We left our mountain lair earlier than we had planned because Dimitri had severe hip, groin, and knee pain. It had been diagnosed at the local sports hospital as a bone-on-bone hip joint problem. The solution would be a hip replacement.
As a lucky and fabulous coincidence, a year earlier, in 2025, our friend Kent had a hip replacement. Dimitri decided to use the same doctor that Kent used for his
hip replacement. Kent walked out of the hospital and up the stairs to his apartment that same day. Kent was 60, and Dimitri was 84, so there was some
difference😉. "Our replacement doctor" in Vail (the doctor who did Dimitri's knee replacement in March 2023) had recommended
the doctor in Lyon to Kent. Dr. Lustig, Kent's surgeon in Lyon, agreed to do Dimitri's hip replacement on April 8, 2026. This post has all of the details.
The road trip to Lyon
Our road trip to Lyon was leisurely and lovely, with snow-covered mountain views and the new spring green everywhere. We stopped at four places along the way. There were flowering fruit trees as soon as we got down from the Italian mountains, near Bolzano. Our first stop was Lago di Garda, one of the Italian lakes we had never visited before. The lakeside road was a narrow and winding one, like the Lago Como one. But eventually it widened and had great views of the snow-covered mountains across the lake.
Our first hotel stop
We really liked our first hotel: Hotel Lefay Resort & SPA Lago di Garda (Via Angelo Feltrinelli, 136,25084 Gargnano BS, 39 0365 241800). It was a 5-star hotel, and it acted like one. We were
given a complimentary upgrade by Liza and Daniel at reception because we asked
for it and because we were “Preferred” guests. We paid 405€ per night for the room we had booked, and the upgrade was to the Exclusive Suite (with a rack rate of more than double). It was great, with a terrific view of the snow-covered mountains
across the lake (marred by a Saharan dust haze - hence no photos unfortunately). The large rectangular space was
divided into sections. Outside, there was a lawn area with chaise lounges, and
then we also had two patios. Inside, by the window in the bathroom, with a very good view, was the Jacuzzi that we used and liked. In the bathroom, there were two sinks that we
liked and a shower that was too small and that also leaked. The hot water took a long,
long time, but did get hot enough, eventually. There was a separate toilet room
that had a sink.
In the bedroom area, there were also two
comfortable chairs and a long wooden desk, big enough for both of us to sit at
our laptops. Then there was a living room area across from the TV and the
minibar area. In the entry area of the suite was a large, walk-in closet that worked
very well for us. The décor was good, the furniture was comfortable, and the
lighting was good. You would not believe how many hotels get these things
wrong.
Twice-daily housekeeping was good, and
the breakfast was very good. An extensive buffet was accompanied by a menu with
eggs Benedict, for example. Audre really liked the thick, unctuous, hot
chocolate.
We used the well-equipped gym and
thought about going to the 5 pm breathing class.
Our overall view of the hotel was good.
The things we did not like were the awful beat of the “chill lounge” music in
the hallways and the bar. Another bad thing was hearing (and feeling) the
reverberating footsteps from the room above us. Also, we hated the
heating/cooling system. We had to ask reception to change the temperature, and
we could not get it comfortable; it was too hot even when the set point was 19°.
After two nights at Lefay, off we went to our next hotel, a 4-star one. Along the A4 highway, we could see the snow-covered Alps of Austria, and that tickled Audre. Are we really in Europe? Yes!
Our second hotel stop
As we approached Sillavengo and Hotel Resort Al Castello-Hibou Bistrot ( Via S. Giuseppe, 15, 28064 Sillavengo NO), we could see the peak of Monte Rosa. It was stunning and snow-covered, of course.
We didn’t like our room or the resort (218€ including dinner for 2). The receptionist on
duty was neither welcoming nor friendly, but he did help us with our luggage. Our
room #102 was supposed to be 60 square meters, but it didn’t seem like it (although there was a lot of useless space in the bathroom). It was a big square
room with decorated high ceilings. There was a 4-poster bed and two bedside
tables. It was one of those beds that was like jelly, and when one of us moved,
it shook badly.
There was a sofa on one side of the room, but it was useless
to us because the TV screen did not move, and it faced the bed, not towards the sofa.
There was a big useless chair, an armoire, and a desk for Audre, with a Lavazza
coffee machine on it and a mini fridge under it. We saw a table and a chair in
the hallway and asked the receptionist to bring them into the room for
Dimitri’s desk. We brought in two chairs to use as a luggage rack for Audre’s
suitcase.
We set the thermostat, and the room got
too hot. Although the heated towel rack in the bathroom was on when we arrived,
it automatically stopped heating, and the bathroom got cold. The toilet was very
high and uncomfortable. The sink had no stopper, and if anything had fallen into
it, it would have been lost forever. Audre had to wash the glass in the
bathroom because it was dirty. The soap dispenser ran out of soap, and it was
not refilled soon enough for our next bathroom use.
We looked at the outdoor Jacuzzi, and it
might have been okay, but it was too windy the day we might have used it. We had
dinner at the Hibou Bistrot, and our first impression was good. The server was
very nice and friendly. There was a roaring fire when we arrived, and we loved
sitting near it. We ordered the crostini and then the pork on a skewer for our main. As
usual, we shared everything. We were brought grissini and bread, and they were
good. Dimitri liked the crostini, but the main dish of pork was dry like
cardboard. We didn’t eat it. Dimitri liked the tarte tartin for dessert.
Breakfast the next morning was adequate.
We were supposed to stay two nights, but
we decided to leave after only one. The owner made an exception and allowed us to leave
without penalty. That was nice since nowadays most hotels expect people to stay for the entire period of the reservation!
Our third hotel stop
From a 5-star hotel at our first stop, we descended to a 4-star hotel, and at our third stop, we stayed at a 3-star hotel. The weather was beautiful for our drive from Sillavengo to Maurianne. We could see gorgeous snow-covered mountain
views. There was a pointy mountain that we could see off the A4 near Chevasso called Monte Viso in the Cottain Alps. Google said it is a prominent landmark over the Piedmonte
Plateau. There was light traffic and lots of spring green.
We
didn’t like the Best Western Hôtel Spa Restaurant 'Cœur de Maurienne' (371 Av. d'Italie, 73300 Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, France,+33 (0)4 79 83 45 47 https://www.hotel-coeurdemaurienne.com/). It was new-ish but downmarket (201€ plus 27€ for breakfast). The pictures of the
room, called the apartment, on the website made it look much bigger than it
actually was. There was no closet, only a rod for hanging and open boxes under
it. The bed had tiny micro tables on each side. Then there was a sofa, but no
low table in front of it. On the wall in front of the sofa was the TV, imagine that. There were two easy chairs, but again, no tables nearby
to put your coffee cup on. There was a dining table for 4 people in the room (on which we put both of our laptops). Across
from it was a kitchenette with a microwave but no coffee machine of any kind
whatsoever. There was a hot water boiler and tea, along with packets of instant
coffee. The mini fridge was useful for us.
The sink for the bathroom was in a tiny
room that also had the bathtub/shower and a wall towel heater. The toilet room
was unheated, and an automatic light went off when you were sitting on the
toilet. The décor was also down market. The
temperature of the room had to be set at the reception desk. That was a
problem.
There was a Jacuzzi in a separately managed spa requiring a walk outside, and that cost extra. The restaurant, La Table et L'Ardoise, was also a separate
operation, and we had to walk outside about a block to get there (Dimitri with his crutches and his pain). The room was really
cold, but the food was good enough (56€).
Our fourth hotel stop
After the Best Western, we decided to treat ourselves to a Relais
& Château that we loved in 2025, which was sort of on the way to Lyon. We did
not enjoy our second stay as much as our first stay at La Pyramide - Hôtel Restaurant (14 Bd Fernand Point, 38200 Vienne, 04 74 53 01 96).
This time we were not happy with the service at the hotel (suite
€652.56, plus petit dejeuner €35 x 2 = €70). The welcome was not warm or
friendly. We were helped with our luggage and with the setup for the room, but
it seemed begrudging. There was a dirty glass in the bathroom and no body
lotion. A cake was left for us, and we asked for it to be exchanged for fruit.
When the fruit arrived, there were no plates or utensils with it. The
room was not as great as we remembered it; it didn’t seem as big this time.
During the night, there was a new automatic night light at the floor level that
turned on with movement, and sometimes it turned on spontaneously. It was disturbing. Another
thing: when we were leaving, we had to beg to have the car brought to the front
(even though the people could see that Dimitri was using crutches).
The
lighting was good in the room, and after the room warmed up, it was a
comfortable temperature. The storage was very good, and the seating was good,
although the distance to the TV for watching was too close. So this time we
thought the food was excellent, but the accommodations were not.
And finally, Lyon and Dimitri's hip replacement
We were warmly greeted upon our arrival at the Warwick Reine Astrid (24 Boulevard des Belges, 69006 Lyon, +(33) 04 72 82 18 00). We enjoyed seeing the same staff as the year before and catching up with their news. We have added a whole post on Dimitri's hip replacement for your reading enjoyment.
