Stayed here the new year week 2009/10 with my boyfriend and 4 friends through Rocket ski. We were a…read morelast minute add on to a party of 25, the rest of whom stayed in the next village of the Serre Chevalier resort, Villeneuve. We ranged in aged between 7 and 50. Was apprehensive at first as could find no reviews! So here I am to write the first one.
Location
Monetier is definitely nicer than Villeneuve. It is unspoilt and has quaint houses and beautiful architecture as opposed to Villeneuve which has a lot of tower blocks. The slopes are quieter than Villeneuve, and the runs are excellent. As a beginner, I did some good blue runs almost undisturbed by others considering we were there in one of the busiest periods. You can also buy lift passes for non skiiers too quite cheaply. Transfer time from Grenoble took us around 5 hours due to heavy traffic and snow. Monetier has all the facilities you could need, and is a family friendly resort. The hotel itself is situated on a main road within walking distance of shops, cashpoints, restaurants and the slopes.
Transport
There is a bus stop directly outside the hotel. The buses loop around Monetier to the slopes / spa and back, or from the same stop you can get a bus to the other villages and Briancon. If you have a lift pass the buses are free, (3 euros without) and at the time of year we were there run approximately every ten minutes up til 11pm, which was handy for seeing our friends in Villeneuve.
Food
Absolutely exquisite, some of the best food I have ever had in a hotel, and totally unpretentious with it. Generous portions. Also unlike many other hotels in France, there is no Chef night off, making the little bit extra it cost us than our Villeneuve friends much worth it. On the first night we were very delayed, but we even got a three course meal at 9pm. The breakfasts are buffet style typical continental, with a good selection and good quality food. The evening meals are three courses. They were happy to cater for vegetarians, and even cooked us other stuff when the 7 year old wasn't into what we had that night. The tables were always beautifully presented.
Staff
Run by an English couple, who also spoke perfect French. Really helpful, even dropped me off in Villeneuve one day. Took the time to make sure you were happy and spent as much or as little time with you as you wanted.
Rooms
A little on the small side, but larger than some others of this category. Room to dry your snow gear on for two and plenty of storage space. Bathrooms were excellent, recently refurbished to a high standard with massive showers. Felt a very safe place to be in. Had to shove the two singles together as with many european hotels. Only problems were we found the beds, although new, quite uncomfy although I was ill and spent a lot of time in it! Lots of blankets if you need them, but the temperature was always good and the bathroom had heated towel rails. Rooms cleaned daily. Saw our friends rooms in VN - all agreed ours were much better! We also had free wi-fi available everywhere, and a safe storage for boards and boots.
New Years Eve
What can I say but brilliant, had a great time. We had free punch and canapes before a four course meal, and the food was as ever, excellent. We even had oysters and smoked salmon. Staff took the time to be with everyone, excellent hosts. The dining room was set out lovely, we all had hats / tiaras, garlands, those noisy blower things, little rattles and best of all pea shooters! Brilliant atmosphere with staff and guests all night. Our friends at the other hotel got none of this.
Please be aware they do have dogs. They're the softest friendliest dogs, but our friend in the other hotel was glad she wasn't with us as she is terrified of dogs.
Price
We went in the priciest week of the year, so it's a little unfair to mark it down on value as everywhere was very expensive. We paid £570 each for one week (which is twice what it cost us in a 4*spa in Bansko in March 09), inc flights from Gatwick and resort transfers. To compare though, our friends in Villeneuve paid £490 for a group booking well in advance, the rooms weren't as nice, the staff weren't as nice, the resort wasn't as good, nor the food, they had to go out for the chefs night off and they had nothing laid on for New Years, so it was worth the little bit extra we paid and I'm glad we went there. Looking forward to doing some more Alps motorbike touring there in the summer!
