When I made my reservation with the Hotel Lo Scoiattolo, I thought it would be ok. When I found out the name meant "Hotel Squirrel" I had a wave of doubt. I mean, who would name their hotel after a squirrel? Too cutesy by far so I wondered what I was in for. The website of the hotel looked nice and the photos and information were good, but as we all know photos can be tailored or photoshopped to look completely different.
Well, the hotel was a very pleasant surprise. I had made arrangements with a local valley taxi service to pick me up at the airport and drive me to GLT. The outfit was Gressoney La Trinite Taxi, and Leandro was my driver. We really couldn't communicate very well but the taxi service was well worth it, regardless of the price. Anyway, on arriving at the hotel I was surprised to see a fair amount of construction debris and trash on the north side of the hotel but inside it was spotless and immaculate. The front desk area and front entry were well lit and inviting:
At first I thought "Purple rocks? WTF?" and then realized it was a print to cover the plywood on the corners. It turns out the hotel was heavily renovated in the fall but the project was not completed by the winter season so the hotel opened up anyway. The entryway, entrance, front desk area, kitchen, and restaurant were all expanded and renovated, and an addition put on between the hotel and the apartments with new rooms being added. I really liked the lighter pine wood and lots of windows in the hotel because it made it nice and light, not the dark, hulking wood and stone you would think of in this area.
View from my hotel room. I think the vast majority of the rooms had a balcony (no additional charge). You can see some of the construction debris; I was told by the owner that the hotel would likely shut down in May for the final construction phase and cleanup. My room was nice and cosy, just right for one person although I wish there had been a bit more storage areas for clothing and the like.
Looking into my room from the balcony.
The bar area; it was actually quite large and could accommodate about 25 people comfortably. Not much of a beer selection (I had a real hankering for a dark beer after 7-8 days) but very nice selection of local grappa and genepie.
The buffet area where breakfast would be set up (huge affairs with fantastic eggs and local salty bacon), and the antipasta/salad buffet in the evening. Huge meals and all were uniformly excellent. More often that not I would be very full, almost to the point of pain, after dinner so a digestif was certainly helpful, especially Limoncello. The staff would leave a menu at your table and you would choose your two main courses for the following night. Each evening it was four courses: antipasta/salad, your first main course (normally some sort of pasta/cheese affair), the second main course (normally meat based), and your dessert (usually 3-4 choices available or you could have a digesif instead.) I had only two complaints about the dinners: the late hour of the start of dinner (7:30 pm to 8:30 pm) and the one time I got my main course and it was a bit small (one chicken leg). So long as you were seated at your table by 8:30 you got served and many folks didn't sit down til this time. A little late for me because I was normally passed out asleep by 10:30 or so. The one time my main course was small I simply went back for more antipasta and salad. No big deal. Both complaints are very small and overall I give the dining room and kitchen staff a 9.5 out of 10.
View from my dining room table. Sometimes the dining room would be pretty empty, other times it was almost full. It seemed like a place locals would come to for dinner over the weekends, and one night a party of 35 came in and had a huge party.
The sitting/reading room. I spent a few hours here on my last Saturday reading a book. Very comfortable.
Here is a more detailed breakdown of my review:
Value: 10 out of 10. I stayed for 14 nights 14 days at half-board (breakfast and dinner every day), drank wine or beer with every meal, went to the hotel bar a couple times, and left a tip for a grand total of 1100 euros, or about $1550.00 plus a 12 day ski pass (free). The hotel quality was a three star but it was more like a four star if you ask me. And yes, I have stayed in four star hotels and this was nicer. So, how is that not a value?
My room was perfectly adequate except for two small complaints: lack of storage areas for clothing and other things, and the size of the shower. The storage issue was solved by putting my empty luggage outside on the balcony; after all, they are waterproof. The small shower was something I put up with, although for an average person it probably wouldn't be an issue but small I ain't. Another electrical plug by the bed would also have been handy.
The location was on the south side of Gressoney La Trinite and just on the border of the village. It was the farthest hotel from the ski lift in GLT but considering the small size of the village, this was hardly a concern. I could walk from one end to the other in ski boots in about 20 minutes, and it was a 20 minute walk to the hotel from the end of the Jolanda piste. If you wanted to do this and then work your way over to the Champoluc side, you needed to allow almost three hours (hell, it took me two hours and there were no crowds or lift lines and I am not a slow skier). There was a shuttle van operated by the hotel (and only for guests of the hotel) to take you up to the I loved the location in general because the views were fantastic, the hotel and village nice and quiet, the baker/convenience store/liquor store/post office/tobacco shop/bank/tourist office are all within an easy five minute walk in street shoes. More on the village and the various places you may want to visit later. Location rates a 10 out of 10.
Cleanliness was a 10 out of 10. Of course my room was cleaned every day, and fresh linens put on the bed and bathroom every day (of course). The common areas were spotless, and I saw the granite floor of the front desk/bar/common room being scrubbed by the housekeeper on her hands and knees every day. I never saw any dirty linens, dirty dishes, silverware, or anything out of sorts. You could have eaten off the floors.
Sleep quality was a 9.5 out of 10. I like a hard bed (I sleep on a futon) and most mattresses I find to be too soft so it was a very pleasant surprise to have a firm bed for a change. The room was also very warm but I had great sleep when I turned the heat down and opened the window at night. I did find the pillows to be quite thin so I either doubled them up or folded them over.
Service at the hotel was the only thing I could find any fault with and this was a very minor point. Overall the staff were courteous, warm, very welcoming, able to answer most of my questions, professional, and multilingual (to a point). One night I asked for an amarone wine from a local Aosta Valley producer and my server brought an amarone from another producer. Luckily, another server caught it before he completely opened the bottle (it could have been an 80 euro mistake). Another time I said "Buon Gorno" instead of "Buona Sera" and he corrected me somewhat forcefully. I think he had had a long week. I also had been saying "Molto Grazie" for the first week instead of "Grazie Mille" and he said the former was not appropriate. Turns out I was saying "Thanks a lot" instead of "Thank you very much." Minor point but I guess Italians are sticklers for correct courtesies. The van drivers were excellent (especially you Luca), the front desk excellent, the kitchen and dining room staff excellent, and the bar staff excellent. The minor communications issues bring my score down to a 9.5 out of 10. In my server's defense, he was able to communicate in a basic manner with a couple from Sweden, much to my amazement. Pretty incredible.
So, if given a choice I would certainly stay here again; and given the chance, I would stay here again. Of the half-dozen three and four star hotels I have stayed in across Europe, this was certainly my favorite. Make your reservations now.
