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.

We booked this as part of a package holiday to go skiing. We decided to go half board as it is easier with junior in tow. Our room was on the ground floor and was a good size but it smelled terribly of cigarette smoke when we arrived. Breakfast was ok but some fruit or yoghurt would have been nice. Simon is right the coffee was foul but the hot chocolate was nice. The dinner was disappointing because it was all a bit bland and tasteless. The pasta dish option instead of the soup was always good but the main meal was pretty bad. I would prefer to have paid a bit more and got nicer food.
However, the staff are lovely and very helpful. The barmans taste in music is a bit dubious and he does like to play it LOUD! If you want to go into Sauze they will bring you in the evening. There is a sauna and jacuzzi which I did not use but reports were good from the other members of the party. However, my friend had to tell the staff that it was not fair to let one room book both every night from 4-6 pm. Fair play to him he protested and everybody got to have a go.
There is nothing to do in the area and it is a fair hike uphill to Sauze. Junior was the only child and was very welcome but there is nothing to do for kids if they are not old enough to ski.
All in all the hotel is good but do not expect to be overwhelmed with a high standard of italian cooking.