Hotel Cristallo — Hotel in Valtournenche

Overall a mixed stay but a very enjoyable week over Christmas.

Check in was fine, didn’t have to queue long (although we did see long queues at other times). Receptionist was friendly but didn’t offer much information, we had to ask a lot of questions. A welcome leaflet about the hotel would be useful and save time here.

Our room was spacious and we had a giant 6ft bed that was really comfortable. Shower was hot & powerful, beautiful view and a great hairdryer. It was close to reception, although speaking to other guests we heard how some rooms were quite a walk away. After doing some Googling we realised we were complimentary upgraded but no one told us this. However the room was lovely! Housekeeping - sometimes they did everything, sometimes they left no toilet roll…a little odd they changed the bed sheets on our last night but they always left the room tidy! Always pleasant people to engage with.

Dinner was mixed but lots of choice. Fresh salads, pasta, pizza, different mains every night. Christmas night was Beef Wellington which was great! Other nights the options weren’t as good and were sometimes a little cold. If you’re fussy you may struggle as a lot of the options are Italian - which suited us but we did eat out twice to mix things up.

Breakfast - eggs, an amazing array of pastries & croissants, fresh fruit - everything you can think of. Don’t expect baked beans and English sausages, embrace the more traditional Italian options!

The lounge/bar area needed some work. We’d sit down, wait 15 minutes to be seen by no one, head to the bar to order drinks & be told no you must order at the table. At one point there were 2 managers talking right next to us and paid no attention to our lack of refreshments. It seemed there were always lots of staff but I’m not exactly sure what they all did…lots of suits and standing around but not a lot of ‘doing.’ The skiers snacks in the afternoon were great, arancini, cake, sliders, but we weren’t told about this and only saw it on the TV when we were flicking through, meaning we enjoyed this for the second half of the week.

The spa - I had a great massage from Agnes, my other half followed suit and also thoroughly enjoyed his. However to use the sauna & other facilities it was €30pp/ph, which we felt was a little steep. We did use the pool but took our room towels as the €5 charge for a pool towel also felt unreasonable. It was quite cold so we only visited once and it was very quiet, shame as it’s clearly had some money spent on it but just needed to be a bit warmer!

The evening entertainment was also a mixed bag, a beautiful violinist one night and the next, young dancers prancing round in fish-nets to Madonna’s Vogue…not necessarily family friendly but it didn’t start till 10pm, so likely that wasn’t the focus! The shuttle service down to the Gondola/main town was great and we only waited 15 minutes on 1 day. The drivers were always friendly and chatty, shame some of the 5* guests treated them awfully but they managed well.

The boot lockers - it seems a previous review hit the nail on the head. The 4* locker heaters ‘don’t work’ but if you moan enough you can get upgraded to the heated ones…

Overall we had a lovely week, we would return but only at the right price. The skiing in Cervinia was great and exactly what we were looking for but the hotel has a few areas that need improving. All the staff we encountered were wonderful and helpful, minus the restaurant hosts who would constantly repeat Crystal (travel agent) as we walked in for dinner, the waiters were wonderful and certainly made up for this. It does feel like you’re looked down on for booking through Crystal Ski (part of Tui) but we didn’t let that get to us & a comp bottle of wine every night was a...

The Valtur Cristallo is a nicely decorated, and well equipped hotel with a gym, spa, sauna, and pool. I used the gym, and it has modern Technogym equipment, so I was able to log into my account. We didn't participate in the evening entertainment or the afternoon buffet so unable to comment on this.

The hotel and the room we stayed in are spotlessly clean, and that makes a huge difference and is reassuring. Staff are pleasant and helpful, particularly on the Guest Experience desk, which may explain the minimal information imparted at check-in.

Having the ski hire available on the premises was a bonus and the lockers are adequate for 2 pairs of skis and boots. You're not asked what equipment you are using, when you are issued with your key, so imagine if you snowboard as 2 guests you would need 2 lockers. There's ample room to get your gear on and the check in to hire equipment is a good idea. Costs are reasonable for skis for a week too.

The shuttle bus drivers work extremely hard and are attentive and helpful. They work tirelessly running guests to and from town and are v frequent. They are a credit to the hotel so big thanks to them. There is no shuttle bus after 7pm but you can walk into town, and back ( the latter if you have the grit to walk back up the hill fulled by a few bombardinos,or are prepared to pay €10pp).

The food is plentiful and very flavoursome and good quality ingredients, with options such as beef fillet, roasted joints, fish, pasta, salads, cold meats, cheese, soup, sushi, and pizzas made at a dedicated station in the buffet restaurant which is you are a Crystal guest is where you will dine.

However, what significantly let's it down is the temperature of the hot food, tho it isnt! I'm not sure if the bains marie aren't filled high enough, and the water kept hot enough under the ceramic dishes, but often the food is luke warm at best... which is extremely disappointing and spoils the food. The heat lamps are useless, and plates are cold for hot meals. Pizza is cooked and laid out, too, and kept under heat lamps. It's the biggest complaint of the guests if you read the reviews and for a 4/5* hotel management should really look at this, as if it wasn't for this reason (I love a good meal after being out all day) then I would return next year, but I really don't want to experience it again, as I wouldnt look forward to my evening meal and it would spoil my trip. It's a shame for the chefs, and support staff who prepare, present and serve the the food. The lukewarm/cold temperatures spoils good food and your meal experience. This is the same at breakfast time, too.

The drinks are expensive, at the bar and in the restaurant. There is such a wide-ranging selection of wines to choose from, but a bottle of prosecco will set you back £33 or so, and a bottle of red/white starting around £25. Glasses of wine, small measure work out at £8 or so and a bottle or water £3 so you see most guests drinking water. You could easily run a bar bill of upwards of £500 in a week if you're not careful. They should make the drinks menu more accessible, they would sell much more. I lost count of the conversations I heard such as I would have had a bottle of wine but..... again to have a bottle of wine on holiday is a treat and compliments the meal. Just a little bit too steep price wise.

Overall subject to the above we had a good stay. I can understand the comments about the walk from some rooms to the restaurant as I had a wander. It is definitely a lifestyle resort; but there are issues with the food and cost of drinks, which, whilst the stars represent amenities, do let it down somewhat which is a huge shame or we would have booked again for next year...

We just returned home today from our stay at the Valtur Cristallo. The facilities are top notch. We appreciated the upgrade of one of our rooms to a suite. Staff in the restaurant, housekeeping, shuttle drivers and bell hops were all very helpful. The buffet meals had plenty to choose from. We especially enjoyed the juice bar. We were just missing some better coffee, which you could order for an additional 4€. Traveling with family, we enjoyed the conveniences like the shuttle to town, on-site restaurant, apres ski snacks, ski rentals, and ski storage room.

A few major issues came up which left us dissatisfied with our visit: the maintenance of the grounds was very poor. Today on our departure my father fell in the slippery, slushy driveway while loading the car due to the fact that none of the snow had been cleared in the entrance to the hotel (photos attached). This is dangerous to both guests and staff. we chose to park our car outside, and expected to have some shoveling to do in the event of snow. What we didn’t expect was the need to shovel the entire parking lot clear to drive our car out. We were told that a plow would come to help clear the way out, but this never happened. We had to shovel the path out of the parking lot by hand with 2ft deep snow. while the use of the pool is free, they charged us 17€ to borrow 2 towels, purchase 2 swim caps (which were mandatory for entering the pool) and purchase a pair of flip flops. I would expect the towels to be included at an all inclusive resort. we also expected rooms to come with slippers for guests use which is common for 4/5* hotels. On top of this, the spa/pool desk is not equipped to take payments, so I had to go up to the reception to pay before using the pool. We were swimming with our baby and wanted to get a short swim in before his nap, but the payment upstairs with reception was not a smooth process. Furthermore, i asked to open a tab for our room but was not allowed to do so using the payment with a digital card. it was a bit inconvenient getting to the restaurant with a stroller, as we had take 3 different elevators to get there and walk outside for one of them. during peak times, there was a lot of chaos with the shuttles. Non skiers exit the hotel at the hotel entrance, while skiers wait by the ski storage room entrance. There’s no queue or agreement around who is next in line for the next shuttle. We were waiting with a baby for over 20 minutes while the skiers were jumping in the shuttle ahead of us. After two shuttles left without space for us, we ended up queuing in front of the ski room entrance. it would have been helpful to have someone coordinating the queue, or have some signs that guide guests to queue up at a...