Complete bandits. They took a deposit on a cancellation made in error and reversed immediately, arguing that the funds could not be credited back on the card by their admin procedures (any POS can do it and does) and when asked to re-instate the booking they argued that it would have to be a completely new one at the full price, quoting nonsense like that the cancellation had been invoiced and that the funds charged could not be credited against the total cost of the stay as they would be treated as different transactions. The truth was that they had immediately sold the room and taken the money! Stay away.

Just back from a week of skiing (or at least, trying to ski) in Chamonix. I booked through Inghams and the package at the Prieure included half board.

First impression of the hotel was good. It’s presentable from the outside and in a great location as most people have commented, just 150m or so to the bus stop (from where we got buses easily to the lifts) and a very short walk from the town centre. It might be an issue if you’re not too mobile because in our case, the coach from the airport dropped us off at the bus stop and picked us up from there to take us back, this meant dragging suitcases along the narrow snowy/icy path which was a little too much like hard work for my liking!

Second impression was also good. This came from the greeting at Reception and I found this to be a recurring theme throughout the week as all the staff with whom I came into contact were friendly, helpful and courteous.

I’d asked for a high floor room on my reservation so I was well away from the road and the hotel duly obliged by putting me on the 6th floor, with a nice view of the town and the mountains on the far side.

I was staying at the hotel on my own (friends had booked the Park Suisse down the road) and I had a large triple room to myself. The room itself was spacious, clean and warm and had a balcony should you wish to stand/sit outside admiring the view.

In terms of noise, it obviously isn’t a modern hotel and so it isn’t soundproofed but the external noises didn’t really bother me. You may however encounter other guests who really don’t care that it is the middle of the night and that there are other guests on the floor who don’t want to listen to their loud conversations/shouting and slamming of doors! You can hear just about everything that goes on in the corridors. Fortunately, it wasn’t busy at the hotel that week except for one or two nights when they had company seminars being held and it got a little riotous at times.

As I was on half board, I had breakfast and dinner included. Breakfast was a reasonable enough spread including cereals, yoghurts, juices, breads, fruit, cheese, meats, hot scrambled eggs/bacon and you could also order omelettes or fried eggs if desired. Dinner was what they termed four courses, basically a choice of 2 starters, 2 mains and then there was a buffet with cheese and cold desserts. I wasn’t expecting very much from a 3 star hotel but all the food I had was well presented, well cooked and fairly tasty and I was impressed although I noted that my friends in the 3 star Park Suisse had a choice of 4 dishes for each course!

Other facilities I used were the WiFi which generally worked ok up on the 6th floor, albeit dropping signal a couple of times but at 20 euros for 7 days use it was well worth it. I used the ski locker for my skis and boots which is free of charge and is secured when no staff are in there. I also used the sauna and Jacuzzi on the 1st floor, also free of charge, to relax some of the aches and pains. I didn’t think much of the steam room and the “gym” equipment is woeful, just an old cross trainer and bike, but I hadn’t intended to use the gym facilities anyway so was no issue for me.

I went down to the town in the evenings to meet my friends, either at The Y Bar, The Pub or La Terrasse, all of which we enjoyed for different reasons. Also went to the Casino on one evening and walked out 80 Euros up from the roulette which came in handy for shopping.
Finally, make sure you take a break from skiing for a few hours to go up the Aiguille du Midi cable car on a clear day, right to the top. The view is amazing, although you may get shaky legs and a little out of breath at 3,842m!!

Ideally placed for Chamonix central - 2 mins walk from pedestrian area of shops. 5/10 min walk to Brevant uplift. Great views of Mont Blanc from hotel room. Very good dinner (set meal with choices at 25€), although breakfast at 14€ was less good value. Good secure facilities for storing skis and luggage. Room was well equipped with good heating. Leisure facilites were mixed - good sauna and jacuzzi - the fitness suite comprises of only two machines next to the jacuzzi. Steam room looked good but wasn't operating when I was staying. Very helpful and friendly staff with excellent English.

Just completed a week+ stay at Hotel Prieure over Christmas/New Year. This hotel reflects its Three Star rating hotel to a tee and is a comfortable place to stay. The best aspect of the hotel though is its location: 150 metres to the bus stop for transfer to any of the Chamonix ski areas; 100 metres to Chamonix main street; 400 metres to the Brevent gondola (albeit uphill), and centrally located to everything you need in Chamonix. As such the location alone would have me return to Hotel Prieure.