Chalet Portes du Soleil 1

We paid over €3,000 a week to rent this through Airbnb, and it was frankly an awful week. The chalet faces a busy road with cars and bars, and we could hear everything even with the windows shut. Inside, it was filthy and dusty, with a stained sofa, marked walls, very heavy curtains, and a balcony that was awkward to get to. The bedroom radiator drips when it’s above 3 degrees Celsius, and only starts heating at 3 degrees. The yellowed shower curtain, leaking sink, broken toilet seat, kitchen window that won’t close, and fridge door that’s hard to shut all need attention. The decor isn’t great either. You can hear the basement washing machine from the living room. Airbnb made sure we were compensated. We sent the service providers photos, and they could only confirm the chalet’s condition.

For that price, the state of the apartment was disgraceful. It was filthy, with broken glass, rubbish, and dust on the furniture and lampshades; the fridge and dishes hadn’t been cleaned, and the fridge wasn’t cooling. The bedroom and bathroom curtains were damaged, there was no water pressure upstairs, and the upstairs drain leaked. Bathroom cabinets were swollen, the basement storage room was neglected, and a shower curtain rail was broken downstairs. On the mezzanine, there were dangerous planks with nails and broken light switches in the bedroom. There wasn’t a vacuum cleaner or dustpan either. Such a shame, because the place has potential.

We nearly didn’t book after seeing the first two reviews, but our stay turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The chalet was very clean and we had a wonderful week. Its spot in the heart of the resort was ideal, close to the Chavannes and Mont Chery slopes and the ESF ski school. It did make us wonder whether those first reviewers had stayed in the same chalet as us.

A spotless, welcoming place.