Skiing in Sestriere Italy – The Perfect Family-Friendly Resort

Skiing in Sestriere, Italy, offers families a unique blend of exhilarating slopes and Italian charm. For the ultimate ski vacation with a touch of “dolce vita,” one family opted for an all-inclusive resort in Sestriere, a mountain renowned for its role in the Torino Olympics.

Here’s their review of this iconic destination, where pasta, fun lessons, and unforgettable memories await.

With over 400 km (240 miles) of groomed trails linking five ski resorts, the Alta Val di Susa region’s Via Lattea (39/0122 799411), also known as the Milky Way, is a vibrant galaxy for snowsuits to explore.

At the center is Sestriere, selected by the wealthy Agnelli family (of Fiat and Maserati fame) in the 1930s to be their family’s winter playground.

Like young stars caught in Sestriere’s gravitational pull, four other small resorts are linked by lifts to provide a uniquely European adventure for the intermediate and advanced skier or rider. It’s a perfect destination for active families with independent children.

Sestriere, Home of Torino Olympics

With its peak at 2823 meters (9,200 feet), Sestriere’s sheer, steep runs appeal most to expert skiers. There’s the Downhill medal course selected for the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics (the major city of Torino or Turin has an international airport less than one hour away) and the sheer drop made famous by Alberto Tomba when he snatched the World Alpine Ski Championship for Italy in 1997.

Of course, there are dozens of broad, scenic red (intermediate) runs and even blue bunny slopes for beginners, but it is Sestriere’s championship-caliber runs that draw the crowds and give it such cache.

A few years ago, we visited with some beginner skiers and found Sestriere, with its largely unmarked trails, tough to manage. But our December holiday week was different. An 11-year-old confident in snowboarding and his two out-of-shape, but intermediate-level parents found Sestriere a delightful challenge. At first, we moved across the mountain cautiously, but after classes with the excellent ski and ride instructors from the Sestriere National Ski School, we felt right at home.

The huge mountain’s off-piste skiing is fresh, and snowfall is usually bountiful — and if not, the Via Lattea has some of the most comprehensive snow-making coverage in the world. We did not try but heard wonderful things about heliskiing for expert skiers, an extreme sport outlawed in much of the Alps.

In addition, Sestriere’s grooming is frequent and efficient, keeping all runs in top shape. Our snowboarder found huge freestyle runs but only a small “snowpark” with few rails and no half-pipes; he adored the freshly powdered off-piste slopes. With so much terrain, the area began to feel crowded only on weekends, when the din of kids’ racing teams and parents’ cellphones broke the otherworldy quiet.

Accommodations in Sestriere: Where to Stay for Your Ski Adventure

Sestriere offers a range of accommodations to suit different budgets and preferences, ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable stay for every skier. Here are some popular options:

1. Hotel Du Col

Photo: booking.com

A cozy 3-star hotel with a warm atmosphere, offering comfortable rooms, a traditional restaurant, and a convenient location near the slopes and town center.

2. Hotel Grand Hotel Sestriere

Photo: tripadvisor

This historic hotel exudes old-world charm, featuring spacious rooms, a grand dining room, and a prime location overlooking the slopes.

3. Chalet Weal

Photo: booking.com

For a unique and authentic experience, this charming chalet provides comfortable apartments with self-catering facilities and stunning mountain views.

4. Residence Nube d’Argento

Photo: booking.com

This modern apartment complex offers spacious and well-equipped apartments, perfect for families or groups seeking independence and flexibility.

5. Campeggio Chisonetto

Photo: campeggiochisonetto

If you prefer a more outdoorsy experience, this campground provides tent and RV sites, as well as basic amenities, during the summer months.

For more information on accommodations in Sestriere, you can visit this website

Making Friends Abroad

At our brief winter 2000 stay, Valtur had several American, British, and Israeli families in the house, and thus a more multi-lingual mix in the children’s program. During our December 2002 visit (with the world economy in shambles and a looming threat of war), there were very few non-Italian families.

However, after a consultation with us, the caring children’s counselors approached all the Italian children to introduce our 11-year-old son to those who spoke English. After one self-conscious day, he had a wonderful time, appeared in the Christmas show, and made many friends.

Your family will enjoy three bounteous buffets of excellent Italian and continental fare daily, but after breakfast, most kids take off and dine with their new-found buddies in the kid’s clubs. My husband and I really had fun with the Italian couples we dined with “family style” — mutual groaning about IM’ing, too much computer use, and Playstation 2 games made it seem a very small world indeed.

Super Family Value

We found our week in ValturWorld, as the dozens of repeat visitors we met like to call it, a wonderful value, both financially and spiritually. It was a pleasure to be able to enhance our individual snowsports skills during the day and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow classmates, both on the slopes and back at Valtur. Evenings were for dressing for dinner, sharing wine, conversing… then welcoming our kids if they left the supervised children’s clubs to come visit.

Financially, it’s a bargain compared to top-notch US resorts, with rates including wine with meals, the committed and gregarious Valtur Club equipe, a six-day lift ticket, two two-hour ski or snowboard lessons daily, a staff ski guide to introduce new terrain, fun nightly entertainment, and for party-goers, the smoky, deep blue Nauticus Disco for after hours.

Many guests lined up to pay extra for the sleek Jean Klebert Bio Beauty Center, and undergo ‘exfoliator’ body treatments, ‘anti-age’ treatments, ‘aesthetic pedicures’, ‘stiffen treatment for breasts’, and other French delicacies. Club Valtur also offered free exercise classes, hikes, and day trips in the area for non-skiers, a big plus for the many grandparents who were there with large family groups.

Getting to Know the Piemonte Region

Photo: by Alessandro Lannocca via meetpiemonte.com

When Sestriere was built in the 1930s, its streamlined, Modern-style cylindrical towers were an instant hit. Royalty, wealthy, and even Hollywood stars came to ski. Today, Sestriere’s village is a low-rise, style-free international hodgepodge of ski condos and second homes for Milanese, distinguished by the original Deco Agnelli towers (now part of Club Med).

As newcomers to the region, our family spent the hours between skiing and dinner (when others were napping) strolling the village’s busy streets. We dropped in at the chic wine bars (Santa Cruz, near the main ski ticket office, is very cool, with a wonderful selection of Italian, French, and California wines), window-shopped for high-style, expensive ski and snowboard outerwear, and admired the very chic Italians in their haute couture outfits.

Après-Ski Delights: Dining, Skiing, and Nightlife

One evening we went out to La Gargote (0122 76.888) at the mountain’s base (we heard it was the golf course lodge in summer) for a wonderful meal of venison alpine-style, grilled vegetables, and special local cheeses. There was also the opportunity to ski on one lit slope (open two evenings a week), go to the local cinema for a movie, or hit Tabata — the most popular of the discos.

The shopping was good and varied. The Ottoz Shop next to the Agip petrol station has a great collection of alpine specialties, berry liqueurs such as Geneppe and Grappa, and sweets that make perfect take-home gifts.

Valtur’s concierge staff was also very helpful, arranging to pick us up at a Milan hotel where we spent a day recuperating from jet lag on the way in, and taking us to Torino for sightseeing before our departure. Of the day trips, we particularly enjoyed the 15-minute helicopter flightseeing tour of the region, and a half-day trip to Briancon, a picture-perfect medieval walled city in France, about an hour’s drive away.

Dreaming of a snowy escape to the Italian Dolomites? Read our latest post on “Skiing the Dolomites in Italy” to start planning your adventure!

Other Family Accommodations

Those used to ski-in/ski-out accommodations should note that all the condos and hotels, including Club Med Sestriere’s two all-inclusive towers, are located across a small roadway from the slopes, necessitating a five-minute schlepp with gear.

After some groaning we got used to it, helped by Valtur’s noon-time al fresco service of fresh polenta, pizza, focaccia, soup, or hot wine along this route. But this pampering is one of the delights of an all-inclusive resort.

Within the village are many comfortable three-star lodges and some furnished condos that participate in top-value winter promotions, offering rooms with breakfast or half-board, plus ski passes from about US$50 p.p. per day, plus children’s discounts.

We thought the Miramonti and Savoy Edelweiss were well located; the local Tourist Information office (+39 011535181) will provide more information.

Village Charm and “Heidi” Vibes

“Heidi” lovers will respond to its lanes full of the stone, copper, and slate-roof mountain chalets of alpine fame. Later in the season, when natural snow is deeper, a small rope tow operates; otherwise, it’s a bus or taxi back up the hill. The Principi is very elegant in an old-fashioned European style, with deep plush armchairs in the bar and fussy linens in the dining room. We saw (did not hear!) a few children during our visit, yet the gorgeous swimming pool, sauna, and steam room make it the only super-deluxe place for families to consider on the slopes.

Same and Different

Most Americans will need a few days to get used to the casual punctuality of activities and the Italian sense of dolce vita — fun prevails. For us, that meant relaxing over wine at lunch, crowding ahead on the lift lines, leaving trails unmarked, joking and falling off the many Poma rope tows/drag lifts, stopping class to assist a fallen skier, dogs awaiting their master at the base area, skiing in a torchlight parade after dark — even accepting a shot of grappa from the Valtur staffer who wore angel wings over his parka and poured drinks on the slopes.

Soon enough, we are reminded by the construction underway above the present village, funds from the European Union and rules from the International Olympic Committee may forever change the face of Sestriere. The addition of high-speed, state-of-the-art chairlifts, a telecine to the slopes at Pragelato, and international signage could diminish some of its disorganized Italian charms.

Yet international intervention may be able to heal the groves of shriveled larch trees damaged by acid rain, and that would be a welcome change. Either way, our family will never forget the stark lunar landscape that we learned to love in fog, snow, and brilliant alpine sunshine.

The Best Time to Visit Sestriere

The ski season in Sestriere runs from December to April. Here’s what to expect:

• Peak Season (December – February): This offers some of the best snow conditions, especially around Christmas and into the New Year. Expect lively crowds and higher prices during this period.
• Shoulder Seasons (November – December, March – April): Smaller crowds and potentially lower prices make these good alternatives. The snow early and late in the season may be less reliable, however.

Details, Details

Exploring the Via Lattea is one of the greatest perks of skiing at Sestriere. Her partner resorts offer an even wider range of ski terrain, accessed free by children 8 and under who ski or snowboard with a paying adult. Visiting families will want to plan time together to explore this new terrain and the more than 30 Italian baita (chalet cafes) which are accessible by the network of 92 ski lifts in the surrounding Via Lattea.

Our family rented high-performance ‘carving’ skis (one pair of Rossignol, one Fisher), two pairs of boots and poles, plus a Burton snowboard, boots, and a child’s helmet for a total of about US$250 for seven days, including insurance and private lockers from Club Valtur.

For snow bunnies, here’s Sestriere by the numbers:
Mountain Statistics:
Vertical Drop: 5,084 feet
Ski Lifts: 92 across via Lattea; 66 in Sestriere.
Ski Runs: 140 connecting runs; 75

For general Sestriere Information, contact Sestrieres S.p.A. at +39 0122799411; fax 39/0122/799 460. The resorts on the mountain are typically open from mid-December to April.

For general information on skiing in Italy, both www.goski.com and www.ski-europe.com are terrific websites with very active user boards.

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