Here are the key points of our experience of the Golf Hotel in Campo Carlo Magno. First things first:

Location: Despite their claim to the contrary, the Golf Hotel is not in Madonna di Campiglio. If you want to experience this charming Italian mountain town find a hotel in the centre. The Golf hotel is a 5-10 minute bus ride away by a shuttle bus that leaves every half an hour. There is a very large parking lot if you are by car. The ski in/ski out is semi-true. To get to the main runs of Madonna you need to: Get your skis and boots out of the ski storage room which is at the opposite end of the hotel to the slope. To get to the snowy plain opposite the hotel you can cross the icy slope and the slightly icy steps or if you want to test your skiing insurance brave the icy steps of death just opposite the hotel entrance. You will then find yourself outside the bar entrance which is actually connected with the hotel but which bizarrely cannot be used by hotel guests. From there you are faced with either a combination of the baby slope drag lift and the slowest chair lift in Madonna from which after 20 minutes you will reach the bottom of the Groste gondola lift or a 200 metre walk with your skis on your back to reach same place. If you are a first time skier the baby slope is an excellent place to learn skiing and there are instructors on hand. We were in a large group with our own instructors and the ability to leave the little ones near the hotel and go off skiing on the normal runs with relatively little hassle was a big plus point.

The hotel: In its prime 100 years ago, refurbished probably around the turn of the century the hotel is a blend of tasteful décor and some elements that don’t seem to have changed in years. The common areas – bar, lobby, restaurant are very tastefully decorated and have a cosy family friendly feel to them. The rooms continue this theme but have some shortcomings such as a lack of space to hang skiing jackets and bathrooms that are past their prime. The heating system consists of huge, old cast iron radiators that belch out copious amounts of heat. During our 6 day stay we experimented with switching them off alternately, opening windows, filling the bath tub with water and were not able to get a pleasant temperature. The room and corridors were always extremely warm and extremely dry. If you come here in the winter bring a lot of moisturising cream or in the morning you will look and feel like an Egyptian mummy that has been left out in the sun. There are 2 lifts/elevators on opposite ends of the hotel. One of them kept breaking down. There is an old and new part of the hotel. Look at the other reviews here for more details. FWIW - our suite was in the old part.

Food: We were on a half board skiing tour and the buffet breakfasts and dinners were plentiful, varied and tasty. Nothing extremely special but a lot of local dishes and plenty of salads and fresh fruit. All things considered the meals were a highlight of the place.

Service: We only had exposure to the waiters in the restaurant and they were always helpful, courteous and friendly. The staff tolerated small children and adolescents and were always available and fast to serve the drinks and wine. They were clearly busy, energetic and tolerant. Big thumbs up to this crew.

Amenities: We found several elements that were completely wrong in a four star hotel. 1. Pay as you go internet at a rate from 2 EUR/hour to 23 EUR / day! In 2012??? Helllloooooo!!!!! 2. The hotel pool was 6.50 EUR per person per day. I will not comment but the whole idea is just so wrong and out of place. 3. The suite had 2 flat screen tv’s with not a single English language channel. No BBC World or CNN to catch up with what was happening in the world. The Italian channels were all incredibly snowy anyway.

Ski rental in the hotel building is a rip off run by 2 disinterested and arrogant guys who know that you will not be bothered to go and rent in town. We rented 2 pairs of higher end skis that had probably never been sharpened. On days 1 and 2 we were fine on fresh snow but on day 3 when the ice came out after a lot of slipping and no grip we asked the place to sharpen the edges. They wanted 30 EUR per pair for sharpening their own skis!!!

Sum Up - Very mixed experience but not a 4 star one.