Grand Hotel Paradiso

Avoid this hotel at all costs, claims to be 5* but 2 or 3* at best!!

Our week here was completely ruined by the hotel. Firstly there are a lot of hidden costs, the mini fridge in the room is €70 just to be able to turn it on as they refuse to turn it on without also making you buy drinks. Despite 4 people in a suite we had a two person ski locker and were told to buy another if we needed more space. The pool and padel courts are also very expensive and not included.
The 'special restaurant for 1 night' has a laminated menu and incredibly boring and limited pizza and pasta choices only.

We requested an extra pillow that took two days to be given. Despite 4 people in the suite we were given 3 towels on two days and just 1 towel on another!!! On asking for more dressing gowns so we could each have one we were instead told we shouldn't have any in the first place and they would not give more!
The housekeeping barely cleaned, never changed sheets and as you can see with the picture never even dusted surfaces. One day they even left the door wide open! To which a very rude front of house manager tried to belittle me and explain how to work a door instead of disciplining her staff!!

We also believe they mistakenly threw away a carrier bag of makeup (which we appreciate can sometimes happen) however the front of house manager and the cleaner then coming into our room and going through stuff while accusing my partner of lying and reducing her to tears was not how this should be dealt with!!!

I myself have worked in a hotel in the Italian alps and if I had treated guests like this I would expect to be fired!!!

The only saving grace was a very apologetic and professional crystal ski rep, to summarise, the ski area is nice and crystal ski are good but whatever you do don't book this hotel! The 3* ones in the town are far better!!

This hotel stay seemed to be a little bit of a disaster from start to finish with only a couple of positives.

Staff - all of the staff seemed to think that any request was far too much effort, from asking for an extra pillow to trying to get some glasses in order to have a drink in your room. For 5 star you would simply expect there to be a high level of service whereby no request is too much, the management were rude and never wanted to assist with any issues. We were visiting for a ski holiday and a wedding with elderly family members in attendance, the hotel management offered no real solutions to assist those with mobility issues and just dismissed any issues and referred us to the booking agent (who obviously could not do anything as there were issues with the rooms themselves). The staff kept referring to getting in trouble with the owner, it seemed as though they were all walking on eggshells as he ruled over them with an iron fist. The only shining light in the staff section was Chami who was incredible, he went above and beyond for all of the guests and couldn't help enough. The staff in the bar were also friendly but they didn't seem to like bigger groups.

Food- Again, for 5 stars, you'd have expected more; however, it was mostly fine. The overriding issue being the fact that the majority of food was cold, even if you arrived early and were seated as soon as the restaurant opened. There was also a severe lack of vegetarian options (Parmesan is not vegetarian). The salad bar had no labels on anything nor did the puddings so if you have any allergies, beware. Breakfast was also a disappointment, not much variety over the week, it was the same every day, but again it was fine just not five star as advertised.

Room- we stayed in a double room, tired and old with a lack of storage, broken shower and very outdated, again this is meant to have been five star.

Spa and swimming pool - not everyone in a ski resort will ski all of the time but they insist it must only open after 2pm, it is also a shame because it is €20 euros a or €50 a week to use.

The hotel is in a good location for the slopes, that is the only other overriding positive.

Overall I cannot give it more than 2 stars and that is mostly because I have stayed in 3 star hotels that have been far better than this, in fact I have stayed in hostels with nicer rooms and facilities.