Refuge Hélène — Attraction in Courmayeur

We arrived after a very long walk and even though we had made reservations in advance, the woman at the front desk said there was nothing in our name. Upon insistence and proof that we did have reservations, she did (reluctantly) give us room in the dortoir. The dortoirs are spacious and clean, which is a plus. The showers however had a 2 minute timer, which they hadn't told us about, so I was al soaped up when the water stopped. I had to rinse myself under the communal sink, just absurd. I only need water, not hot water, and they have a direct flow from the waterfall so surely there is no shortage. The food is okay, but substanderd compared to other refuges. We wanted to play some board games after dinner, but were chased out of the bar/restaurant (only place with tables) at 8:45pm because they were going to close. People standing outside talking had to go inside because everything closed at 9pm. So you had no choice but to lie in...

The place was clean and in order but my review is about the food. There was nothing actually cooked. The first plate was four cold French fries, four green cocktail olives, some sliced ham and two pieces of mozzarella from the supermarket. The second plate was a very large portion of slightly undercooked spaghetti with a dot of unseasoned tomato sauce without olive oil or Parmesan cheese. After a big hike I was hungry and ate nearly all of it, using gulps of water to keep it from from sticking in my throat. The next plate had a good bean, red pepper and onion salad but also some kind of supermarket slicked veal with gravy. I have higher expectations in Italy and the pasta felt like the chef was disrespectful. If you go here you may want to bring a can of tuna and sit outside, you will feel better having rejected the food from someone who really...

The reception is impressive. We arrived (5 backpackers) without reservation and with rain forecast. To make matters worse, the refuge was full. After a beer and refill the canteens began the deluge. We do not deny the reason to those who say that the customer is looked at with a dog face, but we were saved from a horrible night.

Seeing our pitiful situation they gave us hot pasta with bread and a bottle of wine free of charge so that we could eat hot and gave us advice on where we could camp.

As we were getting into the tents under the deluge and lightning, they approached us to invite us to enter the refuge, they saved us from the worst possible night of our TMB.

We can only be grateful and say thank you very much for the demonstration of mountainism, empathy and humanity in the...