Altapura

Overall we were totally disappointed because we thought the hotel was 5*, at most it was 3* and the food in the restaurant in the evening was really inconsistent, we ate in the Asian restaurant first night and it was okay, we ate out in town a couple nights which was lovely. On the last night for ease we went back to the Asian restaurant and the food was awful, staff didn’t offer to change it when we complained. The bar area was cold and unwelcoming, the sofas are soo uncomfortable, IKEA type furniture, more like a lobby than a bar area. We had to wait ages for service, the staff were okay but certainly not what you’d expect for a 5* hotel. There was no attention to detail. The room was serviced badly, they made bed but that’s about it. One night they had some kind of drinks promotion thing on in the bar which over took the whole bar and decking leaving guests staying with no where to sit and not treated as a priority, service was not good. They also ran out of Rose wine, appreciate this is not the end of the world but strange for a 5* hotel. Shuttle service to town was good. The spa area was good. I would not recommend this hotel if you want a 5* experience. Totally overpriced. Such a shame as could be amazing. On a good note the breakfast buffet was good, but again more like a 3* hotel.

The trip started as a dream. Great pool. Kids Club. Excellent breakfast. The staff was confused on how to get our kid to the ski school, yet it’s a close, easy commute. Once we figured it out, loved the location, far from the center of town. That said, would never go back because the food was more worthy of a one star hotel. Could not face another meal there.

Alta Pura is a really beautiful hotel with great food, drinks and facilities, in an amazing location. Unfortunately our stay was not as good as we’d hoped due to the poor service. For the price, you would expect attentive and warm staff. However for the 6 nights we stayed I think almost every time we sat in the bar we had to go and ask for someone to bring us menus / take our order. Sometimes waiting up to 20 minutes to just order a coffee. At breakfast there were several occasions we had to clear and wipe down our own table, and find some cutlery, due to their being a lack of available tables ready to sit at (they all had left over plates etc. from previous guests). Whilst some of the staff were friendly once serving you, the lack of attentiveness really let the place down. You would expect much better in a 5 star resort where you spend £1000’s to stay. Lastly, it is common practice in 5 star hotels to be granted a late checkout (even an extra hour) at no cost, however here we were asked to pay €250 if we wanted to check out a little later, this just seems crazy when you consider how much we spent through the course of the week.

The hotel is operating a scam operation at the check out - 100s of euros were added to our final bill, the explanations given - a computer glitch and need to give 100s euros to tip the hotel personnel which was also added to our bill. The half board is not half board as they only provide allowance which is not enough given the highly inflated prices (kids menu for lunch which only includes chicken and fries is €33!). The food was often mediocre at best, the hotel facilities are shabby, spa is shabby, they have kids club but the hours are only on the afternoon starting 13:30, we came over a couple of times at 14:00 and the door was shut. The hotel is far away from town and though there is a shuttle service, it is difficult to get the shuttle as many people are waiting for it. I don't recommend this hotel and if you happen to stay there, I recommend getting the final bill the night before, double check and triple check everything.

We are a family of four and this is our experience of a stay in Altapura hotel. We will DEFINITELY NOT stay at Altapura “hotel” again. We understand from other reviewers and people we spoke to, that there has been a massive deterioration in service levels. Offers for early booking have now also ceased. The manager will respond to this review, but do not believe what he says. He responded to our email to him, explaining all the problems, expecting at least an apology, for things like overcharging attempts of us and others. His email in response was full of untruths and contradictions to fact. We pointed this out and how he ignored many facts of duration of wait to have a shower that worked as 3 days and he has not replied. He now realises, as we have told him, that we have proof to contradict all his untruths .We understand that he is new to this post and young and the hotel is dreadful now under his “management” . We will start with the good items, as very few. Location: on piste, BUT the last run back to hotel is always very busy, icy with big moguls, so only aim to ski back if you are a moderately good skier. A couple of staff are helpful – but few and many are rude, and unable to do their job. The 3 good ones are Noa in restaurant serving in evenings; the short guy in ski shop and Baptiste (I think) a driver of shuttle. The problems are MANY and staff are unable to follow simple written instructions too. The hotel is expensive. The week before arriving, although we had booked and paid for 2 rooms, 9 months previously, we had an email confirming only one room. I had to waste time checking that the booking paid for, would be honoured. During our stay we also asked to speak to the manager on several occasions, and he was always unavailable. 1. Unusable shower for 3 nights in room. We arrived late on the first day as flight delayed. We tried to shower and it appeared to be flooding the bathroom, going over the ledge on shower rim immediately the shower turned on, so we gave up and went to bed unwashed as too late and tired to persist. The next night after skiing, one person showered and it did not drain as on the first night. It was flooding the bathroom floor again So, had to turn off shower and get very cold while no water flowing to allow water to drain slowly. Informed concierge that had to be fixed as now second night and one person unable to shower and had to wash by hand at sink as on the first night, and other customer of this dire place that sells itself as a good hotel suffered an extremely unpleasant experience getting very cold in a shower once wet with water turned off. So, at 16:30 on second day concierge were informed in writing of shower malfunction and not draining and we were told it could not be repaired until the following day. No reason given. We then sent written instructions that we still have on WhatsApp, only to enter bathroom and entrance part of room, as we preferred the cleaners not to enter all week as the wear dirty shoes that they wear throughout hotel. We also did not want the dirty cushions added to pillows on bed and our possessions moved around in a way that is unhygienic. So, we moved our belongings out of the bathroom and locked cases and did not want the rest of room interfered with, as we did not want it to be serviced, unlike our sons who like room to be serviced. We returned from skiing after our 3rd day at hotel and all the room had been entered and moved around and the cushions we had carefully placed out of reach on top shelf of wardrobe had been put back on the pillows we would use, as had the second large pillows we had also carefully put away in wardrobe. So, one person retuned to shower assuming at least that would be repaired and drain unblocked and started shower and entered only to discover not draining at all again on 3rd day! Another cold shower as had got wet and had to turn off water while wet, so got cold again, as flooding all through bathroom making shower mat and floor very wet. So, husband telephoned concierge and they said technician had been too busy to repair the shower today. We were offered 4 drinks in lieu of inconvenience and after we explained 3 of us are tee-total and so not much of an offer, we were told that in 1.5 hours we could have a room upgrade to top floor. We later learnt problem with that room, as overheard the Israelis in it, who had been moved out of it to an alternative room, complaining at front desk about how much they were being charged. Hence the 1.5-hour delay until we could move and no apology for all inconvenience. So, my husband insisted they found a technician and repaired shower tonight while we were in room and only bathroom and entrance area cleaned directly afterwards. We would then not have the inconvenience of moving room and would stay in a room next to our sons. The technician arrived and said he had not been asked to repair it the previous day – we have in writing that we did ask! He took a long time as had to get tools to remove from the drain a very big ball of hair that he showed us- it was football sized. The cleaner came in wearing her dirty shoes. Late “cleaning” of rooms: another day, one son had to return at 15:45 to get ready for a work meeting at 16:00 and found the cleaners in the room then! Our sons were okay about the cleaner entering their room and left please clean sign on door. 2. Terrible food on half-board: Two of our group are vegan for planet and health reasons and 2 are not. We were all very disappointed with both breakfasts and dinner. Vegan food was often not available- only plant mylk at breakfast really. When meals made for us eg tofu as scrambled egg, nothing added to it to make it tasty eg vegan butter, nutritional yeast, turmeric, paprika, Dijon Mustard, Garlic Powder, Kala Namak, Onion Powder or Soy Milk. We had lentils with green vegetables that was just steamed vegetables on top of lentils from a can with no seasoning or condiments or any proper cooking- appalling. The 2 non-vegans also thought their food very poor. Vegans ended up eating fish on the menu and Noa the lovely waitress managed to persuade the chef to make vegan desserts for the 2 vegans, as the only one offered was eaten twice -sticky mango rice. The first vegan special dessert had a biscuit base that was so hard to break into bite size pieces it almost needed a hammer and chisel- our son spent 5 minutes using a spoon to break it up - what a standard to be paying a lot for. The son who has competed in the 6-day self-supported ultramarathon across the Sahara Desert- the Marathon des Sables, said that the freeze-dried food he carried and cooked for himself tasted better than the food offered by the hotel. Although offered 4 free drinks for the 3-day non-usable shower, the few non-alcoholic drinks – 5 in total, were not taken off the bill we had to pay at end. Food available in the room was also out of date as on the photo attached- 7 Euros for out of date and only vegan offering in the room. The first dinner on arrival we ate in the Casa Alta, and it was dreadful with no bread offered as part of it- we found that out on following meals with Noa serving us. The only vegan-looking main had no protein- it was pasta with probably non-vegan butter and a few boiled green beans and about 4 pine nuts. The next night we tried the Asian restaurant, AltaYaki and had tasty and protein containing edamame beans for starter but no vegan main available- the wok we tried was inedible and the non-vegans said their meal was dreadful. So, when returning to the Casa Alta we asked Noa if we could have the edamame beans from the Asian restaurant as only 2 vegan starters in Casa Alta and after 2 days, we wanted a change. The edamame beans came but had no dressing- just plain boiled edamame beans!!! One night, the 2 non-vegans tried the third restaurant- the Laiterie, but it was dreadful. We always asked for receipts and only got one receipt that night. The cost of half -board is only for meal up to 68 euros per person and cannot be divided between the 2 rooms- i.e. not 4 times 68euros total. 3. The lack of hygiene and cleaning extends beyond the way they use dirty cushions on pillows and wear shoes from outside rooms inside. The floor in front of loo is stained with urine and filthy as seen on photo. We suffered with loo seat not covering the loo front properly. The loo brush is also full of water, so when used, dirty water goes on bathroom floor. 4. Cost of ski hire in adjacent ski shop. We were charged 685.80 euros for 4 pairs of skis for 6 days- just normal skies not exceptional sport skis. Convenient but overpriced by a very large margin. 5. Items not working: In addition to the shower overflowing, the kettle did not work in room 302. 6. When we made the booking in May of 2025, the hotel booking system did not work and wasted much time. 7. When we tried to ensure they knew we were leaving at 6am on last day, I overheard other clients of hotel complaining that they had been overcharged and they were trying to sort out the problems for at least 40 minutes. They were the Israelis who complained about overcharging too. 8. Overcharging by 134 Euros: When we came to check out and settle up our bill, at 21:00 on our last night- a Friday- so popular time for checking out final bills, there was no-one at concierge to deal with that. So, we were told to return after he had his supper in 20 minutes. We did return then, and he eventually arrived. We were unhappy with a charge that we definitely had not incurred, that was on our invoice- it was incorrect by 134 Euros. It took time for him to speak to manager (whom we were never able to talk to) and the invoice was reduced, but it took 40 minutes of our evening when we wanted to go to bed as leaving at 6am.! 9. Response of “ Manager”: We emailed to complain and explain our great disappointment. Many of the comments such as overcharging attempt were not even apologised for- this is our email to him in response to which he has not replied after 2 days: “Dear Mr Fernandez, I note that when you reply to clients who write to you, you are unable to address that person correctly, with their title. That does not surprise me. As a medical doctor, I have met managers without courtesy or ability. Nor does it surprise me that most of your response is incorrect. I asked to speak to you on several occasions and was always told by both reception and concierge staff, that you were unavailable and different reasons were given- such as in meetings, not on site etc. There was no evidence on any occasion when we complained that you “always prioritize open dialogue, constructive exchanges, and we know how to acknowledge our mistakes when they are established.” The “Front Office Manager”, whose name you cannot even tell me, did not say that we could meet you at any of the times we were asking to do so. It is unclear if the “Front Office Manager” is the receptionist or the Concierge as no “Front Office Manager” label is on any desk. All 4 members of the family made our opinions about the poor food to your staff- the manager at entrance to Casa Alta restaurant as we left to servers in the AltaYaki and the woman who speaks no English on desk checking room numbers at breakfast entrance. Our sons mentioned the poor food at the Laiterrie restaurant too. You are completely incorrect about your whole paragraph “Regarding the issue with the shower, I would also like to clarify that, as soon as the difficulty was reported, an immediate room upgrade was proposed in order to remedy the situation without delay. This solution was offered as a practical and immediate alternative to minimize any inconvenience.” There was nothing Immediate about it, as we had to wait as I told you in my email to you, for 1.5 hours before we could move. It took 20 minutes for me to get to speak to Anna, head receptionist and then she had to ask you so delaying the offer. It would have been during the time we eat and no offer to move our belongings was made. There would have been maximal inconvenience, and we would no longer be next to the room with our sons. In addition, that was on the THIRD day of our stay after 3 cold showers due to flooding. What is immediate about that? The technician was too busy, and we have proof of the day it was fixed as in writing by email and the day we asked you for the repair, as that is in a WhatsApp message to concierge. I do not feel with the many untruths in your response, the failure to meet us on many occasions that we asked to meet you, that we could have “a calm and respectful dialogue”. If you were really going to do that, you would not have stated with so many untruths or would have offered to call us to apologize. You only need to ask Noa, the lovely waitress in Casa Alta about what we said about the dreadful food we were offered as vegan alternatives with no protein and no taste when protein was added, and how we then asked to eat fish. Or the morning staff about how I responded to the Tofu that was “cooked” for my first breakfast and was so tasteless I refused it on the second day. I suggest that you get your facts correct and don’t believe the staff who are protecting their own backs and are now telling you that we never complained- as we did a great deal- just not to you, as you were invisible.” Our advice as family of 4 is AVOID.