CGH Boutique Residence Le Cristal de l’Alpe

The apartments were well equipped, and skiing was an easy walk away. Cedric and Pauline at the front desk were particularly helpful, sharing local advice, guidance and personal recommendations. We had a fantastic stay and will be back.

We paid over $20,000 for a week with 10 people expecting a high-end stay. Instead, we got broken amenities, hostile staff and poor customer service. The apartment was tiny for our group, and two people slept in a cubby under the stairs and on a couch. Phones didn’t work in the apartment or hallways, there were no instructions, and we had no way to reach anyone. The spa was the main reason we booked, but it was a disaster. The hot tub was colder than the pool and worked only one day out of seven. One sauna was broken throughout our stay, and three of the six spa features didn’t work. I offered to fix things myself, since I manage seven luxury rentals in Florida, but they made no effort, apologized for nothing and offered no remedy. When I had a beer outside the water, a staff member came charging over like a cop in an action movie and threatened to throw me out “on my ass.” There was no warning or polite heads-up. I walked around the property afterward and couldn’t find a sign saying drinks weren’t allowed in the spa area. They doubled down and treated me like a criminal. There was just one small trash can, about the size of a milk jug, tucked in a corner of the whole spa area. If they expected guests to follow their rules, there was nowhere to put a water bottle or beer can, so they left people with no option but to carry their rubbish. Other problems kept piling up. The WiFi constantly dropped and was useless, even though I’d seen reviews mention it and thought it might have been fixed. The freezer door was broken, the fridge door stuck on the counter, and the microwave didn’t work until I found a diagram stuffed in a random cupboard. We had no hot water one day, and a shower backed up and flooded. Checkout was another mess. We cleaned for over an hour, stripped the beds and folded everything, but were still charged 160€ for cleaning. They even sent a photo of our neatly folded linens as evidence. Recycling was hard to figure out if you weren’t from France, with no clear English signs, sorting instructions or labels on the bins. This place isn’t luxury. It’s falling apart, and the staff are hostile. If you care about your holiday or your sanity, don’t stay here.

We booked this during Tomorrowland Winter mainly for the spa. The hot tub was freezing and felt like a cold plunge. It didn’t work all week, and on the day it did, the water was like a bath. The accommodation was meant for 10, but my friend had to sleep in a nook behind the stair railing. The room beds were two small beds pushed together, so my husband and I couldn’t sleep next to each other. The pillows were tiny and awful. I stayed longer to help clean up and ended up missing my flight home, yet they still charged us a ridiculous cleaning fee. Guests shouldn’t have to clean to that extent. They photographed our neatly folded blankets at the end of the bed, and even a dish we’d washed by hand and left on the drying rack as proof it wasn’t clean. The heater in my room stopped working for two days. I couldn’t use the shower because it flooded downstairs and leaked badly. They said they’d fixed it, but when I tried again the water wouldn’t drain. I wouldn’t recommend staying here.

We spent €20,000 for a week, and checkout ended up being the most frustrating part of the stay. Although our booking said checkout was at 10:00 AM, they required us to schedule an inspection before then. Someone came to judge how well we’d cleaned. We had to do the dishes, take out all the rubbish, clean the kitchen, strip the beds and put the linens in the bathroom. The inspector walked in, looked around, shook his head and said, “this is not clean.” We had to wipe things down in front of him to avoid more charges. Even after that, we were charged €160 on the way out. After paying €20,000 for a week, being charged over a rubbish bag and some dishes felt disrespectful, and it was about the principle, not the money. If guests are expected to clean, fine. If there’s a cleaning charge, fine. But making us do both and treating paying customers as if they’re on probation was unacceptable. It was the worst checkout experience I’ve had, and left a horrible final impression of what should have been a great trip.