Résidence Alpina Lodge

I’m in a studio with no bed, just a really uncomfortable sofa bed. Who designs a hotel room and puts a sofa ahead of an actual bed?

The location is great, but that’s the only good thing about the place. The dishes were disgusting, as the photos show. I raised it with staff during the stay and again afterwards, and was simply ignored. I asked reception for extra pillows, but they never arrived. We weren’t given instructions for getting into the boot room. When we found our locker, the whole space had been rented to a ski waxing and repair workshop. It was a huge inconvenience and a health and safety hazard. Staff said no one else complains when I raised it during and after our stay. Check the reviews, there are plenty of similar complaints. Don’t book here, it’ll ruin your time in gorgeous Val D'Isere.

A week into our two-week stay at the Alpina Lodge Apartment Hotel, marketed as a four-star property, there were already several major problems. There were crumbs on the floor from day one, the refrigerator didn’t work, and the shower-head bracket was broken, making the shower awkward to use. Water leaks under the kitchen cabinets and across the floor whenever we use the dishwasher or wash dishes by hand, so we have to watch out for puddles unless we put towels down. The fittings feel cheap and unstable, and the balcony door doesn’t close properly. We asked for fresh towels but never got them. Hand towels and toilet paper are scarce, and supplies are replenished only weekly rather than daily, which isn’t enough for six people. These details, along with the inadequate cleaning and lack of fresh towels and toilet paper, fall well short of what we expected from a four-star apartment. We’re still here and hoping things improve, but so far I can’t recommend it. The poor cleaning and limited supplies are unacceptable.

The staff were helpful and accommodating where they could be, but the facilities were bad. Our three-person room had one single bed and a very painful pull-out sofa, even though we’d requested three separate beds. We were on the first floor and could hear the Underground, a nearby nightclub, until the early hours. The slopes are fairly close and the hotel is in the town centre, so it depends what matters most to you. I’d suggest booking a larger room for the number of people in your group.