Haus Giggijoch by Châtel Reizen

The house’s biggest strength is its location, just a one-minute walk from the giggijochbahn. Parking at its garage is free, with plenty of spaces. If your car is tall with a ski box, you need to park outside the garage, where we also found enough room. Nikki and Levi were very good and helpful, and breakfast was quite good. Still, the price didn’t feel proportionate to what we got, though we were nine people paying the fixed rate for 13/14. We stayed for a week as a group of nine. You can also book individual rooms and share the living room with other groups, which is useful to know. The living room is open to everyone, and staff pass through from time to time, so you don’t have the whole house to yourselves. The concept is unusual: breakfast is provided, but dinner isn’t, unlike at some other houses. You’ll need to eat out or pick up pizza nearby. You can’t cook for yourself or use the kitchen, and bringing your own food and drinks into the living room isn’t allowed. Instead, there’s a mini bar, but its selection is limited if you want a snack beyond Snickers, Mars, Pringles and the like. Prices are fair, with beer at 2 euro for 500ml. The building is dated and worn. The sofa had a couple of tears hidden by blankets, the floor was worn, and the rooms’ beds weren’t the best. The bathrooms were old too. In rooms without a shower cabin, you had to stand in the bath without a curtain and hold the shower head. Rooms do have their own bathrooms and enough space, and most have a shared balcony. The fire arrangements were concerning: there was one fire extinguisher for the whole house, no smoke alarms, and no escape routes. The front door is always open, and the living room is accessible to everyone. Storing skis, snowboards and boots in the depot in the ski store beneath the house was chaotic. It wasn’t set up for a group of nine collecting their gear at the same time, and check-in at the depot on the first day was hectic. The staff seemed unsure what to do with us. You aren’t allowed to bring skis, snowboards or boots into the house. With renovations to bring it up to date, this could be an excellent place. The location is perfect, and the staff are very good and do their best to help.