There are not so many places in the world whan your expectations are beyond the true reality! This hotel is worth saying plenty of good word for! Excellent village, excellent location, excellent composition of the hotel which consists of 4 large chalets on one 2 storey basement. Excellent large even huge (for european winter resorts) rooms to be called rather suites. Fantastic service and personel attitude to your needs. Very hepful chatlle service with -in the village of Villars. Exceptionally comfortable acces to the slopes by chatlle or by train with the ski-in way-back... Nice restaurants with gastonomic anf traditional menu, cozy Bar, plenty of space with open fire-places.Try to avoid high-season as we did, but if you will not - do not worry - the staff will do their best to suit your needs even during the very crowded breakfast time

Stayed here for two days just before xmas with son, to get ski season started on a powder day. The hotel is very comfortable; the style is nouveau-chalet, kind of like the better hotels in Colorado. Food and service is very good, and the rooms are as luxurious and comfortable as you can find in the Alps. The spa is excellent; steam/sauna setup truly tops, but I hope they ease up on the chlorine levels in the pool and hot tub. In any case, I am sure we'll return this ski season.

We obtained a last minute deal at RoyAlp for (342CHF/night) via a last minute booking on the hotel website, which was quite good given that rooms typically start around 510CHF. So be forewarned that you may pay quite a bit for this hotel, but I can easily see why it is truly the best hotel in Villars.

Starting with the pros: very comfortable bed, spacious room, lovely furniture, bathroom that was to die for that included massive tub -- incredible shower / wetroom -- lights that slowly turned on in the morning so that your eyes could get adjusted. The internet was free. The gym was fabulous and well kitted out. The ski locker was heated and gave you easy walking access (-2 level) directly to the train where you can get up to the slopes. It is literally a 5 minute walk from the ski locker to the train platform (maybe 7 if you're walking slowly in ski boots). The concierge will sort out your ski passes in advance if you ask them to, so this is a nice bonus that keeps you from waiting in line other places. There's also a complimentary shuttle that will bring you down into town, which many guests were using to rent skis. There are also some gorgeous places to relax after skiing (including a game room for the kiddies, a movie room and even a billard room). The bar is sleek / modern, but our favorite was the fireplace room with the comfy chairs and relaxed atmosphere. The breakfast was also very good (we ate there two days) and loved the quiche and cheese options that were available. We also spent some time talking to the manager who (when she was on duty) really had things running well and should generally be commended for her professionalism. The concierge is also to be commended for his patience and multi-tasking capacity.

Yet, there are cons. From within the first 5 minutes of entering the hotel, I had desperately wanted to rank this hotel as a 5*, but I ended up having a few concerns. First, this is not a place for a budget traveller or even anywhere close to it. In the food department, a hot chocolate costs 9CHF and the cheapest beer is priced the same (a bottle of Chimay Blue is 12CHF); not to mention, the cost of a whisky was around 30-40CHF just for a single glass. The pizza looked gorgeous but it was 37CHF. Although I understand that the restaurants are good one might be better off heading down to the village where the same thing can be procured for about 20-25CHF (i.e. Villars is still a tourist town). Price was not the only thing. I suppose there were a few things that bothered us that may not bother everyone. First, the reservation was made by me in my name, with my fiancee listed as a guest (i.e. it was his Christmas present). However, when I went to register, everything was in his name as they seemed confused that a woman would have made the booking and be responsible for the charges. Things related to name confusion happened a few other times with this booking, but things were sorted in the end. Second, as a frequent traveler, I was given some welcoming sweets that were very tasty. We were trying to savor these and did not eat them all at once. Yet, when housekeeping came, they took our sweets and threw them away. We asked to get them replaced (they really were quite good if you get them), but they never were and we never received an apology for this housekeeping error. Third, on the last night there, we tried to watch the TV but we could only turn the TV on and increase / decrease the volume -- it was not possible to change the channel. We called to get this fixed. They said they were sending someone up, but the person never arrived. Once again, we had asked for some assistance and we were not responded to. In 2009 (when the hotel first opened), they had some "teething problems". It seems that some of those problems are back. I hope it is just the busy start of the ski season, but for that reason: BE CAREFUL and be an advocate for your own customer service experience.

In the end, if we can get a decent rate (i.e. something under 400CHF) we would certainly go back for a special romantic holiday. It is certainly worth the exepense in that regard.

We stayed at the Royalp this weekend 8/9 Oct and were rewarded with the first snow of the season. Off season the hotel was quiet but fully functional. We were rewarded with an upgrade and spa voucher giving a 30% discount. The room was very spacious and well fitted. We ate in both the formal resturant and less formal bar were we received excellent meals and first class service. The indoor pool is superb and the fitness room, albeit slightly crowded, is fitted with the latest equipment.
Ideally situated for access to the town and the slopes (own train stop) the hotel is an ideal location for that well deserved relaxing or action packed break.