Life Hotels Des Alpes

The area is quite nice, with a 10-minute walk to the ski lifts, where you can change to other slopes. The weather was really cool. Those are the only positives. The hotel is listed as three stars, with a sign saying “Experience of comfort,” which feels like a joke. Once you enter, the adventure begins. If Costa, the young woman at reception, is working, you’re lucky. She’s the only person who speaks English and the only nice person there. Costa, thanks for all your support. Otherwise, the owner or manager, hard to tell which, welcomes you more like an unwanted cousin than a hotel guest. I won’t even explain how I felt when leaving. The rooms have a long list of problems, though I don’t expect much: at least a clean, decent blanket, since even my dog’s looks better, a bright light, and a kettle. If there’s a safe in the room, it should work instead of being a shelf for books or glasses. The bathroom feels like the 80s. The ski room is more like storage than a place with ski racks and boot dryers. In the restaurant, the tablecloths weren’t changed for six days, and napkins were used to cover the stains. Dinner, including first course, main course, and dessert, had to be eaten in 45-50 minutes because the restaurant was open for only one hour in the evening while serving about 90 people. It should be remembered that hotel guests are the customers who bring in money. Without that, I’d say visit once if there’s no other choice, then forget the place.

The phone doesn’t work there, which is a real downside. The hotel does have satellite TV, but when I’m in the mountains I’m not looking to watch television, so that doesn’t help much. I’d have liked to relax in a sauna, or in warm water when it’s very cold, but there isn’t one here, though other hotels have saunas. The rooms aren’t anything special and the food is acceptable. The village of Serrada is cute and lively, with lots of places to visit, and the hotel is centrally located in a nice spot. Beautiful ski slopes are very close, and being near the sports ground is great for having fun. I went last year and was glad to see the village fireworks.

We took a group of teenagers here for a weeklong ski trip and wouldn’t stay again. The rooms were tiny and crowded, and some people had to sleep on camp beds added to the rooms, apparently because the hotel was overbooked. The food was extremely basic and the same every day. By day three, even the kids were asking for salad and vegetables. Stay at your own risk.

For skiing, the hotel is adequate, and it’s cheap, but it isn’t very welcoming. We had a good sport trying to get a smile out of reception. The food is basic too, and drinks aren’t cheap, though there’s a good bar nearby. It could be so much better. We were there for the skiing, which was great.