Lodging

Pricing: €€€=more than €80; €€=€50-€70; €=less than €50 per person based/double occupancy with half-board in high season. Prices are for seven-day packages. Single night stays may be more expensive.

Sestriere -— If traveling without a group, try to stay at the Hotel Savoy Edelweiss (0122-77040; €€–€€€). This is a small intimate hotel in the midst of the oldest section of Sestriere and across the street from the lifts. Another small gem is Hotel Sciatori (0122-70323; €€), 3 km. outside of town with lift access only 300 meters away. Its packages include a six-day lift pass. Hotel Cristallo (0122-750707; €€€) is a modern giant with all the amenities right across the street from the lifts. Grand Hotel Sestriere (right; 0122-76476; €€€; right) sits imposingly within the town, only a short walk to the center. Hotel Biancaneve (0122-755176; €€) is about five football fields from the center or the lifts. It is a chalet-style new hotel with good basic rooms, food and service. Hotel Olimpic (below; 0122.77344-76010; €€) is a homey, basic place with easy access to the town and about a 500-yard walk to the lifts.

Sauze d’Oulx — The best hotel in town and one of the nicest is Il Capricorno (0122-850273). It sits right on the slopes and is reached either by a single chairlift or by snowmobile. It is an atmospheric place with simple luxury, no fancy amenities, spectacular views, Michelin rated food, and plenty of peace and quiet.

Down in the village the top spot is Grand Hotel Besson (0122-859785). This impressive building has beautiful views, a swimming pool and an attached evocative spa. It is only a three minute walk through narrow streets to the middle of town. Chalet Faure (below right; 0122-859760; €€; B&B only) is a small 11-room haven in the midst of Sauze d’Olux’s old world center. Great restaurants and rollicking nightlife are only a few steps outside the door. The rooms and the new basement spa are wonderful. The round Grand Hotel La Torre (0122-859816) looks hideous from the outside but fine once inside. Mixed reviews on the food here, but the location is good for nightlife and the views wonderful. Biancaneve (0122-850160; €€) is a gem and a bargain. Two sisters run the place and keep it clean as a whistle and whip up some fine food. Relais des Alpes (0122-859747: €€), Gran Bosco (0122-850166; €€€), and Stella Alpina (0122-858731; €€) are all good. Most of the rest of the hotels near the center work with tour operators and are hit and miss.

A few hairpin turns down the mountain road in Jouvenceaux, Chalet Chez Nous (0122-859782; €€; B&B only) with only 10 rooms, is tucked in a narrow street in an old cute-as-can-be stone building. Parking is difficult and restaurants are a shuttlebus ride away, but the place is beautiful with lots of stone and wood. A lift serves the town.

Apartments
Each of the Via Lattea towns has a collection of apartments. Use the contact numbers for the tourist offices on the resort home page.

For an apartment that sleeps four people expect to pay €650-€850 per week. Prices are all over the place. Make sure to check around on the web and with different tourist offices. During the holiday periods prices range up to €1,400 for a week.