This hotel in the forests above Cervinia offers the comfort and intimacy of a private hunting lodge, with its roaring stone fireplaces, leather and rustic timber handcrafted furniture and blend of granite glass and timber decor.
Rooms are apartment style, spacious, light and comfortably furnished, with hand hewn marble bathrooms, separate sleeping and living rooms and ingenious well equipped kitchenettes ideal for the occasional breakfast or light meal, with fridge, ceramic hobs, dishwasher, sink and a good supply of dining and cooking utensils. Rooms also come with sheepskin rugs, welcome nespresso machines, flat screen tvs, iPod docking stations, free wireless (although ours needed boosting which defeated the local technician but which would soon be fixed) and a good supply of Hermes toiletries, thick towels, bathrobes etc and rustic furniture as well as a fireplace with replenished wood supply.
Public areas, reception, bar and comfortable lounge and dining areas are very inviting, in a modern contemporary style. The resort has a large indoor swimming pool and spa pools with splendid views to Mt Cervino/Matterhorn, sauna and massage areas, as well as a well equipped gym with glass floor over the pool. Timber flooring, with dark slate walls and comfortable white leather loungers, subtle lighting and ambient music make this an attractive retreat after a days skiing. The pool itself has enough toys to ease the aches and pains with waterfall, spa jets, coloured mood lighting and a river current system to provide a thorough work out even for Ian Thorpe.
But these are only the physical aspects which set the tone for the resort. It's the staff, the food and service which make this such a unique and special place. Right from the initial exchange of emails you are made to feel welcome. Booking arrangements are responded to enthusiastically, the driver waiting at the airport courteous and professional and the welcome on arrival very genuine. Staff are friendly, very helpful without being intrusive. Nothing is too much trouble and the car to take you down to the village, to pick you up or even go back for things you've forgotten is an amazing unexpected luxury. They will happily take you to restaurants in the village, collect you or simply take your skis back to the lodge if you want to stay and walk the 500m back later. Perhaps because there weren't too many guests the week we were there, the driver will fetch your skis from the well equiped ski room where each apartment has its own locker and boot dryer, and place them in the car for the trip to the chairlift.
The resort has a small bar area off the main lobby, tended by a very knowledgeable and friendly somelier and which provides a great spot to linger over an aperitif or sample the digestifs, many home brewed in the mountains, after a filling evening meal. No one seems to keep track of how many you try and often the bottle is left for you to help yourself, there's no signing of chits or citing room numbers, you're treated as a house guest and when it comes to check out the extras are always much lower than you anticipate. As well as the drinks, the resort has fully adopted the Italian custom of providing plates of assorted antipasti, particularly the local smoked or air dried hams and cheeses which are left on the bar for you to help yourself.
Breakfast includes a wide assortment of cold meats, cheeses, fruits, muselis, various breads, croissants and pastries, with a supply of fresh oranges and juicer and excellent coffee with a temptation to linger by the fire rather than hit the slopes. Although the resort's intimate restaurant is open only at weekends when an enterprising Genovese chef brings fresh fish from Ligurian coast, still alive and on ice, and local meats from the Aosta valley, at other times the obliging staff will serve dinner in your room. Choice is limited but quality excellent, each day there are a couple of entrees, one or two pasta dishes and two main courses, but in front of your own fire with the resort's selections of wines it certainly beats the pizza joints in the village.
No review of St Hubertus would be complete without a special mention of Betsy the dynamic American lady with fluent Italian who keeps the whole place operating at such a high level and for whom nothing it too much trouble. Whether its negotiating a helicopter to Zermatt, (too windy) fixing the wifi, ordering groceries or suggesting places the eat in the village, she was on hand at all times to assist to make our stay a tremendous experience.
