What crew get at this hotel
A timber and stone chalet hotel five minutes from the Chamonix lifts, with a glass-walled indoor pool facing Mont Blanc and two restaurants under the same roof.
Chamonix is one of the few big resorts that lives up to the noise made about it. The town is busy most of the year, Mont Blanc sits over everything and Le Chalet des Aiguilles books out well ahead for February half-term and the Easter weeks. It is a short walk from the Aiguille du Midi lift, close enough to ski home to and far enough back that you do not hear the town at night.
The 22 rooms are split between the old chalet and a newer wing. In the chalet the walls are pine and every room has a woodburner; the new wing has bigger windows and deeper baths. The best of them face the massif; you can lie in bed and watch the light come up on the snow.
“You ski back to the door, hand over your boots and swim in a pool that is glass-walled straight onto the mountain.”
At its heart is the food. There are two places to eat, a main restaurant and a bistro for the nights you come in cold and hungry. Breakfast in both is big enough to build a ski day on. Add the spa, the fire in the lounge and staff who will sort your lift passes before you have unpacked. It is a hard hotel to leave in the morning.
Reviewed in person by Meghan, Crew Portfolio
Rooms
The old chalet rooms are all pine and wool, most with a woodburner and a balcony you can dry your gloves on. They are cosy rather than large and the mountain is right there in the window.
The new wing trades some of the character for space: bigger beds, deep baths and floor-to-ceiling glass onto the massif. If you want the view from the pillow, book one of these.
Eating
There are two restaurants: the dining room for the long dinner and a bistro for the nights you come off the hill wanting cheese and a fire. Both are open to non-residents, so book ahead in high season.
Breakfast is local bread, charcuterie, eggs cooked to order and enough coffee to see you to the top station. Crew get it included on the crew rate.
On the mountain
Chamonix is not one ski area but several, linked by a free shuttle that stops near the door. Les Houches is the gentle one, Grands Montets the steep one and the Aiguille du Midi is the day you tell people about for years.
In summer the same lifts open for walkers and riders. The pool and spa come into their own after a day on the trails.
What we love
Facilities
Location
Le Chalet des Aiguilles is in the centre of Chamonix, at the foot of Mont Blanc in south-east France, close to the borders with Switzerland and Italy.
By air
Geneva is the easiest airport, about 1h05 by road, with a shared shuttle to the door. Lyon and Turin are the next nearest.
By road
An easy drive from Geneva on the motorway. In winter, keep chains in the car and the resort shuttle saves you parking in town.
Good to know
Getting there
Fly to Geneva, then about an hour by road. The hotel runs a shared shuttle. In resort a free bus links the ski areas from a stop near the door.
The food
Two restaurants on site, a dining room and a bistro. In town, book ahead in high season; the bakeries near the lift are worth the early start.
Worth doing
Ride the Aiguille du Midi for the view, ski Grands Montets, or walk the trails in summer. The spa is the reward after any of them.
The detail
22 rooms, so it books up over Christmas and February. Mountain-facing rooms are worth the difference. No air con in the old wing.
A few things to know
- Breakfast gets busy at peak times; go early or go late.
- Mountain-facing rooms cost more and they are the ones you want.
- Chamonix in high season is not quiet; the town buzzes into the evening.
- Cancellation terms tighten over Christmas and February half-term.
- No air conditioning in the old wing, which is warm on a summer afternoon.
What crew say
First Officer, A320
Captain, B787
Cabin Crew
