Italy may not be the most obvious choice of destination for the ski aficionado but if the Winter Olympics gave Turin a go in 2006, maybe so should you. The area to head for is the Alpine Via Lattea, or the Milky Way — a network of interconnected lifts that open up onto more than 400km of slopes, linking from the beer-soaked party-town of Sauze d’Oulx to family-friendly Montgenèvre in France. In the middle are the pristine Olympic slopes of Sestrière and Sansicario, the pinnacle of what the area has to offer, and at 2,000m-plus there is a chance of excellent snow. 


The quality of the skiing is very good, especially if you are a beginner or an intermediate skier, and families are well catered for. The highest peak is 2,840m and serious skiers will have options with freestyle, a handful of black runs and historical challenges such as the Kandahar Slalom Giovanni Alberto Agnelli run; however, the terrain cannot offer the wider technical options of Verbier or Val d’Isère and real powderheads are still best off crossing the Atlantic to Marmot Basin or Jackson Hole (sorry, Europe). The Via Lattea’s lift system is decent, though there are a lot of old-fashioned drags. You also need to pay attention to which lifts are closed before you plan your route across the resorts so that you don’t get stranded with an expensive taxi ride back to base. Snowboarders will be delighted by no less than four snow parks.


But what really stands out, especially in Sestrière and Sansicario where many locals go, is the laid-back atmosphere. No doubt the sinking economy and strong euro have contributed to a lack of queues and the nearly empty slopes that we encountered, but there was never a sense that it was going to get crowded. The food in the lodges is great — it is the Piedmont region of Italy, after all: choose from bowls of carbohydrate-rich bean and barley soup or polenta.


At the edge of the Val Troncea National Park at 1,600m is the newly refurbished five-star Kempinski Pragelato Village, where we stayed. The beautifully crafted, Alpine-style buildings are sympathetically designed to blend into the snowy environment and you wouldn’t guess that there are 101 chalet suites, 104 residences and four restaurants.


Pragelato Village boasts its own private, modern high-speed cable car, which takes you from a snowball’s throw of the reception to the slopes of Sestrière in five minutes, while the village has one of the best cross-country circuits in Europe. A legacy from the 2006 Olympics it covers altitude differences between 90m and 250m and lengths of 2.5km, 5km and 20km. There is onsite ski rental but the options are limited and the stock is tired, so if you are serious about skiing you are better off bringing your own equipment. The spa has a good gym, the usual range of therapeutic treatments and something called an “emotional shower” (we’ve no idea either) — but the highlight is a gorgeous pool looking out over snowy peaks.


The chalet suites are warm with a modern Alpine design and lots of space. There is a kids’ club for children aged two to 11 from 9.00–18.00. If that’s not enough, there is a hotel cinema that shows three films per day.


Service is excellent, a rare combination of congeniality and formality (you know it’s good when you notice and remember the names of the staff). This is a well-managed resort and staff seem genuinely happy.


Pragelato is 120km, or 90 minutes from Turin Caselle airport — a wincing €235 if you book through the hotel but you can arrange a car for significantly less if you haggle at the airport or book in advance. Alternatively, you can take a train to from Turin to Oulx and then a taxi 30km to Pragelato.

Three nights in chalet suite, including two-day ski pass from €760 per person; seven nights with a six-day pass from €1,810 per person
00 800 426 313 55; www.kempinski.com