Grand Hotel Paradiso

Some people are hard to please, especially when they act like this is five star hotel like Gleneagles or St Andrews. It’s a locally operated business in a modest ski resort. On a package holiday. The staff are excellent. If you understand Italians they often only smile when you engage with them but are open and friendly and happy to help. They are having to get by with limited English, so it’s easy to misinterpret their direct manner. Give them the benefit of the doubt. The bar staff were great company and lots of fun. Especially Antonio of course. Our room was a bit disappointing so getting an upgrade is a good idea. The bathroom was new looking and worked well. The bedroom had limited hanging space for damp clothes but we used coat hangers on the outside of the wardrobe. The door had a dodgy lock which we we could only get to work by turning all the lights out and slamming the door. (We think.) The hotel is right on the slope. You can hardly get closer. There is a set of stairs to climb but, if you can’t manage that, maybe skiing isn’t for you. The food was excellent. It’s a buffet and canteen style servery but big enough that there was never a queue and there was a wide range of choice and well cooked. Mass catering doesn’t get much better at this price. Wine was provided on the table and, although we only got 2 bottles for 11(!), we were given more when we asked. There are a handful of polite notices telling guests what to do. Not nearly as deranged as some of the earlier reviews suggested. And no sign of an Italian Basil Fawlty mentioned in previous reviews. The place seems well run and managed. Never used the spa but one of our group did and said it was nice. I used the gym which was free. Would definitely return here if given the chance. Thanks to everyone for a great holiday.

Great food; wide choice; nice wine and beer included with dinner; good breakfast. Ski to hotel. Nice big heated locker for boots/skis. Beds a little uncomfortable but not worse than your average ski hotel. A few quirks: e.g 20 euro deposit to get a room kettle whose plug does not fit in wall sockets. You then ask for one which works and they give you the adaptor it needs! Odd that you can’t take supplied glass water bottles to breakfast table, but can for dinner. These things could be easily fixed with a change of the standard “we’ve always done it that way” type culture. Would not hesitate to return.

Reception staff are lovely. However…… the restaurant manager is SO rude. The restaurant staff look very unhappy and the food is poor. Dessert was the same every night (two different cakes) apart from the last night. All the fruit is tinned and barely a selection of yoghurts. They clear the breakfast at bang on 9.30. Nothing much for vegetarians and the salads aren’t labelled. At 9.30pm you’re actively asked to leave the restaurant and your wine is taken away. A few tables challenged this and had a row with the staff/manager. You cannot take anything from the restaurant, not even into the bar, god forbid to your room. They take it off you. Had no water one morning - no-one bothered to tell us, and when we asked, we were told it was an area problem?! However when we then asked later if it was back on, they asked what floor we were on before saying yes or no?! Everywhere is very very noisy. You can’t have a conversation in the bar it’s too noisy and the restaurant is worse, the tables are so close together. This is NOT a 4* hotel. I imagine the spa managed to get them this rating. When you return your skis downstairs to the hire room there’s a box they ask you to put your ski pass into so that they can return it and get your €5 deposit back to spend on ‘beer’ they say. Hard to say no! It’s not a ski in ski out, you have a horrid metal staircase of three floors to climb to get to the bottom of the drag lift. All in all not at all what it purported itself to be.

Having been on many trips snowboarding with Crystal ski, we booked this year a luxury 5* experience at passo tonale staying at the advertised 5* hotel Grand Paradiso, but really wish we hadn't. lets start with the resort as a whole as this is the better points. the passo tonale area is perfect for families and those learning or improving skills, there are plenty of easy slopes and all culminate in the main town area across the mountain pass. the local bars and restaurants can be a little limited as this is not a mainstream resort, but is suitable and prices are very reasonable. we had a great time across the mountain seeing all sites with ease. We wish we had chosen another hotel, I will say a hotel is rated based on facilities, and to this end it meats criterea (just), but quality should be considered. the main hall and rooms are fine, however the room was not best cleaned and we found contact lenses and rubbish from the previous guests. the toilet paper (more like rizla paper) was so thin and cheap it's laughable, the quality of the goods such as electronics and soft furnishings suggest Steptoe may have supplied them. All of the facilities are kind of disjointed here, and where you walk through often are left seeing or walking into areas behind suitable for staff only, but perhaps this paints a picture. the bar is quite old skool, the spa.... i'll leave this to thoughts, the board room stinks of feet (poor maintenance) and then there's the food and restaurant. you are told the times food is available, but if you are not there at the start good luck with what may be left, there is often no label to tell you what you are eating; and if like me you have an allergy BE WARNED and very careful, they don't get this at all! If you enjoy being packed in like cattle and nudged each time the person behind you moves, generally ignored by most staff and a quality of food suitable for the bin (i experienced dry day old burgers (no buns available) mouldy (not blue) cheese, overcooked (just about most things) and a real lack of most common Italian food, then here's your place. they also have an outside bar/ restaurant, we sat here once for a drink initially before thinking about food, but after 20 minutes hearing what sounded like an argos bell and announcement to collect food, realised the depths of low quality we had entered to. I have raised all this to crystal who have acknowledged but not really resolved any issue; which perhaps indicates the care they now also have for their patrons, another company will be sourced for future visits abroad. in short if you choose the Grand Hotel Paradiso, bring your own food, and cleaning products.

I would highly recommend this hotel. The staff, especially receptionists Francescia and Anestasia, were welcoming, interactive, professional, and supportive. The rooms were of a high standard with exceptional views. The variety of food and beverages was enormous, catering to Coleaics, too. A stair set had us on the slopes within minutes, linking you to the entire ski area, where heights of 3000m and black, red, and blue runs were experienced in the Adamello-Presanella-Alps. The hotel provided entertainment on weekends in the Ombrella bar, at the end of the slope adjacent to the hotel. The Crystal Ski staff were available, supportive, and welcoming at various times during the day. The pillows were a little uncomfortable; otherwise, this hotel and its staff are 5*.

If you’re looking for a masterclass in disappointment, the Grand Paridiso Hotel in Passo Tonale delivers in spades. From the moment you step onto the grimy, bleach-stained carpets—reeking of neglect and questionable cleaning attempts—you’ll know you’ve made a terrible mistake. The staff? Utterly unattentive, drifting through their shifts with all the enthusiasm of a funeral procession. Don’t expect a smile, let alone help. The so-called amenities are a joke. Lose a locker key? That’ll be €25, please—never mind that the lockers are laughably tiny, barely fit for a pair of gloves, let alone your gear. And the boot warmers? A cruel tease. They sputter on and off like a dying car engine, leaving you with cold, damp boots to slog through most of your ski days. Good luck staying comfortable. Then there’s the outright lie they peddle: “ski-in, ski-out.” What a sham. After wrestling into your gear, you’re forced to clomp up four flights of stairs in ski boots just to reach the slopes. By the time you’re there, you’re sweaty, exhausted, and questioning every life choice that led you to this dump. Coming back is no better—hardly the effortless glide they promise. The stinginess extends to the room “perks.” You’re rationed one measly sachet of coffee per day—good luck if you need a second cup to face this nightmare. Milk? Forget it, they don’t bother providing any. As for water, they toss you one bottle of sparkling and one still when you arrive, then apparently expect you to survive on vibes for the rest of your stay. Bring your own supplies, because this place won’t look after you. The food situation is its own circle of hell. Imagine a school canteen from your worst childhood memories—slopped onto your plate with zero care, tasting like it was scraped from the bottom of a bin. Bland, uninspired, and borderline inedible. Oh, but there’s a “treat”! The onsite pizza and pasta restaurant sounds promising until you see the menu: a pitiful handful of options that somehow manage to make even Italian classics taste like regret. Save your money and your sanity. The Grand Paridiso isn’t a hotel—it’s a punishment. One star is too generous.