We stayed 2 weeks at Chantel 2 in mid Jan 2012 - perfect low season timing if you can take holidays then - the prices are at their lowest and you aren't sharing the facilities with hordes of others. Luckily our taxi driver waited while we checked if we had the right building as it would have been a long and cold bus + walking transfer if we had to move to Chantel 1 up the hill.
Our apartment was very comfortable, we were fortunate to be given a larger one than we had booked, with the only minor bugbear being that there was no oven, only a combined microwave/grill. We loved the bakery service that was offered - order the night before and collect your croissants, baguettes etc from reception at 8am the following day.
Being at the lower of the Chantel buildings we were only a 5 mins downhill stroll away from the 1800 Charvet shopping centre which had a well-stocked supermarket (with prices at a premium but well worth paying for the convenience), charcuterie, boulangerie, pizza takeaway etc. You then had the option of catching the bus back up the hill or doing a slightly longer stroll back up. We don't think you could have walked from Chantel 1.
Although difficult to find the first time (we should have asked before setting out) the ski-in route was really convenient and the ski storage facility was fine - though we kept our boots in the apartment as the lockers didn't have a drying capacity. We did try to go down to Bourg St Maurice to do shopping at the larger supermarkets, but they were closed on the Sunday afternoon when we went and not having a car meant we would have walked at least 2 km return to get back to the funicular railway.
We had arrived by rail from Paris - a fast TGV trip well recommended - and were very pleased that we had arranged for a taxi transfer up to Les Arcs (Euro 60) as going up via funicular railway + bus transfer would have involved alot of stairs and walking.
In our first week we shared the slopes with 2 British universities and there were big parties every night in 1800. Luckily Chantel 2 was high up so the sound didn't travel that far but our fellow ski school buddies who were staying closer to the village did complain about the noise.
Finally, we found the Reception staff to be very helpful and informative - and spoke English very well which was very handy for us Antipodeans!
If you own or manage Les Alpages du Chantel, register now for free tools to enhance your listing, attract new reviews, and respond to reviewers.
- Manage your listing
