We were in the Edelweiss from 6th to 13 Feb 2011. I agree with all the comments about the staff: Luca was a good barman/jhost (despite his dodgy taste in loud music) and we never felt hassled out of the bar; Bruno was charming, and happily ferried us back and forth up to Sauze whenever we asked; the girls (who doubled as chambermaids and waitresses) were lovely!

BUT - we clearly had the lower end of the range of rooms; some of us had no view (unless you count a wall as a view) the rooms were TINY (no chance of any socialising, you had to go to the bar) and the beds were utterly, utterly vile. Thin, hard mattresses, thin hard pillows (you could have a second pillow if you asked, to increase your misery) all on narrow frames propped onto a kind of shelf arrangement which included the bedside "tables". One wrong move in the middle of the night, and bang! You were on the cold hard floor. Oddly, the bathroom was excellent, beautiful travertine tiles, fab shower, and new-looking suite. Being a Brit, I would have happily sacrificed the bidet and rearranged it to get a short bath in, but I suppose Italians wash their feet more often than we do.

When we arrived, the whole hotel was very hot - the public rooms, particularly the bar, stayed very warm - and our room was stifling. Turning the radiator off and leaving the window and balcony door open (well, half open - the room was not big enough to open the door fully) sorted it, but the girls were baffled by it, and kept shutting the windows and turning the heating back on. In the end, we consulted our phrase book and left them a note. No doubt they are now convinced that the English are mad.

It IS possible to ski to the lift. But it is not easy; first you have to go up onto the road, then down the drive, along a little terrace, (where you put your skis on) and then through a gap in the fence and down. Would have been SO much easier if, when they landscaped the ground around the hotel, they levelled it a little so that you could just go round the corner! The ski down to the lifts was a bit hairy for our beginners, as the snow had hardened into not-quite-ice, and the cables for the snow cannon and travelator had melted a canyon across the field. The only time we saw the travelator actually working was on the Saturday afternoon, when the local children were tobogganing on the slope. The rest of the week it was a long hard slog up the hill.

The breakfast was only just adequate. We all hated the rolls, and the croissants/pain au chocolat were rationed. The orange "juice" was ignored by nearly all of us after the first day, and the coffee was Not Good. The hard boiled eggs were always fresh and warm, though. I can see why there were so many places in Sauze offering breakfast!

The dinners were disappointing. Very ordinary and slightly 'school dinner' ish. Huge portions of pasta, for the carbo load-up, but not enough veg on the main course, and an odd menu. Almost as though they thought they were giving us "typical English food" without ever having asked an English person what that might be. I would have preferred to skip one of the first two courses and have more veg/salad, OR more authentic Italian food. There are some nice restaurants up in Sauze, and if we go back, I would definitely dine out more.

One of the factors influencing our choice of this hotel (rather than La Fontaine, which is RIGHT BY the lift) was the jacuzzi/whirlpool which, it was claimed, was part of the package. We were less than gruntled to hear that it cost 18 euros for an hour, and that you had to give 24 hours notice for them to fill it up! We didn't use it...

The village of Jouvencaux itself is very friendly. Several times we were offered lifts up to the Sauze when standing at the bus stop, and the staff in the ski shop (Gros Sport) were suberb.

All in all - if I were to go back to Sauze, lovely staff notwithstanding, I would probably choose another hotel.

Myself and 3 friends stayed at this hotel for a week skiing in Jan 2011. The hotel is situated in Jouvenceaux no more than a mile from Sauze as the crow flies. We paid less than £400 7 nights half board inc fligfhts and transfers with the tour operator Nielsons. First impressions were good, we found the staff friendly and very helpfull. Our room was not huge but I have stayed in much smaller accommodation in France. The bathroom was clean although the shower would often run warm rather than hot. Room staff were excellent and cleaned / tidied our room providing fresh towels every day.
The downstairs bar is very good with some excellent value house wines available. The bar manager Luca is always on hand to assist with any questions or problems and will keep the bar open until the last guest calls it a night.
As for the location of the hotel this cannot be faulted as there is a lift only 100mtrs from the door. You can ski back down from Sauze along a steep red but during our stay this run was closed due to the lack of snow so we ended up walking back most nights (all down hill).
Now onto the food...this is my only real moan as I was very disappointed with the breakfast. This consisted of hard bread rolls, hard boiled eggs, ham, cereal, coffee from a machine and orange concentrate in a jug. This was repeated every morning, there was no hot option available not even porridge. Dinner was ok, there was plenty of food available although it would win no prizes for culinary excellence, however you would not go hungry.
The breakfast really let down this hotel which is a shame because overall I really enjoyed my stay and feel the staff including the owner Bruno were great. Bruno went beyond the call of duty and was more than happy to drive us into Sauze almost every night which was a godsend as the walk is a beast!
The skiing in Sauze is great, the lift pass was 180 Euro and allowed us to Ski Sestrierre and into France. Although during our stay the snow was not great we still had some excellent skiing and even enjoyed some fresh snow on the last 2 days. The lifts are quite slow compared to France however this is reflected in the cost of the lift pass. Apres is good in Sauze although there are plenty of large male groups and some real idiots frequenting bars like Paddy’s. For a civilised drink I would recommend Assieta Bar or Hotel Derby.
I would recommend this hotel and Sauze Doulx partly due to the price we paid however I would give the hotel 4* if they sort the breakfast out!

We specifically booked this hotel because of the advertised sauna/jacuzzi. On arrival we have been extremely unhappy to find that they are charging €18 per person per hour with 24 hours notice required to use it, which makes it unaffordable for us.

After booking a very last minute deal to this hotel, having read reviews and looked at the star rating, my expectations were not very high. So it was with some surprise we arrived at the hotel and found it to be quite lovely!
We were warmley welcomed and directed to one of the 'Superior Rooms', which we had paid a little more for.
+ve: This included a balcony (not always guaranteed as another of our party had a superior room but to the rear of the hotel, so if you want a view, request this), a good sized bathroom and bedroom and TV and had obviously been recently renovated.
-ve: Sound carries in the hotel, so if your a light sleeper you might want to take some ear plugs! Hearing your neighbours go to the toilet is not a way I like to woken up in the mornings.
+ve: Lucas, Bruno and the rest of the staff were helpful, accomodating and lovely. It is more like a Chalet Hotel than a Hotel. Also, with the Hotel being in Jouvencaux, below Sauze, if you want to go out in the evenings, Bruno would be happy to run you up the hill (with a bit of warning). Otherwise the walk into Sauze is around 15 - 20 min (that's with lots of stops to catch my breath) and a 10 min walk back.
+ve: You can ski almost from the door, and yes, the ski lift is at the bottom of the garden. In the evenings there is a travelator that brings you 75% back up the hill to the hotel.
+ve: The food in the evenings was fine, with a choice of two dishes for both starters and mains.
-ve: The breakfast though did leave alot to be desired. The bread was often hard and dry, with ham, cheese, hard boiled eggs and cornflakes on offer. Not very appetising after a couple of days and we ended up buying some cereal we liked.
+ve: The bar area is very cosy with a lovely fireplace, TV, playstation and plenty of board games. It was a great atmosphere.
This is a well run, extremely clean, tidy and well positioned Hotel and has everything you could possibly need for a relaxed, simple holiday.