we booked this easter ski break at the last moment for our two families..chosen for a number of factors including;good price, short flight , short transfer and a desire to visit where the 2006 winter olympics had been held.
suffice it to say it was an overwhelming success for everybody(not only in our family group with a range of ages from 6 to teenagers to twenty year olds to middle age parents) but also seemingly for all of our travel companions at the cavaliere who were all a thoroughly decent lot,from expert skiers to novice families.
the hotel was indeed very comfortable,the entertainment was non existant (it was the last week in the season) but quite honestly ,we didn't really need it after dinner, and the teenagers who did found great fun at the dubiously named "irish igloo" bar.. . the resort was so safe and quiet that they were able to go there alone while we got earlier nights.
great idea of the previous reviewer to rent the lockers at the ski hire shop...well worth the expense, but if you don't want to pay out, the hotel's free ski bus did pass by at least every 15 minutes.
the skiing is magnificent! the "vialattea...or milky way "provides unlimited skiing for all abilities and means that if one lift closes because of wind or technical faults you are not grounded like you would be in cervinia or any other unlinked resorts.
the ski school in sestriere is the best in italy and is fully deserving of it's title.
food in the hotel was as good as any 4*... but we were told by the restaurant manager that he and his team had been drafted in from sardinia especially for the olympics...so we all were lavished with first class food and service during our stay.
hotel staff were indeed wonderful...faultless.
best (and most economical surprisingly enough) place to eat lunch were the two bars just beside the ski school as you leave the slopes, the pizza in the crepe bar was magnificent and only cost a couple of euros as did the french fries... cokes were more expensive, but the coffees and lattes incredibly cheap.
don't go to the supermarket at the foot of the hill!....the supermarket at the top in the piazza is half the price!
we would all definitely return , even if sestriere is not the prettiest of resorts unless it's covered in snow!