Hotels in Sestriere, Italy. Hotel booking in Sestriere from ahotelinitaly.com

The ski resort of Sestriere, perched 2035 metres up in the Italian Alps, and about as far northwest as you can go in Italy before hitting France, has some impressive history and equally impressive facilities. This was the main venue during the 2006 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, has been the site of three Olympic villages down the years, hosted the 1997 skiing World Championships, and is a regular host to the Alpine Ski World Cup. Undeveloped Sestriere is not, with the skiing rarely halting. Should the weather fail, the 146 ski-able pistes and 400km of trails are dusted with artificial snow, and you can even ski at night on floodlit runs.

This is the heart of the Via Lattea (Milky Way) ski area, which also takes in the villages of Claviere, Sauze d'Oulx, Cesana Torinese and San Sicario, and crosses into Montgenevre in France. Even when the snow ends, the sporting fun doesn't stop. This is a lung-bustingly high tour stage both on the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France cycle races and, improbably, it has Europe's highest 18-hole golf course (not playable all year round obviously). We understand that balls fly further at high altitude, so this could be the perfect spot to shave a stroke or two off your handicap.

Sestriere's status as ski super resort goes back a way too. Fiat motor company founder Giovanni Agnelli would pop up here from Turin in the 1930s, and he built the first Olympic Village with the hotel's two trademark towers - signature structures of the new village. Another fan of the new resort was former Italian leader Benito Mussolini. The resort, conceived as a destination for the young, rich and aristocratic, is rather more egalitarian these days. More pertinently, it offers some of the best ski facilities you'll find, and you'll never run out of new runs to try.

To the left you'll find a selection of Sestriere hotels, just to whet your appetite. See also Sestriere hotels (full listings) and our Sestriere hotel map.