Hotel Mirage in Cortina d’Ampezzo has been quite a disappointment. We stayed there with a large group and had booked several rooms. The hotel needs to make many improvements to be considered even a 3star.
The hotel is 4,5 km away from the centre of Cortina. It is quite far from any shops/bars/skiing slopes. It is quite isolated and difficult to get to/from unless you drive your own car. The famous shuttle bus offered by the hotel stops running by 7.30 pm. It also does not run between 3 and 5 pm. Not even once were we able to use it. We had either to use the taxi or our own car to drive every day.
For people that ski, the ski room has no proper lockers. If it is slightly pulled, any locker can be opened without a key. Furthermore, there are no facilities to leave your ski boots and to dry them. We had to take them into our room and dry them in our bathroom!
The hotel claims that it offers internet connection at a rate of 3 eur per 30 minutes. Throughout our stay we had no internet connection and the hotel staff informed us that ‘sometimes’ it works. The trick is that the hotel does not have its own proper wireless connection or any other connection whatsoever. The connection, which it recommends for its guests to use, is a municipal hotspot, which covers the whole Cortina, and at the Hotel this hotspot has very poor reception, to the extent that it cannot be picked up by any device/computer. In my view, the hotel has to make a change and state that it offers no internet connection.
The breakfast was not even 3-star. Very limited and poor choice: there was only 1 sort of cheese/ham/salami available which tasted like they were indeed the cheapest they could find. Practically no fruit available. Very basic cereal, a few croissants and synthetic cheap juices. The dinner was also disappointing for a 45 eur pp excluding drinks.
The swimming pool and sauna area need a renovation. The swimming pool has no lights underwater. There is water dripping from the roof, the isolation of the swimming pool is so poor that its smell spreads to the bar and the reception area nearby with lots of humidity. The hotel charges you extra 5 eur for a bath robe (rent!) and 3 eur for a little cap that you (must) wear while swimming (because your hair would block the swimming pool pipes and for hygiene reasons!) this was quite an ironic moment for us but still an annoying and disappointing experience altogether. The pool and sauna are open only until 7 pm!
I would not recommend this hotel for reasons listed above, including its location, no transportation to/from centre/slopes, poor and limited cuisine, poor facilities, unprofessional staff with poor command of English in general. The hotel’s strategy is to rip the guests off using every opportunity and so displaying a clear lack of hospitality and quality. Not worth the money they ask or the 4stars they claim to have.
In general, the staff need to improve their manners, there is clearly a lack of hospitality and they are completely unaware of what 4 star service means.
To note, in general the staff of the hotel barely understand/speak any English. This includes the waiters in the restaurant who are clearly unable to understand you or follow any of your questions during breakfast/dinner. This is quite unusual and unpleasant, when instead of getting clear answers and being able to discuss the menu, we had to use gestures and repeat ourselves many times before we could get an answer that was often incomprehensible.
- Mirage Hotel Cortina d Ampezzo
