We stayed here Christmas week and had a great time. Hosts could not have been more helpful and
the rooms had great views.We enjoyed all meals particularly the Christmas dinner feast.
Nigel dropped us off and picked us up every day without bother and went out of his way to take one of us to a specialist boot fitter to get a problem sorted out. We had a car and would recommend a day at both Courmayeur and Verbier which are included in the Chamonix lift pass but be sure to pick good weather days. if we were to come back to Chamonix we would definately stay at Chantel.
Dennis , Sydney Australia

we have now stayed at the chalet over 3 times and even returned twice in one year as were concerned that we wouldn't find anywhere to rival this incredible place in terms of skiing terrain, choice of slopes, wonderful warm and homely chalet centrally located 5 minutes walk into the town and the fantastic town itself with a huge choice of shops, bars and restaurants and so far removed from the purpose built resorts that lack the same charm and atmosphere.

The chalet provides a fantastic central base, has a lovely warm and cosy feel and we have stayed in two different rooms, but equally comfortable, warm with balconies boasting the most spectacular views of mont blanc looming above in the bright sunshine which is hard to beat! we love the fact marie and nigel the owners are flexible on arrival too and so we were able to arrive on the friday night to max our weeks stay and they even made sure there was food for us on arrival which was a lovely end to a very long journey!! We drove from the uk (6hrs from the tunnel) although tolls and fuel now would make this an expensive way to go! But having a car means you then have easy access to the spread out and varied ski areas, brevant, le tour, les houche, flegere and we even drove through the mont blanc tunnel on 2 separate days (with the unlimited lift pass you receive a reduced price for the tunnel) and skied in italy's courmayeur which is literally just the other side of the tunnel. Another great feature of this resort is that you can ski in france, italy and switzerland in one week! you can be in italy in under half an hour which makes for a fantastic day out and experiencing the wonderful sun, snow and food of the italian slopes!

Nigel does provide a pick up and drop off for skiers but i think only to one or two slopes a day so you'll have to go where the majority are. we found the freedom of a car fantastic and you can park at the chalet which is another bonus. Nigel and marie offer great advice, knowledge of the area, excellent tips for restaurants and places to go as well as a great welcome. In the years we have been marie and nigel have had lovely couples who cook and clean the chalet and provided lovely, filling and delicious food and were also very friendly and helpful offering any help and advice we needed. We loved the after dinner drinks by the fire and the cosy feel of the chalet and we met some lovely people at the chalet too. breakfast was lovely warm croissants, or delicious porridge which was our favorite or a cooked option. I was actually pleasantly suprised by the food too and felt the couple catering did a fantastic job, although i know they aren't there anymore. Im sure marie and nigel have employed an equally great pair to look after their guests.

There is a boot/ski room to store equipment and generally we have loved staying here time and time again and will go back!! we are wondering whether anywhere will live up to the times we've had in cham! Plus everytime we have been we've had great snow and sunshine everyday

Chalet Chantel offers an oasis of comfort just ten minutes stroll from the centre of Chamonix. English/Irish owners Marie and Nigel have lived in the area for years and are ideal hosts. They offer a genuinely warm welcome and are full of very good ideas to make one’s stay in Chamonix more memorable. They gave us terrific tips for hikes (Grand Balcons Nord and Sud, and the amazing glacial scenery around Refuge Albert Premier) and, for our last day, helped us with train times and information about the impressive Servoz Gorge down the valley. Their restaurant recommendations were also accurate (see our separate reviews of Munchie and Annapurna). If you’re lucky, Fleuri, the lovely resident dog, may even come to say hello. Nigel and Marie have a well-balanced, informal touch to running their establishment: we had our privacy but they were there if needed, and, in many ways, we felt like we were staying with friends.

We stayed at Chalet Chantel for four nights in July 2011, in room 3, a large corner room with a wrap-around balcony that offered stunning views of Mont Blanc. One memorable evening, we sat on the balcony watching the peaks and glaciers light up during a tremendous thunder and lightning storm that rumbled across the massif. The room is clean and very well-appointed with good-quality furnishings, a very comfy bed, soft rugs that feel delicious under tired feet, and a handy sofa. The en-suite bathroom was also spotlessly clean. The windows on two sides were a bonus, allowing plenty of light to flood in. The attention to decorative detail extends to the ground floor. A very satisfying breakfast comprising pastries and warm bread, cereals, yoghurts, eggs, juices, tea, coffee and hot chocolate all is served in the spacious, sun-filled dining room that has huge windows looking onto Mont Blanc. A cosy living room with cable television is also provided. After many hours of hiking, it was a treat to grab a cold beer from the honours-system fridge, sit on the deck near the jacuzzi and take in the peacefulness of the surroundings and the lovely grounds. For the first two nights, we were the only people staying, and were then joined by another quiet couple. We loved staying at Chalet Chantel and highly recommend it.

We stayed with Nigel and Marie in Chalet Chantel in March for 5 nights. We were travelling as a couple with a 7 year old niece and a grandparent in tow. We were attracted to this chalet as firstly they were flexible about number of nights (most chalets insist on a week) and provided a child discount (a lot of other chalets only offer child rates if the child is sleeping in with the parents). This was our first chalet experience and we went for it to have the flexibility of our niece going to bed without the rest of us having to head to our rooms too.
This was also our first trip to Chamonix and i'm going to start with Chamonix as a resort first. The town is really nice and about a 5 - 10min walk from the chalet (or 15 mins in snow boots coming back up the hill with a 7 year old in tow!). It offered a variety of bars and resturants for apres ski. There is also supermarkets for stocking up on ski snacks. There is also a bar a couple of minutes from the chalet which is more reasonable than the ones on the main drag.
In terms of skiing Chamonix offers a good selection of ski areas, so if you are keen to explore this is the place for you. It also offers different areas to allow options if the weather isn't great. The one downside is that the learner areas are often away from the main ski areas, so our niece was in ski lessons in an area which only had nursery slopes, one blue and one red. As she was only in lessons for the morning, we never would have been able to get to any other area and back for her by the time her lesson finished - thank goodness for grandparents, but for families where the children are learning and adults experienced either take advice before you go on the best place to put your children in to ski lessons or try a different more compact resort. (thank you also to Marie who could see I was worried about leaving my niece and mum to fend for themselves on day one so went back after dropping everyone else off to make sure they had found their bearings etc).
There is a free bus service (comes with your pass) which runs around the resort. These buses are often very busy (packed in like sardines) and not very comfortable with ski gear etc, so i'd say either wait for the chalet to pick you up or be prepared to leave the slopes really early to make sure you don't have to wait too long for a bus you can fit on.
Now the Chalet. Firstly the food was great. I'm a vegetarian who isn't fond of vegetables and they managed to cater for me, as well as pleasing a 7 year old. Dinner is the highlight, with breakfast being OK.
The rooms were adequate, clean and beds comfortable. We were in eaves on the top floor and i'd suggest if you are tall asking for a room on a lower floor, as at 5'2'' i struggled to fit under the shower. The bath isn't a full size bath either on the top floor, but with the option of the hot tub you didn't really need it.
Hot tub was nice, with a great view. Plastic glasses are provided so you can even have a beer whilst watching the sun set.
The chalet is on a residential street on a hill - again another good reason to get the transfers (9.00-9.30 and 4.30-5.00) to avoid the walk up the hill. Nigel suggested bars near the ski areas so you can always have a vin chaud before heading back if you want to finish skiiing earlier.
Every morning Nigel went through the weather and recommended areas to ski. We didn't all always want to ski the same areas as the rest of the guests, but this was accomodated by Nigel and Marie.
The honesty bar is reasonable (beer was 1e, with wine only being available by the bottle), of course you can get it cheaper if you buy in bulk from the supermarkets, but for convenience the bar was great.
A fire was always lit in the evenings which was nice to sit around.
On the first day Nigel took us to the ski rental place. This is a distance from the chalet, but the kit was good quality and they made sure if was right. Marie also organised our lift passes for us which saved us time on day one, but you will need cash to pay for this.
Final tip - take slippers as there is a no shoe policy...