Madame Vacances Residence les Valmonts

Cheap appartments + abit tired and knocked about. But the views are excellent and the pool is great, the staff are lovely and you can ski down to the lifts easily. You can ski from the main ski area back to the accomodation if you are good enough but otherwise you can take the bubble from the ski area to the resort and then take the ski bus back up to the accomodation. You can easily walk into town from the appartments but be warned .... its all uphill when walking back.....

On arrival on the Saturday afternoon (after an overnight train journey from London) there was only one person at the reception who was trying to deal with crowds of skiers all arriving at the same time. It was utter chaos; several people began to argue, shout and make threats because they'd been waiting for more than 2 hours just to check in and get their room key. We waited 4 hours during which time we had no access to a shower or place to change our smelly clothes. Our luggage was dumped in the corner of the room all afternoon and people were forced to sit on their luggage. The receptionist (a lady) was, rather unsurprisingly, aggressive, incompetent and rude and told us we wouldn't get our key if we didn't leave a credit card deposit of €700, even though we were not the ones who had made the reservation. It really was one of the worst check-in experiences I've ever had, a process which is supposed to be relaxing and easy. There's a small & rather chilly pool in one of the buildings (the one with the reception) which is only open for 2 hours a day and closed on Wednesdays and Saturdays and is constantly packed with splashing and screaming children (who also used the sauna and steamroom despite the "no persons under 18" sign). The changing rooms were a messy disgrace. The residence is divided into 4 completely separate buildings, spaced quite far apart, so if you take the bus back from the slopes, you still have to walk for 300m with your skis and boots... The apartments were fine but nothing special, the tv didn't work and linen and towels were extra. No wifi was available in the rooms, only at reception, and was too slow to do anything except check emails. It would honestly be less stressful and more rewarding to pay a bit more and stay in a proper hotel. The weaknesses need to be addressed in time for next season.

Very tired accommodation - my pet hate of greasy smelly pillows and duvets! Staff tried their best to help but had run out of duvets and pillows so lumpy and worn or hard as nails! Great location and super friendly staff. You get what you pay for....... beware of extras to pay for - towels and linen - makes a cheap deal less so!