Pierre & Vacances Residence Electra — Hotel in Thonon-les-Bains

P&V Crozats. Apologies for this lengthy post but hopefully it will help information-wise! We travelled from Geneva to Avoriaz on 28 December. Firstly the transfers. We looked at all options, car hire, shared transfers and taxis. The prices were broadly similar but used a comparison site (ski transfers) who were v good however you need to book quite speedily as when returned to previous quote that was no longer available. Car hire was expensive and to be honest it would have sat in the parking all week. Parking is about €100 for the week and pre booking strongly advised. When we came up the mountain in our transfer they had closed the roads as Avoriaz was full! Presume they were allowing pre booked through however. When you arrive at the various transfer points there are horses and sleighs waiting to take you. With P&V Electra the transfer was included. On your return you will need to call them when you are ready to go but ensure you have the voucher from reception. They then come and pick you up. Our transfer was waiting for us at 0515 and worked v well. It was cheaper than most at €480 and the minibus would have seated 8 but more like 6 with baggage. V friendly efficient service and I would recommend. ALPE1 transfer des Montagnes. Messaged via WhatsApp to advise where he was waiting for pick up and the transfer took 1hr45/50. We were v limited in choice due to the early pick up on return. Arrived at Electra and reception was closed (approx noon) but we were aware of this and checked in next door which is only a few metres away. Fast check in and we were handed the keys. 9th floor beautiful view. However the room smelled bad and the bin was still full. We later realised this was because the clean hadn’t been done as the men arrived to sort it out and were somewhat confused that we were there! They were v friendly and sorted the smell/cleaned etc. We decided to see if our skis were ready. Booked in advance online with Skiset situated on the ground floor. Again v efficient friendly service and we had our skis and boots by 1.30! Headed to sort out ski passes however they had sold out for the day so ended up buying online as it is cheaper and heading to the village for a drink in the sunshine. Avoriaz was super busy because the resorts below had no snow cover (first time in 45 years) so all and sundry were coming to ski there. Be aware of this and book your passes in advance if necessary! We felt v lucky to be staying in Avoriaz rather than Morzine/Les Gets/Lindarets etc. The ski in ski out works amazingly well albeit the snow cover could have been manually bolstered as the conditions were variable with some rain which wasn’t good for the snow in the village! However the Crozats is higher up. The escalators up and down are v temperamental. There wasn’t one day where they all worked so if you have any mobility issues bear that in mind. You can have the sledges taxi service. In so far as the rooms were concerned they are basic. You’re paying high prices for Avoriaz and not for luxury accommodation. It is very practical though and the views and location suited us perfectly. It was spacious but with five people would be a squash and a squeeze. There was a small bedroom with shelves and two singles then a walkway with wardrobe and hanging space and mirror. Bathroom with adjustable shower over the bath, sink and a small heater that was perfect for drying out wet kit albeit did get v hot! Separate wc opposite and door through to kitchen with electric hob, microwave with grill etc and kettle and toaster. Dishwasher with tablets and cleaning stuff/wash up liquid and scourer/tea towels. Corner dining area with mirror behind and sofas that become beds. Beds were v comfortable. Have to make them up yourself but plenty of sheets. Was quite warm and we slept with the door open a bit. Lovely to come into the warm after skiing and apres ski though! Large fridge and freezer above and v easy to cater in if you don’t want to be out for expensive dinners every evening. Would recommend Fountain Blancs and Le Cabane (sushi v nice and a change from the heavy Savoyard cheese and meat!), steakhouse 155, burgers at Shooters. To be fair we ate at most places and they were all great. NYE v special with street bars and fireworks but book dinner as soon as you can to have full choice. If you’re a large group I’d advise booking lunches and dinners particularly on the mountain. Lindarets lovely range of restaurants for lunches. Igloo Village just above the ski lifts (on way back to Tours lift to get home) is great fun. Le Folie Douce hosts an amazing outdoor terrace party with live dj and singers at the finish of the ski day until about 1800. Le Yeti next door enables watching the party and enjoying the music too. Friendly service and chilled vibe. Le Roc down the hill at Dromonts has bowling and other pub sports but was mega busy when we were there. Aquariaz looked lovely but we skied so didn’t try it out. There’s loads to do for kids. The room didn’t have hairdryer or iron but you could borrow this from reception. Skiing was challenging but limited due to the lower resorts being mostly closed so the Avoriaz ski pass would have been sufficient. Swiss Wall was closed but the restaurant next to it is worth getting over to. It sits on the border. Piste bashing could be better. At times the slopes were lots of soft moguls and became boggy and busy. There were quieter slopes but you had to really seek them out. The black runs weren’t open pushing almost everyone onto the blues which when busy is a nightmare due to the speedy racing skiers thrill seeking alongside the beginners. Overall I would very much recommend Avoriaz and the Electra. We were a little unlucky with the snow but very much more fortunate than those trying to ski from Morzine or Les Gets etc. it’s a beautiful village, can be noisy, take your snow boots to trudge about in, I ended up wearing them every night rather than smarter boots as they were the only practical option! Don’t dilly dally in Geneva airport too much before passport control, large slow queues and lots of stressy people wondering if they’d make...

I struggled to find recent reviews for this apartment so hopefully this is helpful. |The apartment...|It’s basic but perfectly functional and clean. One bedroom with twin beds. The main room is an average size based on our experience. It has 2 beds plus a pullout bed that we didn’t use. The kitchen is quite well provided with has 4 hob rings and a microwave that also has grill and other functions. There was a kettle, coffee machine, toaster and (randomly) a Nespresso machine - I didn’t see anywhere to buy capsules. |The bathroom had a shower over a bath and the toilet is separate. Nice balcony. |The only complaint I have is the beds are extremely hard. All our family struggled to sleep the first night and I can sleep anywhere. We got used to them after the first night but never thought of them as comfortable. |The block...|Reasonable sized ski locker allocated to each apartment. |Not much less to the block. |Location...|At almost the very top of the resort but good ski in/out on green style tracks. Need to get Tours or Prolay lift to ski in which was not an issue for us. |Two pedestrian stair/escalator walk ways led quickly into the centre. |Worth knowing there is a ski shop in the same building which would have made hiring skis easier if we hadn’t pre-booked at a different shop. |Avoriaz...|Brilliant ski resort for families/groups with mixed abilities. Great beginner slopes that are easy to access right up to great advanced slopes and huge ski area. |Food options were great - including restaurants, takeaways and supermarkets. In half term we needed to book well in advance to secure the 7pm sitting. There seemed to be availability at the 9pm sitting or many restaurants said you could try at 8:30 which we did with success the...

I struggled to find recent reviews for this apartment so hopefully this is helpful. |The apartment...|It’s basic but perfectly functional and clean. One bedroom with twin beds. The main room is an average size based on our experience. It has 2 beds plus a pullout bed that we didn’t use. The kitchen is quite well provided with has 4 hob rings and a microwave that also has grill and other functions. There was a kettle, coffee machine, toaster and (randomly) a Nespresso machine - I didn’t see anywhere to buy capsules. |The bathroom had a shower over a bath and the toilet is separate. Nice balcony. |The only complaint I have is the beds are extremely hard. All our family struggled to sleep the first night and I can sleep anywhere. We got used to them after the first night but never thought of them as comfortable. |The block...|Reasonable sized ski locker allocated to each apartment. |Not much less to the block. |Location...|At almost the very top of the resort but good ski in/out on green style tracks. Need to get Tours or Prolay lift to ski in which was not an issue for us. |Two pedestrian stair/escalator walk ways led quickly into the centre. |Worth knowing there is a ski shop in the same building which would have made hiring skis easier if we hadn’t pre-booked at a different shop. |Avoriaz...|Brilliant ski resort for families/groups with mixed abilities. Great beginner slopes that are easy to access right up to great advanced slopes and huge ski area. |Food options were great - including restaurants, takeaways and supermarkets. In half term we needed to book well in advance to secure the 7pm sitting. There seemed to be availability at the 9pm sitting or many restaurants said you could try at 8:30 which we did with success the...