Accomodation advice for Chamonix please!!

harrise

Hi,

I've been trawling the web for days looking for good accomodation deals for Chamonix for February. Problem is that I dont know what area to be looking for, Les Houches seems to have some good deals but I dont want to be miles away from the lifts. We're going to get the Chamonix le Pass lift pass instead of the Unlimited pass. It seems that there are a few places you can get the lifts so I dont know whether or not I'd be close to a lift if I looked for accomodation just outside central Chamonix. I've seen thread posts mentioning Argentiere but I dont know how close this is to the lifts or if there is an easy cheap shuttle bus you can get. I can only go on this holiday if I get it on a budget so I dont want to have to get expensive buses or taxis.

Somebody please help me! I've been on the web for days now looking for somewhere and really wanna go on my first skiing holiday!!!!!!!!!!:)

Thanks!

justdoit

Depending how many of you there are and what you are after, I would recommend gite vagabond:

http://www.gitevagabond.com/

Good location, great prices, chance to meet lots of people. It's not your all singing, all dancing chalet accommodation, but if you are on a budget, it's spot on- clean and cheap.

I'm going to Cham in February and booked accomm through these guys:

www.snostation.com

Enjoy!

Poster King

If you are only getting the cheaper ski pass, the don't stay in Les Houches because it is not included on the pass. Try and stay in either Chamonix Centre or Argentiere. Argentiere is beside Les Grands Montets which is the best ski area and Domaine de Balme is pretty close too. Have you got your own wheels or will you be relying on the buses. I was there 2 weeks ago and I and my two mates had a 4 x 4. The other 4 guys didn't and they found it a real pain in the ass waiting and queuing for buses.
We stayed in Hotel Gustavia which is run by Langley, a Scandinavian tour operator. It is in a superb location bang in the centre, opposite train station and there is a bus stop virtually outside I believe. It also houses the imfamous Chambre Neuf apres ski bar - the best in town by far. If you stay there, make sure you get a room above the 2nd floor though or you will be kept awake by the parting in the bar

harrise

Thanks a million for the advice. I think we'll stay in centre of chamonix coz we wont have a car. We found a cheap enough hotel there and will prob only go for 5 days to get the cheap flights. Now just have to get kitted out for cheap!! I have one ski bag that fits our two pairs of skis but aer lingus wont allow it so I'll have to get another bag!

a147pro

I think you need to understand that Chamoniz is really around 5 seperate skiing areas dotted along the valley. The best place to stay would prob be Chamonix itself, but as the above poster notes, by far the best skiing is in Argentiere. Apart from the amazing off piste, it has the best snow and you can also ski down to the bottom which you can rarely do in Chamonix. A day in the other skiing areas would be enough, though personally I think that'd prob be time wasted!

There is a bus service and its quite good but it is a pain to have to truck between the resorts. Chamoniz to Argentiere is around 15 mins by bus. Tip is that the time on the busstop is the time the bus is supposed to arrive there. Took me a long time to realise that and used to go nuts by dragging myself out of bed early only to end up standing at the busstop for 20 mins.

So if you're going purely for the skiing maybe try and get a place in Argentiere. But if you have people in the group who aren't ski nuts and might want to potter around a town then maybe stay in Cham itself. I'm not sure there's anything else in Argentiere as I've never stayed there. Also bear in mind that there's very little for beginners in Argentiere, though the nearby area of La Tour is the best equipped in the valley for them.

Les Houches is the opposite side of the valley from Argentiere and would be an absolute pain to get from there to Argentiere so I wouldn't recommend. Its the lowest of all the skiing areas, which generally means the snow is the poorest, though at times its the only one open due to avalanche risk.

A car is also a good idea, especially when you consider how prohibitively expensive the 90 minute bus transfer from Geneva is (€30 each way). If there's three of you it may be cheaper to get a car.

Bus is free with lift pass, which basically means its free for anyone who gets on it.

a147pro

justdoit wrote: »

Depending how many of you there are and what you are after, I would recommend gite vagabond:


Enjoy!

I saw this place previously and was thinking of staying there next time, looks cosy, but would I be right in thinking there's no bus direct from there to Argentiere, as in do you have to either walk to the bus station or get a bus there and transfer to the argentiere bus?

Mitch Buchannon

Im sitting in Chamonix at the moment. Weather is great. Had a good bit of snow the other day. Winds were very high yesterday so some lifts were closed and the temp was baltic. It was -22c with the wind chill up in La Tour. Heading up to Flegere and Brevant today. Weather is much better
(thank god). Coming home on Sunday and have another week off so I might get up to wicklow if its still rideable. Im back here in March for 10 days so its not all bad.
Regarding your question on accom. I'll put up some links and other useful websites when Im back off the slopes later. Im about to head out now.
Bring on the shred !!:D

fuse

We stayed with these guys. http://www.freshtraxxx.com/ftx/
Fully catered, took the easy option. Staff are sound, the drop you to the lifts in morning & pick you up. Have meals ready in the evening. We had a hot tub, great living room, music and great craic for the week. Would recommend it...
(Pickup & return to airport included. Gear rental too)

W.B. Yeats

a147pro wrote: »

I think you need to understand that Chamoniz is really around 5 seperate skiing areas dotted along the valley. The best place to stay would prob be Chamonix itself, but as the above poster notes, by far the best skiing is in Argentiere. Apart from the amazing off piste, it has the best snow and you can also ski down to the bottom which you can rarely do in Chamonix. A day in the other skiing areas would be enough, though personally I think that'd prob be time wasted!

There is a bus service and its quite good but it is a pain to have to truck between the resorts. Chamoniz to Argentiere is around 15 mins by bus. Tip is that the time on the busstop is the time the bus is supposed to arrive there. Took me a long time to realise that and used to go nuts by dragging myself out of bed early only to end up standing at the busstop for 20 mins.

So if you're going purely for the skiing maybe try and get a place in Argentiere. But if you have people in the group who aren't ski nuts and might want to potter around a town then maybe stay in Cham itself. I'm not sure there's anything else in Argentiere as I've never stayed there. Also bear in mind that there's very little for beginners in Argentiere, though the nearby area of La Tour is the best equipped in the valley for them.

Les Houches is the opposite side of the valley from Argentiere and would be an absolute pain to get from there to Argentiere so I wouldn't recommend. Its the lowest of all the skiing areas, which generally means the snow is the poorest, though at times its the only one open due to avalanche risk.

A car is also a good idea, especially when you consider how prohibitively expensive the 90 minute bus transfer from Geneva is (€30 each way). If there's three of you it may be cheaper to get a car.

Bus is free with lift pass, which basically means its free for anyone who gets on it.

Good post there

OP
I've skied Les Houches more than any of the other places in the Valley and love it. In Feb the conditions are grand and the queues aren't as bad as Les Grand Montets
Second favourite would La Tour, nice wide pistes and usually as quiet.
Cham can be full of a lot of Hooray Henry City of London types. They really annoy the locals so make sure to let people know you are Irish. I remember being in a pizza take away in Les Houches a few years back and the whole place went quiet when we came in speaking English. They loved us when we reminded them we were Les Irlandais.....;)
I'd hire a car if I were you though, great comfort driving anywhere you want on a given day and it allows you to be flexible, saves you a lot of time queueing and is much easier all around (unless you are staying up a side road from the valley when you will really need winter tyres +/- 4x4)