room - a minor thing but still annoying. So, food great - but there may be a problem with petty theft - make sure you put your valuables into the safe in your room.

Stayed at the Terra Nova over New Year 2009. Genuine ski in and out with locker room door directly on green run giving access to chairlifts giving onward easy access to main lifts and ski school. Room clean and comfortable, quiet location with a short walk to village centre (which is lacking in any charm). Evening meals were buffet for starters and desserts with alternate buffet/waiter service for mains. Food of a good standard and plentiful. Staff (French) friendly and helpful. Clientele are mostly families and mostly French with a fair percentage of UK/Ireland.

The Terra Nova was a perfect base to explore the La Plagne ski resort. The hotel itself was probably better than fine, but I wouldn't describe it as special or interesting - more comfortable and functional. The room was nice, good beds, warm (essential when skiiing) and we were blessed with being on the right side of the building -so perfect views of the mountains. As previous reviewers have stated, hot water was on tap (apart from the day they shut off the water completely for repairs - just one of those things), however, we found the food slightly disappointing. Breakfast was a minimal affair and the portions at dinner were not much larger. An alternate buffett / a la carte arrangement. Free wine was on offer, but only rose & red !? Drinkable though. On a more positive note, the staff at the hotel were all incredibly helpful and smiled a lot!! The ski hire in the basement made rental so much easier (take a padlock for the ski lockers) than using the shops in La Plagne centre. We found the bedroom safe a complete nightmare because it would reset if the door was left open for 4 mins (you could still lock it after this time, but it would not open!!). After calling out reception 3 times, we finally gave up using it!! All in all, a good standard hotel which we would return to....but not for the food!

My partner is a very experienced snowboarder and stayed in many hotels across the alps but felt that this was one of the better- especially in terms of value for money. The hotel itself is clean and spacious. Although i felt there was nothing wrong with the food, i've had better selection elsewhere. You have to ask for your complimentry house wine- as they certainly won't offer it and if you are of 'classic british attittude' where you don't want to seem like a cheapskate asking which is the free wine- you can tell because it comes in unlabelled bottles. The hotel location is really quite good. there is a lift just outside which takes you to the resort centre. I have to say, i have read this elsewhere- BEWARE THE RUN COLOURS- the blues are definatley more like reds and there is one red in particular called "les sources" during which i nearly had a panic attack- try it if you dare!!!! If you are like myself- sort of blue/ red run skier- go across to belle plagne- the runs there are a lot wider and its very picturesque. Also one thing about the maid- he always seemed to target our room while we were at breakfast- but took honestly a good half an hour to do it and on a couple of occasions we were really late getting onto the slopes because of him so make sure you put a do not disturb sign on the door to avoid this. Overall a nice enough hotel- very clean and the staff were pretty nice too. The resort- la plagne was also suprisingly nice- a very relaxed atmosphere with some really good runs.

Excellent hotel. The rooms were warm, clean, spacious and comfortable although we would have appreciated more pillows. The bathrooms had showers, baths and plenty of hot water - essential after a day's skiing. The restaurant food was exceptional. There was always something the children liked and it included regional french dishes. Every evening there was a delicious soup, very varied starter buffet, choice of hot dishes (and a special children's meal) and fantastic puddings. Even the house rose was great quality. It's worth noting that there is a ski hire shop in the basement ski locker room which would have avoided those trips into the resort centre to hire equipment and change uncomfortable boots midweek! We found the piste ratings in La Plagne frustrating as most blue runs were more like wide reds with some very steep sections. This meant a lot of hand-holding of younger children and made skiing as a family more difficult.

Stayed here on a Crystal Ski package deal and found it one of the best 3* hotels we've ever had on this type of holiday. Plentiful choice of high quality buffet breakfast and dinner (free house wine for Crystal guests). Panoramic restaraunt overlooking piste and mountains. Large clean room with double bed and pull out sofa bed, great for us as a couple, and we didn't have to pay an under occupancy supplement. Proper bath to soothe aching bodies after a hard day on the slopes. Unlimited hot water 24 hours a day. Fantastic location in Plagne Centre. Direct access onto beginners piste leading to choice of lifts. Ski back to door. 5 minutes walk to shops and bars. Mostly all located in concrete commercial centre - you need to be shown where they are by your rep as you wouldn't know they existed from the outside. Our only minor complaint was that the daily chamber maid came too early for our liking, usually whilst we were at breakfast. She was always in our room when we went back to get ready.

Hotel Terra Nova is in La Plagne Centre - it is very well run and the food was really good - great value! I will be interested in other hotels in the Paladien Altitude chain in the future. There is a spacious entrance/reception and also a bar upstairs. The restaurant only got crowded because the large panoramic area was closed. Ask for a table you would prefer if you don’t like the one you are shown to at dinner. At breakfast there was lots of choice and plentiful quantities all the way up until closing time – and no pressure to leave, although tables were mysteriously being cleared of their place settings at 9am one day – think it must have been the managers day off. A waiter seats you and takes your order for the main course if necessary. Meals are buffet style– lots of choice, meat, fish, vegetarian, with main courses either served at the counter by the chefs or brought to the table depending on the menu, so there is always someone to ask about the food if you need to. There was a high standard of meals - and high proportion of French guests in the restaurant. The starter buffet at first appears to be lots of small portions that run out quickly but they are constantly replaced with more variety. There are also lots of desserts that you can help yourself to, luckily all but 1 or 2 are the quite fancy ‘tarte aux pommes’ type and not usually the ones eat or I think the chair lift would have snapped by the end of the week. A variety of ice cream is also available every night. Drinks were typical French resort prices - similar to the UK ~ €5 for beer. The room was for 2-4 people, so there was plenty space for 2, with double sofa bed at one end of room and an extra wardrobe. Good bathroom with shower over bath and separate loo, lots of hot water towels etc and well cleaned. Quite warm so needed the windows open, but not noisy outside. Its ultra convenient - the ski hire + free lockers (take your own padlock for or hire one) are in the basement of the hotel. Ski straight out onto slopes from the hotel and down to a chairlift then back into the hotel at the end of the day. Supermarkets are a 5-10 minute walk up the road but they are all shut by 7:30 - its quite a desolate resort with lots of concrete apartment blocks, so ski late and get any shopping before dinner! Most chairs were uncovered so very wet in the snow. It’s a pleasant ski over to Les Arcs etc and the paradiski area is large enough to keep you occupied.