Vuelta a España ‘Hail Hotel’ Has Been Spammed with Rave Reviews. We Suspect They’re Not All Legit.

The Vuelta a España lost a stage Monday, but a random hotel and military training center high in the French Pyrénées gained a lot of good Google reviews.

The IGESA Village Club Mont-Louis Les Sorbiers has been inundated with reviews since Tadej Pogačar and the Vuelta a España peloton mobbed into its lobby to shelter from golf ball-sized hailstones on Monday.

Some look legit, some are hilariously fake. Some blur the boundary between both.

A user named “Tadej Pogačar” was keen to share their thanks after they piled through the front door when an apocalyptic hailstorm forced the cancellation of stage 3 of La Vuelta.

“Thanks IGESA for providing me and the girls with shelter. Btw I’m Urska Zigart’s boyfriend. She’s a famous pro cyclist from Slovenia,” they wrote.

Another user named Mark Vannieuwkerke appears to have encountered Primož Roglič while they were taking their leisure in the IGESA.

Vannieuwkerke’s review attached an image of Roglič that appears to be cropped from a picture taken by noted cycling photographer Cor Vos.

“AN ANNOYING CYCLIST/SKI JUMPER FROM SLOVENIA HARASSED ME,” was the review of the tile.

“A cyclist – completely soaked and frozen – approached me and explained he was a former ski jumper, crashed hard, then became a pro cyclist winning the biggest races, losing the Tour against a schoolboy… I did NOT ask him anything!!” read a snippet of the review.

But it wasn’t all trolling.

Will Barta, Julien Bernard, and Tobias Johannessen were among the many pros who posted their genuine appreciation to the facility after scores of frozen and wet cyclists showed up without a reservation.

Vuelta a España turns 1 star hotel into viral sensation

The IGESA Village Club Mont-Louis Les Sorbiers is described on Google as a “1 star holiday complex”.

Nestled up in the Catalan Pyrénées, the high-mountain location is popular with hikers, climbers, and mountain bikers.

It also serves as a type of training center for the French military.

It seems some Vuelta a España cyclists made good use of the center’s fitness facilities Monday afternoon. Images show Georg Steinhauser keeping warm on an indoor bike trainer while wrapped into towels, for example.

Speaking to The Cycling Podcast on Monday night, American veteran Larry Warbasse said the hosting was top-notch.

The attending staff seemed to know what a ragged athlete – or military person – needs.

“They gave everyone towels … gave everyone hot tea, they started to bring out fruit for everyone, then they brought out a thing of Haribo for everyone. It was insane how great a care they took of us,” Warbasse told The Cycling Podcast.

“I hope somehow we can repay them … It would be really nice if we all did something for them because they really, really saved all of our days. We were probably there for an hour before we could get back to our buses.”

That hour of hospitality offered by the IGESA Village Club Mont-Louis Les Sorbiers on Monday might have been the most profitable in its history.

It just became a 4.9-star-rated viral sensation, legitimate reviews or not.

Here are some of our favorite reviews. Can you pick the real ones from the fakes? Don’t worry, it’s not hard.