Th La Thuile - Planibel Residence

“Good basic hotel with some gems”

Had a great week here. Comfortable room, good size beds (though firm), nice balcony overlooking the town, nice staff (generally 1/2 ruder ones), great location, good food, reasonable drinks. Good: - Location - short walk out the back door are the ski lockers and then onto the town square , max … more

Had a great week here. Comfortable room, good size beds (though firm), nice balcony overlooking the town, nice staff (generally 1/2 ruder ones), great location, good food, reasonable drinks. Good: - Location - short walk out the back door are the ski lockers and then onto the town square , max 100-150m to gondola from back doors. - Bar, restaurant. (Some people complained about the food but honestly unless your used to expensive resorts or catered chalets i dont get it personally). we had 2 normal eaters (1 with gluten issues), 1 vegetarian and a 'fussy' 8 year who likes plain food and we had NO ISSUES all week. there were 3-4 vegetarian dishes every night incl a soup which were mostly veg. There was plain pasta, plain rice and margerita pizzas every night for fussy eaters as well as a really good salad bar and at least 3 desserts every night incl fresh fruit. chef made a vegetarian pizza especially for us on the night the pizza wasn't veg if you ask them nicely. then there were 3-4 meat/fish dishes - some hit and some miss but thats to be expected. meat dishes were excellent - 1 night was sucking pig and weas excellent. cheeses were great. desserts fantastic - Breakfast likewise was great - 3/4 cereals, nuts/seeds, 2 x tinned fruit, 2 x yoghurts, fresh pastries and cakes, scrambled eggs (not the best not gonna lie), bacon a plenty, and those weird hot dog sausage things that Europe likes, bread/toast, there was a coffee machine and 2 x barristas making fresh coffees every morning which were delicious although i agree it was hard to get a piping hot coffee. - Room size (246 and 248 were our rooms), good bathroom, nice shower, hot water. - Cleaned and linen changed regularly - we used the pool 2/3 times and the pool is excellent (you need swim caps) - wife had a massage mid week and that was excellent Average: - ski lockers are 2 floors underground and are pretty battered and smelly and don't have boot / clothes drying facilities - although the room is heated, but not as lockers. - General tiredness of decor - to be fair it gets a lot of visitors and cant be easy when ski's boots etc are battering the finishes but needs a paint. although the rooms were fine. - The rooms are off a central corridor which can be noisy early and late as people come and go but nothing too bad and quiet by 10:30-11pm - We had an issue with the toilet flush and the room next door had a smell both were attended too within 10 mins. the smell (drain) didnt fully go away but it was thoroughly cleaned and a lot better and our toilet flush was fixed in 10 mins. - balcony doesn't have seats which seems a shame Bad: - Honestly there was nothing bad about our stay

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“Runs like clockwork....”

This hotel is slick and efficient. The rooms are functional, modern and stylish. The bar has been renovated and is a much nicer area to be in. When we were there the hotel was very full therefore breakfast and dinner service was very busy. That said, the quality, variety and quantity of food wa… more

This hotel is slick and efficient. The rooms are functional, modern and stylish. The bar has been renovated and is a much nicer area to be in. When we were there the hotel was very full therefore breakfast and dinner service was very busy. That said, the quality, variety and quantity of food was delivered, served and cleared away with ruthless efficiency. The location is ideal and ski storage on site was excellent. We didn't use the wellness centre or pool so can't comment. I was a bit disappointed to find cigarette ends on the balcony on arrival but once notified, the hotel cleaned these away. Staying at this hotel takes away many stresses and, as long as you accept what the business model of this hotel offers, you won't be disappointed.

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“Good Family Ski Hotel”

We stayed at the hotel during the February half term and overall had a really good experience. However the check in was horrendous - queues everywhere - it took us an hour and 15 minutes to check in. I just don't understand the problem. We booked a quad room which was arranged as two rooms – one … more

We stayed at the hotel during the February half term and overall had a really good experience. However the check in was horrendous - queues everywhere - it took us an hour and 15 minutes to check in. I just don't understand the problem. We booked a quad room which was arranged as two rooms – one with a double bed and the other with two single beds. This worked really well for our family and gave us plenty of space. The room was clean, had a good shower, and everything was well maintained. The lifts were also efficient and we never had long waits. The pool area is large and great after a day of skiing. One thing to note – don’t forget your swimming caps as the hotel is quite strict about them. Also best to take your own towels. The buffet was really good with plenty of choice each night. The main negative for us was the dinner time. Dinner started at 7:30pm, which felt very late, especially as many guests had ski lessons starting at 9am the next morning. We often felt like we were finishing dinner and heading straight to bed. An earlier sitting at 6pm, 6:30pm, or even 7pm would work much better and would allow guests time to relax in the bar afterwards. The boot room was fantastic. You leave a €10 deposit and get two lockers which are yours for the whole week – very convenient and well organised. Mornings can feel like a bit of a rush as lots of people are heading out at the same time, but once you get into the routine it works fine. The kids club was the weakest part for us. It’s located down in the basement and started quite late in the day. Unfortunately there wasn’t really anything suitable for our 9-year-old to do. The bar area was good and drinks were very reasonably priced. Ski School was literally in front of the hotel - a few metres away. Overall we had a great stay with good facilities, a comfortable room, and helpful amenities for skiing families. With slightly earlier dinner times and a better kids club offering, it would be even better.

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“Location, location....”

This is a 4* listed resort that provides a 3* standard (my group of 6 expert skiers opinion). The major assets are the immediate slope side location and the big swimming pool suitable for lap swimming. The major weakness are the breakfast quality and lack of ski boot heaters in the ski room.