Piccolo Chalet

The Piccolo Chalet is a decent hotel which is a short walk, albeit uphill, to the town centre, and then further uphill to the Clotes lift. Noise carries in the corridors so if you are coming in late your neighbours will probably hear. The rooms are basic but are kept clean. Fairly good selection of food for breakfast. One coffee machine which makes good coffee but is slow so you may have to wait. Equipment storage in the basement but you may find somewhere closer to the slopes for that. Showers were cold two days running. The first time was fixed within 40 mins and assured it wouldn't happen again - which it did the very next night. This time fixed in 30 minutes but each time involved a phone call and someone not in the building having to come and "reset the boiler". I was annoyed at the time but Alexandra and Stephano were quite helpful so I can forgive them. Still...

For the price we were expecting fairly basic facilities but the hotel was clean warm and comfortable with friendly staff. Breakfast was good and the location was only 200m from the village centre.

This was an excellent place to stay and exactly what I wanted - somewhere cheap to stay whilst skiing. Having read some old reviews I had low expectations, although the reviews from this year seemed better. I was very pleasantly surprised - the room was of a decent size (although I got a room with a double and a single in it just for me) and the bathroom was great (but no bath, as expected). The hot water worked - it just took a few moments to come on. The beds are uncomfortable (camp beds and actually I think my double was just two camp beds with a double sheet over the top). The stairway echoed so I was up quite a bit when others returned to their rooms and my window looked out onto the main road, where the transfer coaches arrived/departed at 5 and 6 a.m. (only on one day). It is a 5-10 minute uphill walk to the pistes - apparently there is a bus but I didn't see it and I enjoyed the morning warm up...much preferring the downhill walk at the end of the day - you pribably wouldn't want to do this with children, but you are able to hire lockers by the piste to store skis and books, making the walk a lot easier. I didn't. And if you get the bus to Montgeneve, or anywhere else the bus stop is just 50 yards from the hotel door. Alexandra, the manager, speaks very good English and was extremely friendly. Breakfast was available for 5 euros and just as good as any other resort hotels.

The owner/manager, was extremely helpful, on Sunday there were no taxi to pick up my brother from the station, he sent someone and refused to take money, just a word of advice no taxi working on Sunday, so be prepared