Hotel Chalet d’Oulx

The room was clean and spacious, and we were welcomed nicely, so it's a shame the noise was such a problem. People upstairs came in around 23:30 and woke us, then got up at 5:15 and woke us again. We could hear everything, from walking and sneezing to phone alerts, taps, luggage zips, and the wooden floor creaking. At first I blamed them, but the sound insulation between bedrooms really should have been much better. I'm usually a heavy sleeper and these things don't bother me, but it was too much, so we got up at 5:30 and hit the road. I didn't want to give fewer stars and hurt the ranking. (Photo is bedroom view).

We were made to feel very welcome, and the hosts were accommodating. The place was very clean and up to a decent standard, though it isn't a luxury hotel. The free parking was a big plus, and they gave us good directions when we asked. We'd come back!

I booked a room well in advance through Booking for myself, my wife, and our two children, but a few weeks before the trip the hotel asked through Booking for us to cancel. They said there would be no cost to us. The issue wasn't the money, it was having to find somewhere much closer to our travel date, which was both difficult and expensive. I refused to cancel because, legally, if a property cancels a reservation it must offer accommodation of an equal level. The hotel kept emailing that we had to cancel because they had no room for us. Before cancelling through Booking, I wanted them to arrange an alternative. I had to insist repeatedly, and their replies were anything but kind. They first offered a place 20 km from Oulx, which I declined. Eventually they offered a very basic B&B in the suburbs of Oulx, a lower category and much less comfortable. That would also be against the law, since they should have offered a hotel in the same category, which of course would have cost them much more. I finally accepted because I was tired of negotiating with such an arrogant counterpart, who seemed not to care about the discomfort this caused my family and me. Our trip was less pleasant than we'd expected, and the place we were moved to was less comfortable than we wanted. The Hotel Chez Toi staff we dealt with, though I don't know whether they were owners or employees, never apologized and seemed bothered by our legitimate requests. If you find a good offer from this hotel, I'd be cautious, because later in the season they don't seem to have any qualms about cancelling.

I was surprised to get the Emily Brontë room, since I live near Haworth. It's an old hotel with a literary theme, which I liked. The children in the room above me were very noisy.