Au Rascard

The staff were really nice, and we were happy with what we got for the price. Our room was small, fine for two, but clean, with a very clean bathroom and a terrace looking toward the mountains. Breakfast had lots of sweet and savory choices and was great. It’s a welcoming hotel near Brusson, the ski area, Champuloc, and Estoul. There’s a nice mountain view, and I bet it looks even better when everything’s covered in snow.

We paid a fairly low price, so in the end you get what you pay for. Hotel Italia is well placed for nearby ski resorts and hiking routes, and the reception was pleasant. The alpine-style room was a bit dated but reasonably clean. Breakfast was a buffet, though nothing special: coffee from a vending machine, very few savory options, and stale sweets, including crunchy pandoro and cakes that seemed to have been left out for days. A couple of plates weren’t clean, perhaps by mistake. Communication was a real problem. We couldn’t reach the hotel by phone or email before arrival, and the advertised check-in time was wrong. That cost us two hours and an extra trip we could have avoided.

The only good parts were the nice view, if your balcony didn’t face a wall, and the waiters, who were trying their best. The food itself was bland, and getting a three-course dinner took an hour and a half. Everything else about the hotel felt poor. Never again!

The hotel feels quite old, and the bed wasn’t very comfortable. Room service was poor quality, and even though parking is paid, there still isn’t enough space.