Le Hameau du Rocher Blanc

This was our second stay here with family, and we highly recommend it for the quality, peacefulness and location. Shops, restaurants and lifts are only a short walk away. We preferred the rooms facing the river to avoid road traffic noise. The rooms are clean, large and comfortable, and we really enjoyed the pool and sauna after a day skiing.

The reception staff were very friendly, and for the price we paid I’d stay again, though this didn’t feel like a four-star place. It’s a convenient walk to the ski run and bars and restaurants. Our spacious, nicely furnished room had a big balcony and a lovely view down the ski run into the valley. The pool is in a lovely building with nice views, but it got crowded in the evenings. We also ran into several small maintenance problems, like a broken kitchen extractor fan and pool bulbs that weren’t working. Finding the ski locker room was awkward, with several doors and a walk across the car park. Reception closes in the afternoon, and it was difficult to arrange key collection before we left because they wouldn’t answer the phone.

The biggest disappointment was the brochure, which I feel was misleading. It promised free parking, but parking costs 30 euros outside or 50 euros in the garage. The week cost 1000 euros, yet you still have to clean the apartment yourself or pay another 80 euros. The indoor pool water was cold, hardly anyone seemed to swim, and many tiles were missing, making it a possible injury hazard. The ski equipment shed wasn’t warm or dry either. The apartment itself was nice, better than other French accommodation, but not very clean. Beds were small and uncomfortable, though the bathrooms were nice. Every apartment has a terrace, but the ground-floor one had no privacy, with three other apartments and the local road looking straight through the windows.

The apartments are spacious, the staff were pleasant, and it’s close enough to the slopes, though not quite ski in ski out. It felt like pretty good value overall. The ski lockers were a letdown: no heating or boot heaters, and the stairs and concrete floor are slippery in ski boots. Someone in our party fell, luckily without getting hurt. Rubber mats or something similar would help. Also, in 2018, they still charged 25 EUR for WiFi and about 35 for parking. If those costs were included in the room price, it wouldn’t feel like nickel and diming.