My wife and I stayed with some friends at Chalet Isis in the Chalets de l'Altiport area of Alpe D'Huez 1850 in March 08. We booked through skialacarte. The altiport chalets are all pretty new and are in a gated community situated over the road from the small airport, and about 600 metres from the Les Bergers part of Alpe D'Huez, with the main town a few hundred metres further away. Access was via Grenoble International Airport St Geoirs - 99 kms away and the private transfer by the chalet staff took 1 hour 25 minutes.
The chalet sleeps 16 and the rest of the rooms were occupied by other guests. Each room had private ensuite facilities apart from one of the rooms on the ground floor which had a shower and WC room which was also the facility for people using the sauna. Nobody using the sauna ever used this room as far as we could see, out of respect for the people in this bedroom. The rooms were small and basic but clean. Some more storage, or at least some coathooks would have been useful. The extractor fans in the toilets do not work.
The chalet was described to us as 5 star but was nowhere near this mark. The chalet is typically alpine in appearance, all wood and stone and was furnished to a basic but acceptable standard but certainly not to a level anywhere near luxurious. Getting 16 people around the dining table on benches was too close for comfort and the lounge area just wasnt comfortable with hard benches covered in thin cushions. There was a TV with DVDs available but nowhere to comfortably sit and watch it really because there was a large chimney smack in the middle of the room. Some rubbish board games were provided and a childrens snooker table was available next to the sauna.
Each night apart from the staff's night off on wednesday we were given a 5-course meal. The food was a good standard generally although again not 5-star. The write up on the website certainly raised expectations which were not met. One of the main courses was undercooked and another of rolled lambs breast was just chewy and gristly. On the whole the food was OK but if you want gourmet food this isnt the place. There was a feeling of 'how do we get 5 courses out of todays budget' about it. If they had concentrated on 3 good courses instead of 5 fiddly little ones it may have been better received. Unlimited red, white and rose wine was provided and was an OK standard with no complaints. At the end of the meal was a choice of port or brandy and a cheeseboard and coffee was left for guests to help themselves.
At breakfast time guests made their own tea or coffee and there was a choice of cereal or muesli. Each guest had one croissant and bread and jam were on the table. Each morning you could have porridge and/or a cooked egg. Bacon was served one day.
In the afternoon the staff left a cake or biscuits and hot drinks and juice were available.
Our chalet was ski-in, ski-out which was great. The staff took us to their recommended ski hire shop and we received a 10% discount. Our kit was taken back to the chalet for us and dropped off at the end of the week. Good service. The chalet has boot heaters and a ski store in the garage.
One of the staff members was available several days for ski guiding and proved knowledgeable about the area and was good company. A day in Serre Chevalier was also on offer at an extra charge.
If you want to leave the chalet and hit town there is a regular bus from outside the chalets D'altiport security gate. The walk into Les Bergers is OK but coming back is all uphill and takes a good 20 minutes. there were only a couple of bars and a selection of shops in les Bergers. There are loads more in Alpe D'Huez itself plus a better selection of restaurants and shops.
Overall we thought that it was good for access to the slopes, the staff were friendly and helpful and the accommodation and food were a decent 3/4 star standard. If you are not bothered about access to nightlife then these chalets are a good option.
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with friends or family, Les Chalets de l'Altiport is located in Alpe d'Huez 1850, in the upper part of the ski resort, close to the altiport, about 500 metres fro...
5-bedroom chalet, sleeps 12 - (Snow Guarantee free of charge !) - Ideal for ski holidays ... more
with friends or family, Les Chalets de l'Altiport is located in Alpe d'Huez 1850, in the upper part of the ski resort, close to the altiport, about 500 metres from...
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