The Ski Gathering Morzine — Hotel in Thonon-les-Bains

We booked Chalet Johan with Alpine Elements as a last-minute break. After reading the reviews we were not expecting much and sure enough our expectations were met. Alpine Elements calls this 'a real skiers lodge' which is pretty much a euphemism for wanting to spend most of your time out of the lodge. So here's the good and the bad from our stay:||||Great position: less than five minutes walk from a brand new lift into Avoriaz with access to the full Port de Soleil area. There's a good blue run back down from Avoriaz and if there is there's snow on the ground at Les Prodains you can ski almost to the door of the chalet.||||Les Prodains is about 5 miles from Morzine. There is a good bus service during the day but the buses stop running around 6pm. So if you want to spend time in Morzine in the evening you'll need to arrange a taxi at a cost of around E20. There are however a few good eateries in Les Prodains and a half decent bar with pool table in Neige et Roc hotel.||||No wifi - if you are happy to go off-line for a few days you'll rediscover the old-fashioned pleasure of having to talk to other people in the chalet. One of the best things about our stay was being thrown together with strangers - refreshing and good for the soul. Still, pretty odd that any chalet these days comes without wifi.||||The chalet host was a pleasant young person but the strain of preparing breakfast, cooking a three-course dinner each evening and cleaning the chalet single-handed was clearly beginning to show. Alpine Elements sent in a 'Flexi host' to help out one day and this was welcome, but really this chalet needs two hosts permanently when it is full.||||The chalet is a very creaky old building. The heating thermostat was broken so the main living space was permanently too warm. We had no choice but to open the windows to cool the place down - a complete waste of energy. ||||As we were staying for only a few days (as opposed to most who were staying for the week) we were put in a basement room. No one had advised us of this in advance. The room was next door to a noisy and rather smelly diesel boiler. Given the general standard of care I have to confess I spent some time worrying about possible carbon monoxide fumes. The radiator in our room had been turned off in order to avoid the room turning into a sauna. We were warm enough with the boiler for company, but a bit cold in the mornings. The bonus for being in the basement is that the room has its own small shower and a loo nearby, whereas the other guests upstairs had to share between eight people.||||There was a brand new two-man hot tub in the garage. Not the nicest place to spend time but the hot tub worked well and was a good way to soothe aches and pains after a hard day on the slopes.||||Would I go back? To Prodains, definitely. To chalet Johan:...

We booked Chalet Johan with Alpine Elements as a last-minute break. After reading the reviews we were not expecting much and sure enough our expectations were met. Alpine Elements calls this 'a real skiers lodge' which is pretty much a euphemism for wanting to spend most of your time out of the lodge. So here's the good and the bad from our stay:||||Great position: less than five minutes walk from a brand new lift into Avoriaz with access to the full Port de Soleil area. There's a good blue run back down from Avoriaz and if there is there's snow on the ground at Les Prodains you can ski almost to the door of the chalet.||||Les Prodains is about 5 miles from Morzine. There is a good bus service during the day but the buses stop running around 6pm. So if you want to spend time in Morzine in the evening you'll need to arrange a taxi at a cost of around E20. There are however a few good eateries in Les Prodains and a half decent bar with pool table in Neige et Roc hotel.||||No wifi - if you are happy to go off-line for a few days you'll rediscover the old-fashioned pleasure of having to talk to other people in the chalet. One of the best things about our stay was being thrown together with strangers - refreshing and good for the soul. Still, pretty odd that any chalet these days comes without wifi.||||The chalet host was a pleasant young person but the strain of preparing breakfast, cooking a three-course dinner each evening and cleaning the chalet single-handed was clearly beginning to show. Alpine Elements sent in a 'Flexi host' to help out one day and this was welcome, but really this chalet needs two hosts permanently when it is full.||||The chalet is a very creaky old building. The heating thermostat was broken so the main living space was permanently too warm. We had no choice but to open the windows to cool the place down - a complete waste of energy. ||||As we were staying for only a few days (as opposed to most who were staying for the week) we were put in a basement room. No one had advised us of this in advance. The room was next door to a noisy and rather smelly diesel boiler. Given the general standard of care I have to confess I spent some time worrying about possible carbon monoxide fumes. The radiator in our room had been turned off in order to avoid the room turning into a sauna. We were warm enough with the boiler for company, but a bit cold in the mornings. The bonus for being in the basement is that the room has its own small shower and a loo nearby, whereas the other guests upstairs had to share between eight people.||||There was a brand new two-man hot tub in the garage. Not the nicest place to spend time but the hot tub worked well and was a good way to soothe aches and pains after a hard day on the slopes.||||Would I go back? To Prodains, definitely. To chalet Johan:...

Any questions to The Ski Gathering before booking were fully answered in depth by Andy Turner and I felt very confident that I knew exactly what I was booking. Transfers arranged were efficient and Doorstep ski hire arrived shortly after arriving at the chalet and I was handed my ski pass so ready to ski. No time lost. The chalet Chez Claude is very comfortable with 5 bedrooms, all but one ensuite, across 2 floors. The bedrooms were very comfortable, big enough for strangers to share. Plenty of wardrobe, shelf space. Beds very comfortable. Shower rooms were fine. All very clean and plenty of hot water. The communal areas are a large room with comfy chairs & sofas at one end with a wood burning stove and an eating area at the other end with the tables laid out in a large square so all 10 could talk to each other easily. Upstairs is a quieter room with a tv etc. There is also a sauna which I didn’t use but was told was cosy for 2. Downstairs a Ski/snowboard storage room with boot warmers. The chalet is a couple of minutes walk from the bus stop - 3 mins to Super Morzine and 5 mins to Pleney by bus. George, our chalet host, did the cooking and was helped by another host from elsewhere during meal times for service etc. The food was plentiful - breakfast had a hot egg option in a variety of ways, bread, croissants, porridge and evening meals were 4 course including cheese with port and plentiful wine. On the whole the food was very good, the Tartiflette particularly tasty. Afternoon cakes also awaited return skiers although only biscuits on arrival day.There is an honesty bar and tea and coffee available all the time. The staff were very friendly, helpful and knowledgable about everything: bars, restaurants, pistes. If some concern was mentioned it was immediately dealt with. All of this is due to Andy’s attention to detail and having been in the business for some time. Excellent stay and...