Radisson Blu Resort, Beitostølen

I have no idea why this only gets 3.5 stars on Trip Advisor. It’s a lovely hotel, warm and cosy with everything you need for your stay. The only thing it was missing was a bar menu as the restaurant is pricey if you’re not half board but the village has some great places to eat out at. Loved this place, fabulous for kids and so convenient for the slopes. A wonderful way to start skiing as a family.

Rooms - good, warm with comfy bed. Fridge, kettle and supplies of sachet tea/coffee. Shampoo and shower gel provided in bathroom. There’s a hairdryer but no socket near mirror and plug kept falling out the wall. Best take your own. Food - very good. Dinner was excellent. Breakfast was ok, plenty options hot and cold. Housekeeping - beds made and towels replaced but room wasn’t hoovered or cleaned all week nor were sheets changed. Definitely needs improved on. Gym - pretty good with range of machines and free weights. Cable machines were broken or missing clips. Swimming pool - forget it. Freezing cold and 2m deep all round. This needs an upgrade. We went to apartments across the road and used pool/spa which was a lovely treat. Radisson needs to sort this and upgrade. Ski storage - there is an area but it comes with a cost which is disappointing. Bar - opened at 5pm but was always empty which was strange as it was very nice. Drinks prices in keeping with other places. All in all a very nice hotel, nice seated area around fire in lobby. Filter coffee available all day.

Lovely stay. Food - A La Carte food at dinner is amazing and buffet options are pretty good too. Breakfast is ok, but bacon is woeful - fatty and greasy and scrambled eggs not great but there are plenty other options - cold meat and cheese, pastries, yogurt and fruit etc. Rooms - warm and comfortable. Only downside is not getting room cleaned or hoovered all week, this needs improved on and isn’t great. Beds made and towels changed as required. There’s coffee and tea sachets in room but don’t bother as there’s filter coffee available in dining room, far between than Nescafé type sachets. Kettle and fridge in room. Forget trying to use the hairdryer, there’s nowhere to plug it in near a mirror and the plug kept falling out the wall. Spa - terrible. Freezing cold pool. Deep at all lengths - like 2m. They need to take stock as there’s a lovely pool and spa at apartment across the road which people use. If you changed this, you’d be onto a winner but as it stands, old fashioned and a waste of time. Gym - pretty good kit but cable machines broken and in need of fixing. Ski/boot room - you have to pay and it’s not heated. Waste of time and money, it’s a pain but better keeping equipment in your shower. This place is good but could be a lot better. Upgrade it and you’ll definitely get a 4 star plus.

This hotel has a benign, welcoming atmosphere, and the public spaces are decorated as if by a family, not a hotel conglomerate. Toasty fire in the hall and cosy bar with friendly bartender. And Marius on Reception! What a gentleman - from handling my queries by email and phone before arrival, to looking after us during the stay. Lovely views from the rooms and big bright pool and exercise room too. The dining room served a buffet table d'hote or waiter-served excellent upgrades on feast days. The breakfasts were good too, though the oranges ran out, and so did the decent ham. Perhaps no deliveries over Christmas! But BEWARE you who visit at the wheel of your hire car. The hotel DOES charge to park, though they don't tell you at any point. The car-park operator DOES photograph your car unbeknownst to you. They will bill you piecemeal ie one bill per day, and each one goes to your hire company. If it's Hertz, you will then reimburse Hertz PLUS 375NOK per bill 'admin'. So that's right: three days parking equals 3 x 375NOK admin on top of the parking fee itself. And the hotel does not at any point say 'There is a parking fee. Shall we put it on the bill?' If I could have paid direct at the front desk I would have saved over 1000NOK. It must work wonderfully if you are a private Norwegian motorist.. but it's a licence to print money for car hire firms. I still don't know why the hotel let this happen to me and if they will step in to do the decent thing.

We are currently on our 4th night here, we booked this hotel through Crystal Ski who made this whole experience very easy. At Oslo airport, our travel rep arrived and handed us our ski rental voucher, our hotel room key and our lift pass. On arrival to the hotel, there was nothing to do except head up to the room which was wonderful after such a long day of travel. The room: the room has two twin beds, a desk, a small fridge, a boot room and clothing storage, a tv, a kettle, a small box of tea bags, Instant coffee and the such. 3 chairs and a very large window (we had a view of the mountains and lake to the south). The bathroom is clean, modern and has a walk in shower, the water gets all over the floor but it also drains well and dries quickly. Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and soap are provided (small bottles of course). And fresh towels are changed twice weekly to help the impact on the environment. The walls can be a little thin and we could hear the neighbours TV on evenings but this stopped before an unreasonable hour. Gym/Sauna: the pool is a great size but sadly I found it was too cold to swim in, I tried using the sauna first but it was still too cold for me. Locker rooms are clean and plenty of space, showers available and each one has a sauna (men’s and women’s are separate). Gym has enough machines to keep you working out and the treadmill worked well. There is also a communal games room downstairs however the pool table seemed to charge us but then didn’t release the balls, for the sake of £2 we couldn’t be bothered to chase this. Restaurant: the buffet breakfast was continental and looked fresh daily. The smoothies were delicious and the blueberry muffins were an absolute treat. The only thing holding this back is that it is the same meals every day but I understand that is much easier when catering for many guests. The restaurant wasn’t open every night due to low levels of customers this week but I believe they provided meals from other restaurants for those who paid for half board. There is also a Starbucks machine in the corner of reception. The staff: everyone here (and on the slopes, in the shops and restaurants) are probably the nicest people on earth. Norwegian people are so friendly and helpful. When learning to ski as adult, it can be scary but the friendly faces around and the comforting comments we received made us feel so truly welcomed. Location: Easy storage for skis (either lockers or in a locked room using door key). 50metres from the chair lift, we walked over in ski boots without issue. Perfectly located for this quaint little town. WiFi can be spotty, it’s free for all so at peak times it definitely kicks you off a lot and requires a few reconnections through the days. I wish we had stayed in a room with a kitchenette because the ready made food at the spa doesn’t offer much from a healthy point of view. With a warmer pool and better wifi this would have absolutely been 5 stars.