Residence Corte

my family of 2 adults and 2 teenagers just got back from a vacation in cortina italy. we stayed at residence corte in borca di cadore. we had a room with 2 twin beds in the main room, a kitchenette (no microwave but all of the utensils and dishware you would need)) with a small eating area, and a separate bedroom (double bed). there was 1 bathroom which was decent but not spotless. the hotel is not on the main highway thru the town. it is about 1 mile up a service road and is just above the corte spa and just below the hotel boite (which is a regular hotel and is affiliated to the residence corte). the residence corte is sort of like a glorified dormatory style building and ambience. it is quite basic but well worth the rate. it is clean and warm but not spotless. do not go there is you want luxury and pampering. there is no housekeeping, and breakfast (8 euros) and dinner (20 euros)can be purchased at the hotel boite up the road. we booked this thru expedia as a "2 bedroom". when we checked in, i pointed out that it was in fact a 1 bedroom, so the manager (the husband of the couple) chipped in free wifi for us (usually 10 euro per day) and meals at the hotel boite for half price! i think they tired of us though because in the middle of the week, we ran out of toilet paper and the wife manager refused to give us any more!! it seemed fairly deserted when we were there. there were about 15-18 cars in the parking lot each night, and there were many more rooms/suites than that. it seemed to be mostly non-americans there. the breakfasts at the hotel boite are decent...cold cuts, cereals, pastries. there were scrambled eggs and bacon as well. the maitre'd mickey was quite snobby with us though. we were the only party from the residence corte who were taking our meals there, as the hotel boite requires a half board, and most of the residence corte patrons do not go there for their meals. we had dinner there one night, and it was plentiful in amount but very mediocre in quality. we felt we did not want to return there for dinner even at the 10 euro rate. cortina is about 15-20 minutes away by car. there is pretty good shuttle service from the residence corte to various ski areas, but we found having our car afforded much flexibility. parking is easy at various places around cortina as long as you get there fairly early...before 10 am or so. we went to the corte spa on our last evening. it was12 euro per person (including the 15% discount for residence corte patrons). the prices are the most expensive between 2-6pm. we had to purchase swim caps for 3 euro each. they also require slippers/sandals but somehow we got out of that requirement. it is a 3 star spa. the scenery is spectacular. the pool is quite nice. however, the jacuzzi was not hot. it was the same temp as the connected pool which i thought was quite disappointing. there is a small steam room and sauna upstairs. it is fairly clean, but it just didn't feel luxurious in the least. for instance, there was no soap or shampoo in the showers. we did not try any treatments eventhough they are 15% off for residence corte patrons. there are numerous places to eat in borca di cadore and neighboring san vito di cadore. however, you should have a car if you stay here as it is quite isolated on the service road. there is a small supermarket at the entrance to the service road although their hours are a little tricky. they close at 7 pm and also during the middle of the day. some days they close early too. overall, this is a great economical place to stay for a family of four, as cortina proper is astronomically expensive especially for 4 of us. you will absolutely need a car if staying here though.