Odalys Residence Le Hameau Du Borsat

“We love it!”

Just back from our second visit to Hameau du Borsat and we're already planning for next year. Lots of reviewers pan this place, but the ski-out, ski-in location is good and Le Hameau offers great skiing at a fraction of the price of most Tignes accommodation. The apartments are warm, snug and very … Mehr

Just back from our second visit to Hameau du Borsat and we're already planning for next year. Lots of reviewers pan this place, but the ski-out, ski-in location is good and Le Hameau offers great skiing at a fraction of the price of most Tignes accommodation. The apartments are warm, snug and very basic, with tiny kitchens, but there's a Boulangerie opposite and a brilliant takeaway Pizza place right next door to the entrance. Some things they don't tell you in the travel brochures: 1. Your transfer bus is likely to be stopped on the edge of Val Claret by the local gendarmes, to reduce traffic congestion. As you drag your bags the whole length of the town up to the Borsat, it gives you a great opportunity to see all the ski shops, bars and the smart hotels where the rich folk stay. 2. Expect to wait 1-2 hours to give your credit card details to the reception staff for the 300 Euro deposit. This allows you plenty of time to meet and chat to all the other guests in the apartments. Those who arrive on early flights have the joy of an even longer wait, because they don't release the keys until 1700. Top tip is not to pay the deposit in cash, as Reception is unlikely to be open when you leave. 3. You really can enjoy a week away from it all, as the wi-fi doesn't work and you probably won't want to pay 40 Euro for TV rental with only French TV channels (no satellite). 4. If the lights don't work in your apartment, it's quicker to make the 20-minute round trip to the Sherpa supermarche and replace the bulbs yourself, rather than wait two days or more for the maintenance staff to do it. 5. Guests are expected to clean the apartment themselves, so if the previous users were a house-proud family, you may not have to start the week by cleaning the bath, wc, microwave, fridge etc. On the other hand... 6. No need to take your alarm clock - although there are picture signs and written notices reminding guests not to walk up to their rooms in ski boots, many guests seem to ignore them. Likewise, each apartment has its own ski locker on the lower ground floor, but they're too old to fit snowboards, so boarders leave a trail of snow as they take their boards up to the their own balcony.

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“Typical Budget End French Ski Appts”

Let's concentrate on the accomm here. This is highly typical of French ski Appts - v. Small, cramped, variable quality of rooms from appt to appt. We stayed in half term, travelled with crystal, arrived late because of flight delays and busy roads, but hey, we expected that and none of those things… Mehr

Let's concentrate on the accomm here. This is highly typical of French ski Appts - v. Small, cramped, variable quality of rooms from appt to appt. We stayed in half term, travelled with crystal, arrived late because of flight delays and busy roads, but hey, we expected that and none of those things are the tour operators fault or the accomodation providers fault - it's what happens if you travel at half term in Feb along with the millions of other people. Is it good value for money - no, it's not, but you get charged pretty high prices wherever you go at half term, so if you want to budget and stay in a place with great skiing your options are limited. As we arrived late, our keys were left for us in an envelope taped to reception shutter. Hence we avoided the hassle of checking in and also did not leave a deposit or fill in the inventory - this is something of a joke as there was no list saying what was meant to be there anyway, so how could you tell? They did leave us a note on the last day asking us to do this, but we dug our heels in and they didn't persist. Also I wasn't completely prepared to trust them as we were leaving at 7am and there would have been no one there to check your appt at that time anyway, so who knows what they would have claimed was wrong or missing? So - appt - as said, small, cramped, sofa bed and truckle bed in main room, sliding door with separate small room and same bed arrangement. Large balcony, warm appt , tiny toilet, bathroom full sized bath with shower over, kitchenette v small, but modern fridge, dishwasher, hob, microwave - grill combi (grill not v. Good) - no proper oven like in most of these places. Wardrobe and shelving area in both rooms, table with two chairs and bench. Appt a bit smelly on first going in, improved with airing, may not have been used for a while. Generally clean, found a couple of old sweets on the ledge above the sofa, so obviously not impeccable cleaning, but as mentioned this is dependent on the assiduousness of the previous occupants. Sheets laundered, but one pillow case and sheet still stained, exchanged without a problem at reception. Blankets not washed and one of ours had stains and cigarette burns from previous occupants. Towels not provided, which I was pretty cheesed of about, as I would have brought my own had I been informed of this by crystal - charged 6 euros pp for hand towel and bath towel each. Broken lightbulb in was exchanged immediately by reception with no fuss. Locker facilities fine for 4 pairs skis, no boot room or drying warming area - take back to own appt. There is a ski hire place on the ground floor - ski set, and another, ski republic across the road. You can ski back to the appt building and the nearest lifts are 2-3 minutes walk as is the est meeting place. Overall , this place is average and was entirely within my expectations of a budget self catering studio appt in a French ski resort. It's main plus points are it's convenience for the slopes. If you intend to spend all day out on the piste, it's fine.

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