VVF Les Ecrins Champsaur, Saint Bonnet en Champsaur

Great VVF.

Great VVF 😉

We had a very pleasant, quiet week here over the Christmas holidays, four of us in all, and despite a few hassles we still had a really good stay. The welcome was fantastic. The activities were excellent, especially the mountain hikes and snowshoe outings with the high-mountain guides. The accommodation is rather dated, particularly the bathroom. The two-single-bed bedroom is spacious, and we appreciated the storage, but there’s no real living room, so everything happens in the tiny, cramped kitchen. The ground-floor main bedroom isn’t soundproofed or even fully enclosed: a curtain separates it from the kitchen, and it doesn’t reach the bottom of the stairs. There’s also no curtain covering the terrace door in that bedroom, so people can see inside. I think one should be installed for privacy; I saw people blocking it with towels. Neither the kitchen nor entrance window has blackout curtains or shutters, so morning light woke us up. It was winter, but I can’t imagine how awful it would be in summer with sunrise at 6:30 am. The hamburger night was a definite no for us. At 6 euros for an aperitif, hamburger and fries, and ice cream, you can expect it not to be top quality, but I was shocked by how bad it was. They should charge more and serve better food; it just wasn’t acceptable. We were too wary of another unpleasant surprise to eat there again. The village does have some very good restaurants, though they cost more and the quality is excellent. Cleaning costs extra, and after seeing the state of the accommodation when we arrived, I understood why. There were papers left under the beds and the floor wasn’t properly clean. Since guests are responsible for cleaning, it would help to provide a mop and some products for the floors, kitchen, and bathroom. There wasn’t a single sponge either, and the dishwasher rinse aid needs refilling after each guest. The limescale was awful, so we had to hand-wash the glasses and rewash all the cutlery before leaving. There’s a small area at the VVF entrance where guests can leave things for the next visitors, which is a great idea. We found floor-cleaning supplies there, but had to buy sponges and a mop ourselves. We’d brought our own dish soap and dishwasher detergent.

The place was clean, well laid out, and nicely heated, which was already a great start. St Bonnet is right nearby and just the right size, perfect for us. A big plus at this WWF is being able to go snowshoeing with such good guides. A huge thanks to Corinne for spontaneously helping us fit the car chains, and for the beautiful walk under the larches, looking for the mountain hare and tasting rose hips. Our little camille was delighted. We’ll also remember all the snowy toboggan runs with Hervé, and the lovely hot tea he made to warm us up. We really hope to see you again on another visit. We’re counting on you to make our future stays feel just as good. Thanks so much.