Résidence Pierre & Vacances Premium les Alpages de Chantel

Alpages de Chantel is located in a satellite of Arc 1800 connected by a really efficient cable car which runs into the night and takes only few minutes. Although the main shops are down below there are local facilities including a small supermarket. The apartment is ski in and ski out and is in a very convenient location. Being Pierre et Vacances premium, it is also of a higher standard. The staff are all exceptionally friendly and facilities are good including a swimming pool if you want one. The overall experience was excellent and made for one of the best ski trips I have ever had .

We are a family of 5, with 3 daughters 24, 21 and 19. We booked the apartment with another family who have 2 daughters of similar ages. First we booked room E12 but after closer scrutiny, it seemed that there were not enough bedrooms (2) or beds for our family, so we swapped it for room F2 which was described as having 3 bedrooms one double and 2 twins. The other family booked our old room. When we arrived we found that our apartment was ridiculously tiny! The bedrooms had minimal storage for clothes and the living area had no storage at all. Nowhere to hang ski stuff, no hooks and minimal kitchen equipment. The other family's apartment was actually lovely! Much bigger, with a double patio window, stunning view and massive living area, despite being cheaper. There were only 2 bedrooms, but there was a surprise mezzanine area with 2 additional single beds upstairs. Not suitable for adults, but ok for young kids as it was in the corridor. The position of the apartment building was great - virtually doorstep skiing, Les Arcs is a fantastic skiing area and although there wasn't all that much in the little group of shops surrounding the apartment, it was easy to nip down to the lively village below in a little cable car which runs until 11 at night. The spa was a treat, it gets very busy after skiing as is to be expected. The pool too, was busy in the evening, but nice. We were only given 2 towelling robes per family and when we asked for more, we were told to contact the agency with whom we booked, which was a trek down the mountain, so we didn't bother! Same response when we asked for a key to reach the garage (we drove) from inside the hotel rather than opening the main garage door round the back. We were not given one at the start and we could not obtain one from reception. We were not happy with the accommodation or the lack of assistance from staff. The other family were happy with their apartment because it was bigger, nicer and cheaper and as there only 4 of them, much more room! They were able to use the mezzanine area to store stuff. So maybe it's lack of the draw!

Check in procedure was diabolical. No clear signs, no clear idea what building to check into. People milling about with absolutely no idea where to go. We walked (no mean feat in the mountains) to one building as there were no signs on the building the email directed us to, and luckily, they found our booking, but we were at the wrong hotel. When we got to the "right" hotel, they couldn't find our booking - absolute shambles. We were "lucky" we didn't have young children in tow. Also the information on the website said there was a bar and a restaurant; there wasn't.