Albergo Stelvio

“Hotel in idyllic village”

Excellent hotel with superior rooms. Quiet village, all attractions and restaurants are on 5 min walking distance from hotel. Nice view to mountains and river. Personnel was friendly and waited us for late check in.

“Start the climb here!”

There’s a big sign less than 100yds up the road from this hotel saying it’s the beginning of the climb up Stelvio. Given my luck with weather it’s perhaps unsurprising it was raining when I arrived. I’d driven from Fusch in Austria, having cycled Grossglockner the previous day. Over Gavia droppi… more

There’s a big sign less than 100yds up the road from this hotel saying it’s the beginning of the climb up Stelvio. Given my luck with weather it’s perhaps unsurprising it was raining when I arrived. I’d driven from Fusch in Austria, having cycled Grossglockner the previous day. Over Gavia dropping down into Bormio I began looking for a likely place to stay. Knowing there were no campsites witin easy reach & that the weather wasn’t improving in the immediate future, I’d steeled myself for another hotel. Given Bormio is a bit of a tourist centre, if not an attraction in its own right, I wasn’t too surprised it’s a bit on the expensive side. I found the Stelvio road then looked for somewhere fairly close to lay my head. Albergo Stelvio was the third place I tried; the first was closed, the second was rather more expensive than I wanted to pay, this place was next. At €75 per night I reckoned it was pushing the upper limit however that did include breakfast, but not the ubiquitous tourist tax. The owners speak pretty good English, which is handy. I can speak enough Itaian to get by but it’s (depressingly) easier if not forced. The hotel l;ies on the edge of the commercial area of town, well within walking distance of pretty much everything you could wish for. The sun came out later & I took the opportunity to wander around. I’ve always passed through previously; it’s pretty enough a place to linger. Albergo Stelvio wasn’t serving food the evenings I was there, but they have discount arrangements with a couple of local restaurants (see separate review of Contado) which is handy. My room was big enough, but no bigger. There is a lift, typical of its type it’s useful for heavy luggage but if you’re reasonably fit, the three flights of stairs I faced each time was a doddle. The bar was serving, on demand, & it’s pretty well stocked too. I had beer & wine from it, both were spot-on. The bar area is large with chairs & sofas & an immaculately well behaved young dog. Outside there’s a patio area with tables & chairs, when the sun shone it was a lovely area to sit with a glass & just contemplate. The street in which it sits is pretty quiet, there certainly isn’t much passing traffic. There’s a small carpark, space enough for eight to ten cars, if parked fairly tightly. Breakfast was a really good spread. Apart from the eggs as far as I could make out it was cold, cheese, sliced meat, cereal, fruit etc. but plenty of choice & plenty of it. Location-wise it’d be tricky to find anywhere better for a stab at Stelvio itself. Apparently somewhere within the hotel is a sauna. It’s bookable on a sheet of paper in the stairwell, but I didn’t use it or see it so I can’t comment, merely tell you there is one.

less