Belambra Club L Aiguille Rouge

The location is the real highlight: you can ski straight in and out from the door, and the heated locker room is useful, even if it's roasting while you're getting boots on. Fitting two snowboards into one locker takes patience. After seven nights, though, this felt much more like a budget hostel than a hotel. Food was fairly average, with plenty of choice, but the labels are all in French, so dishes covered in sauce can be hard to identify. Some staff don't speak English, which is fine, but made it difficult to ask about dishes or get more plates. The evening activities were also all in French, so we couldn't really join in. Families looking for entertainment for children should bear that in mind. The food was usually a decent temperature, but cold plates made it cool quickly. A few times the plates were dirty, or there were no plates or water jugs, and getting replacements took a while. Go when the restaurant opens at 18:30 if you can. We arrived at 19:30 once and waited 25 minutes for a table, then had to leave and buy food elsewhere. On another evening we got there ten minutes before opening and people were already queuing. Our triple room had a hostel feel. The supposed double was two singles pushed together with separate single duvets; the beds were quite firm and the pillows questionable. Still, after a long day, it was somewhere to sleep. The bath was so small that I think only a child could use it, so be prepared to shower. Our bathroom was dirty on arrival. Reception first said they don't go into rooms during guests' stays, but after I showed photos, someone came to clean it. Check the room soon after arrival and report problems. There are no fresh towels during the stay, and no soap, body wash, or shampoo at all, so bring your own. We were also surprised there was no safe. We stayed in room 911. Floor 9 is one of the lowest floors because reception is on level 0 at the top, with the lifts going down to the rooms. I'd ask for any floor except 9: a staff lift starts there, and we heard it running and staff walking along the corridor all night, sometimes loudly. The lift itself is noisy too. Heavy sleepers or people with good earplugs may be fine. WiFi for seven days costs €15 for two devices or €20 for five; the reception WiFi is free and works okay. A very budget place, in my view, with an outstanding ski-in, ski-out spot, but the rest let it down.

This is a pleasant, basic hotel in a fantastic spot for skiing straight out and back in. The restaurant team were welcoming at breakfast and dinner, and the other staff we dealt with were friendly. I enjoyed the buffet meals. Free wine is a nice touch, though it wasn't explained well that beer, soft drinks, or juice weren't available, so it felt like you were expected to bring your own. The room was fine for two, but with three single beds there wouldn't have been much room left for luggage or moving around if a third person came. The beds were extremely hard for me, almost like sleeping on the floor, and the flat, discolored pillows gave no support. That may be a personal preference. There weren't many power sockets, so we used an extension lead. The TV didn't work, which I didn't mind much since I was there to ski. The room was warm, maybe too warm at night, and I slept with the balcony door open a couple of nights. The small tub and shower felt odd; a shower tray might use the space better. Our rooms weren't cleaned or even checked all week. The towel sign said to leave towels on the floor for a change or hang them up to keep them, but without checks, towels left on the floor would have stayed damp and smelly. Bins filled up too, and we had to use shopping bags for extra rubbish. It was disappointing not to get fresh bedding and towels at least once midway through the week. Paid WiFi is a joke, and the whole hotel runs too warm. Opening a window when it's busy would help. Even so, we had a pleasant stay.

The skiing in Les Arcs is wonderful, but this is one of the worst hotels I've stayed in, and I missed the comforts of home. The ski room felt like an old sauna; we were sweating in T-shirts before skiing, then got cold and stayed that way in -9 degrees. The bar smelled like sewage, though to be fair it was friendly. Room WiFi costs extra, and meal service could mean waiting up to ten minutes because they didn't replace plates, water jugs, or cutlery. There was no soap in the room. When we asked, staff said they'd provide only a tiny hand soap bar to people who requested one. Rooms weren't cleaned during our stay, and judging by their condition, perhaps hadn't been cleaned before we arrived either. We were expected to put our food onto trays and put it away, or we'd be told off as guests. I heard staff tell someone who was politely asking a question, “please concentrate and listen to me.” The temperature was 19 degrees celsius at its coolest, and much higher most days. We measured 29 degrees celsius with no heating on and the door open. If that kind of hostel setup suits you, this might work. Otherwise, know what you're choosing.

The food was the one part that escaped my criticism. Otherwise, from the slopeside location onward, things went downhill, excuse the pun. I've never stayed in a hotel so stingy that even soap wasn't provided in the room. That really set expectations. With a location like this, it could be much more than an extreme budget hotel.