Rifugio Giorgio Bertone

This is a beautiful, well-maintained refuge. Setting: stunning. The steep ascent up from Courmayeur was worth the effort, as we arrived at this beautiful oasis at the top of the mountain, with panoramic views of the city below and of course the surrounding mountains. Lots of outdoor seating available. Reception: this is a family establishment, and we enjoyed interacting with the owner, who certainly has a system for running things! She preferred French but would have done her best with English if we needed it (the younger staff all seemed to prefer English). At checkin time, she meticulously checked in each group in order of arrival, and sent us off with a staff member to escort us to our room. There were outdoor cubbies for our boots & poles, but we could bring our bags inside. No hut shoes provided. There was a full bar available before dinner, not sure about snacks. Showers: we had a private room which shared a shower with three other private rooms. It was a lovely hot shower- each guest gets one coin that provides 4 minutes of hot water (you can stop and start the water to draw out the shower a bit). Toilets: there was one WC shared among the four private rooms as well. No issues. Laundry: we did not see any hand-wash area aside from the bathroom sink, but we didn't ask either. Food: dinner was very nice, with a bit more table service (i.e. drink service) than many huts. Unlike most huts, they expected payment for drinks on the spot, but were understanding when I explained I would have to come back after dinner with my card. We had soup, followed by cheesy polenta with sausages & beans on the side. A nice hearty meal. Breakfast, on the other hand, was painfully sparse--just bread/butter/jam and packaged biscuits, plus fruit juice and hot beverages. Some yogurt or muesli would've been much appreciated. Rooms: we had a private room- such luxury! There was a bunk bed and a shelving unit, a big window that opened, and a few hooks & outlets. Nothing fancy, but clean, comfy, and quiet. The only downside was it got very warm and the only climate control was to open the window--which let in a few insects, including a very large cricket, that cost us some precious sleep ;) WiFi: they turned it on after dinner, but we had 5G connection so we didn't need it. Outlets: can't say in the main dorm but we had one in our room.

7 months ago

The place itself has good facilities, I won’t deny that. Dinner was delicious, well-prepared, and complete. However, we had an issue while doing the TMB and called ahead to let them know we would be arriving at 7:40 pm, since that was the time the app showed for our arrival. We kindly asked if they could still count us in for dinner, but their response was a strict no, saying we had to arrive no later than 7:30 pm if we wanted to eat. Of course, this was very disappointing for us. In the end, we managed to make it in time for dinner, but the experience left us with a sour impression regarding the service. The next morning, breakfast was honestly the worst of our entire TMB. We were given just one slice of toast and a cookie. They placed a bowl and a large spoon on the table, making us think something else was coming, but when we asked, we were basically told that the bowl and spoon were just there as part of the setup. For a place that is not cheap, this kind of treatment really doesn’t meet expectations.

7 months ago

Beautiful location, but the staff here is not friendly and the food was poor. Would recommend not getting the breakfast or lunch. The breakfast is one cracker and a soup bowl to drink tea or coffee from. The lunch is a low quality sandwich with one piece of ham and nothing else. Would highly recommend staying somewhere else along the TMB if possible.

8 months ago