Park Hotel Bellacosta

I hadn’t planned to write anything, but after a family member who also stayed here posted a review and then got an unpleasant letter from the hotel’s lawyer, I changed my mind. The letter accused them of defamation, asked them to remove their review, and asked them to publish an extremely positive review written by the hotel and/or its lawyer. I don’t believe that’s legal, and everyone has a right to freedom of expression. This is my account of my own opinions and experience. From other online reviews, it seems the hotel’s lawyer may send these letters when the hotel receives a negative review. The food was very good, and the waiters were especially kind. The kitchen team, waiters, and housekeeping staff were friendly and did their jobs excellently. In my opinion, the reception and bar staff brought the hotel down, and I’d suggest staying elsewhere. We felt very uncomfortable with the reception staff, who were extremely unpleasant to guests, not just us. We heard rude remarks directed at us and comments in Italian to other staff behind our backs. The rooms on one side had a nice view, but those on the other faced a huge hill or wall only about 2 meters from the balcony, with no view. The ski room was very small and had no boot heaters, which felt outdated. The basement parking was also narrow and hard to navigate. Drinks at the bar were extremely expensive. A G&T at 13-15 euro seemed costly even in expensive countries. The bartender didn’t know how to make classic cocktails like an espresso martini and measured by eye, so cocktails often seemed to contain less than 2 cl, and beers seemed short too. We pointed this out several times. You sign a ticket for each bar order and pay the combined bill at the end. Our bill was so high that we asked to see the tickets. Several had drinks added, with entries like 2 + 2 rather than 4. I found that strange if we had ordered four drinks. There were no extra signatures, so I felt drinks may have been added after the initial order without a signature.

We had a fun week here on a ski trip, and felt welcome as soon as we checked in. The front desk ladies explained everything politely and helped make it a great stay. Housekeeping kept the rooms clean and in good shape every day, so we had no complaints. There was plenty to keep kids busy, including a pool and a huge mini club. The restaurant was fantastic, both for the food and the service. A special shoutout to Victorio and Antonio, who were so friendly and kind to our big group. They were easily the best part of our hotel stay. We had an amazing time and will definitely be back.

We went skiing and stayed here in March 2024. The building looks nice and the mountain view is lovely, though on the other side a hill rises like a wall just two metres from the balcony. If you know someone with a mountain-facing room, their balcony is a much better spot for apres-ski. The restaurant was a real bright spot: breakfast and dinner were amazing, and the waiters were very friendly. The ski room, though, needs immediate work. It’s tiny, old, and there’s no heat for the ski boots. Worst one I’ve ever seen. The bar was a different story. The bartender left loads of foam on the beers even after we asked several times for proper pours. The whisky sour tasted amateur and wasn’t good. When we ordered an espresso Martini, he used Martini and Baileys, and the drink curdled. He realized it wasn’t drinkable and made something else, but he didn’t use jiggers and put ice in the glasses before pouring the alcohol. We had to ask him to correct the amount, since what he poured wasn’t what we’d paid for. On our last day, we were surprised by the drink prices, EUR 13-15 each. That was very expensive, though it was our mistake not to ask first. We’d just assumed they’d be around EUR 10. We also checked the bill with reception because it listed drinks we didn’t think we’d ordered. When bar drinks are charged to your room, you sign a ticket showing the drinks and amounts. We saw several tickets marked “2+2,” but none of us had signed tickets like that. Reception said the extra “2+” had been added after we asked for two more drinks, which wasn’t true. There was no point trying to discuss it further. The reception staff were impolite and suggested we might not be able to count how much we’d drunk. They kept insisting the tickets were ones we’d signed, and didn’t take in what we were saying about the “2+2” entries. They didn’t try to help or even let us hold the tickets. When I asked to photograph them because I had no copies, they hid them and said they were hotel property. Saying the tickets were agreements between two parties, with only the hotel keeping a copy, didn’t change their minds. One receptionist also swore in Italian in front of the guests, which wasn’t acceptable. The issue wasn’t the money, but the way reception treated us. It was our word against the bartender’s, but from the start they were unhelpful, impolite, and dismissive of what we were asking. It was extremely unpleasant and spoiled the good impression we’d had of the hotel. The exaggerated drink totals affected our two rooms, and ours were the only two rooms that tried to do anything about it. A big apology to the wonderful restaurant team for the low rating and this review. You were great.

A good place to stay, but during our visit there were lots of teenagers from former Eastern European countries who had no manners and attacked the dinner buffet. The hotel staff should say something to them.