Appartamenti Campo Smith

Residence Campo Smith is not an upmarket hotel, it's essentially a motel for those who want to get out onto the snow quickly and don't want to spend much time in the room. The location really is great, it's about 20 paces from the reception area to be putting on your skis at the bottom of the baby piste. From there, it's a two-minute lift and ski to get to the main Campo Smith lift that is the main route up Bardonecchia's ski area. Onto the apartment block itself then. Checking in was a pain for many guests who had to wait until at least 5pm to receive their room key, however we got lucky and had ours by 2pm. Free pizza whilst waiting was a nice touch, as everyone who arrived on our transfer from the airport was hungry! We had a "studio" apartment for 7 nights, that was marketed as sleeping up to 3 guests. The beds were actually a double- and single- sofa-bed, so no "proper" beds here. It wasn't great, but not uncomfortable either. We both managed to sleep well, probably helped by the hours of skiing per day! When we first arrived, one of the doors in the apartment was broken, and reception sent someone to repair it immediately. The coat-stand was also broken, but we didn't bother with trying to have this fixed. The kitchen area contained a four-ring electric hob, with no oven or microwave provided. Thankfully there was a kettle we could use on the hob, so we could make tea. There were a couple of saucepans and a dented frying pan, so we were able to cook basic meals if we wanted to. The room was always plenty hot enough, and the hot water never ran out. There were enough radiators and towel-rails that we could always air and dry our ski gear by the morning. Towels and sheets were not changed at all over the 7 nights, and you have to clean the room yourself before you leave (particularly the kitchen) or risk being charged 50 EUR. This included taking out the bins. We were lucky enough to have a large balcony with views over the baby piste, which was really nice. Overall, if you are willing to compromise on room decor in order to get the best location in Bardonecchia, then this is the place to stay. If you are willing to travel further to ski and can't give up on a proper bed, then this might not be for you. For us, Campo Smith was just what we wanted.