This was our first skiing trip albeit not our first trip to Italy, not knowing what to really expect we booked as nice a hotel as we could find.
Rooms:
We had a standard room which was a little small but still big enough for two adults, not a great deal of storage space but it was very clean and pretty well appointed, the bathroom was very modern and spotlessly clean, towels and sheets were changed regularly and the room was always warm. Wifi was a bit hit and miss but still you have to remember where you are!
My only niggle was that our room was near the big Paradiso Apres Ski marquee which pumps music out from about 3-8pm, wasn't too much of a hassle though.
Food:
Food was excellent, you hear so many horror stories from other British families that I was wondering just how good it would be, I needn't have worried as the standard was excellent, ok it isn't Gordon Ramsey excellent but for a ski hotel catering for a lot of people there was always a decent choice. You get a "Help yourself" buffet to start, then usually a choice of 3-4 pasta courses, then a choice of 3-4 mains and finally a dessert table full of cakes and goodies. Having been to Lake Garda earlier in the year the food in this hotel was of an even higher standard, my wife is quite a fussy eater and she found the food was great.
Spa:
The spa on site is excellent, its very well looked after and is a very nice place to spend time, it is actually a lot better than I was expecting and the decor is of a very high standard. My wife had the Aqua Massage and rated it very highly for getting those aches and pains out! I really liked the steam room.
A word to the wise though, some people do use it naked!
Bar:
Lovely little bar on site where I found the waitresses very friendly and always happy to help out a foreigner who doesn't speak any Italian! Good range of beers, hot chocs, teas and wines to suit all tastes and very nicely appointed.
Staff:
Almost all of them were great to deal with and happy to help, I can excuse the ones that were perhaps a tiny bit short in their responses as they have a lot to deal with in such a hotel but i have had much worse experiences in Hotels costing a lot more, overall I'm happy with the service levels we got, there were a couple of things we needed doing and they got done, cant really say fairer than that!
Bad points?
Very few really, the beer isn't cheap at 5 Euro for a large one but its acceptable in regard to the other bars. I would not class this as a ski in/ski out hotel, you can ski into the car park from a mound of snow but you definitely cant ski out of it, there is a set of steps up to the pistes which is a bit tricky in your boots and carrying ski's but its a minor niggle.
Tonale in general:
A nice if a little quiet resort, there are a number of bars that provide a bit of Apres action but very few of them are bouncing, ideal for me but maybe a bit limited if you're a bit younger and like to drink all night.
My recommendations would be:
La Barracca: On the slopes, a nice modern building with the best Hot Chocs in resort and the cheapest beer we found (3.50 for a large beer) very busy at lunch times though!
La Botte: Just off the slopes with sky sports and a nice cosy atmosphere, also make you feel very welcome with little snacks as you order beers, 4 Euro for a large beer.
Paradiso Apres Ski: the aforementioned marquee is great if you like it loud and packed to the rafters!
skiing:
I'm only a novice skier but there was plenty to keep me occupied, even the better skiers I met were happy enough with the amount of reds and blacks available and it has the advantage of the Gondola link to Ponte Di Legno and Temu and the very high Glacier skiing is there too. Lift queues are busiest between 11am-2pm but I think the longest I waited was about ten minutes before 11am there aren't a lot around really, a lot of times I was straight in. Be warned this is a popular resort with locals so public holidays and Fridays are quite busy!
