TH Corvara - Greif Hotel in Corvara

I've never written a negative hotel review on TripAdvisor or any other site but I can't stay silent about the expensive Greif Hotel, which is poor value for money. It is part of the TH Group and I suspect the group is trying to maximise profits by cutting costs to the detriment of quality. We booked as part of a package through Crystal Ski Holidays, and I estimate that a three star hotel for perhaps £400 per person less would have been much more enjoyable. Firstly, the things about the hotel that are worth four stars. The swimming pool and indoor/outdoor hot tub are great. There is a beauty spa, a small gym with three running/cycling machines, a dedicated children's play room, an underground parking garage and a ski equipment rental shop. On the other hand, I didn't need or use any of those. There was an extensive wine list of local wines with reasonably priced "house wine" options. Varied, free bar snacks were provided with each drinks order in the early evening. The New Year's Eve reception and gala dinner was excellent, and many of the Italian guests wore evening wear. The food provided at the reception before dinner was excellent in contrast to the general quality in the restaurant. Next, the things that are almost worth four stars. The "superior" room was a good size with a balcony, but, oddly, not much drawer or shelf space for all of the extra skiing clothes. The bathroom was a good size, with a heated floor, reasonably large shower, bidet and bath robes. However, soap and shampoo, etc. was from dispensers fixed to the wall, that was a bit two star but this was upgraded before our last night to more upmarket "Rituals..." versions. There were always staff available to welcome us and some of the staff worked extremely hard (others did seem to be employed to stand about). Three stars. Breakfast was a typical alpine hotel buffet, with a varied selection but nothing to distinguish it from a three star hotel. There is a bar lounge area, that is quite small for the size of the hotel. I would have expected a quiet area or snug in addition to the main bar, but there isn't one. That meant that after dinner, the "live" music was compulsory; this consisted of the same guy each night singing along to backing tracks whilst pretending to play keyboards. He wasn't terrible. Like most other big hotels in Corvara, the Greif runs a shuttle bus service to and from the Boè gondola (and the Col Alt gondola on request), however unlike the others, there is a much reduced service over lunch at three specific times and you have to call the hotel to request it for one of those times. Two stars: the dinner service. TL;DR version: mediocre, cold food. This is a weird hybrid of a world buffet (or perhaps self-service random tapas) and traditional (a Tavola) table service. Typically, a three star alpine hotel in Italy or Austria might offer four or five courses and that might be a buffet starter and perhaps desert with table service for the oth