Taking into account the great snow we made a last minute booking - overall this was better than expected.

It is truly ski-in ski-out which was really great - the loccker was fine although no heater (not unusual) so we just took our boots to our room.

The bedroom was small but had a great balcony to sit out and watch the ski slopes from. In additon the bathroom was large and had a full bath tub which was great for relaxing those tired limbs!

Breakfast was standard continental but fine. Dinner was (as mentioned below) hit and miss and we did go outside on a couple of occassions. The service at dinner tended to be either too quick or dreadfully slow which didn't help.

Yes we would stay here again but would go for B&B not half board.

Despite the not so positive reviews on Tripadvisor me and my friend decided to book a room at Hotel Les Balcons for the week at the end of march/beginning of april. And we did not regret it! The room (nr 55) was clean and big enough for the two of us. The bathroom was spacious and had a jacuzzi bath in it. Our balcony (not on the sunny side) faced towards the slope running down to Plagne Bellecote. There was satellite-tv reception, but the number of stations was limited.

When we arrived on saturday morning the room was not ready yet, and would not be ready until halfway the afternoon. Unfortunately the bar was not open (opens at 5 pm), so we had to get our drinks elsewhere. The staff at the reception and in the restaurant spoke good english and were helpful. Breakfast in the restaurant was good with tea, milk, coffee and orange juice served for drinks. They also had scrambled eggs most of the days.

The quality of dinner (start at 7 or 8.30) varied from average to good with a nice variety of dishes. Quantities were okay and table water was served without asking. Waiting times were almost none existent.

The hotel was perfectly located for ski-in, ski-out, so from the ski locker to the slopes took about one minute each day. Unfortunately there was no drying facility for skiboots in the skiroom. From the hotel to the Les Arcs ski area took about 30 minutes and I think you couldn't get a much better location to cover the whole Paradiski area than Belle Plagne.

First things first - we stayed here for a weekend skiing and Belle Plagne and the resort area is great.

However, during our stay at the hotel there was no hot water, due to the boilder breaking down. Apparently this hotel has experienced a boiler breakdowns before, but continously accepts guests knowing that guest could be without hot water at anytime time during the winter ski season !! Basically the hotel is lying about the service it offers.............
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DO NOT STAY HERE.

To avoid confusion - there are Balcons apartments and a hotel which are in neighbouring buildings. This review relates to the hotel, where we stayed.

Entrance to the hotel was via the underground carpark and a lift to the reception - not the most impressive of starts when you are loaded down with ski luggage!

Reception was small - staff spoke good English and were friendly. Just off the reception is the dining room for breakfast and dinner.

Our room, No 38, was at a corner of the building and had a small balcony overlooking the slopes and another overlooking a neighbouring apartment block.

Unusual shaped room which had large hallway leading to good sized bathroom and fairly small bedroom area. Twin beds pushed together, with sheets/covers rather than duvets. Plenty of wardrobe space either side of beds. Bathroom had good hand-held shower over the jaccuzzi bath. Plenty of hot water. Couldn't see controls for heating in room however comfortably warm during our stay. Safe in room on payment of refundable deposit for key.

The balcony overlooked the slope which provides ski in/out access for the hotel. This is a run for confident intermediates which leads to Plagne Bellecote, from which lifts can be accessed to several areas. To get to Belle Plagne village centre and the ski school meeting area involves a 5-10 minute walk in the opposite direction. To return to the hotel on skis is fairly straightforward for any level of skier.

The disadvantage of being so close to the slopes was that on several mornings we were wakened to the sound of the piste-bashers at 3.40am outside our windows!

Skis are stored in lockers (free) on first floor which exits along an open balcony to the slopes.

Breakfast was self-service buffet-style. Cold meats & cheese, luke warm coffee/tea, croissants, cereals, squeeze your own fresh orange juice, etc. We asked for a tray on a couple of mornings to take this to our room and member of staff was very obliging. Dinner was a fixed menu, served by young staff who were all very pleasant and spoke good English. Drinks are paid for after each meal, wine can be stored for following evening. We had couple of nights where a Savoyard Buffet was served however we found this had limited appeal for us. Very poor tasteless soup also on a couple of nights. Otherwise food was OK if a bit lacking in variety.

Hidden just beyond the bar, off the dining area, there is a very large guest lounge with an odd variety of furniture which resembles a saleroom! Relax in here with a drink to watch TV, play pool or look on to the slopes.

The pool is accessed by going outside the hotel across to the apartments and to the 2nd floor. There is an odd arrangement where you change in one of only two cubicles and hand your belongings in a basket to the pool receptionist. This of course is repeated for getting dried when you come out and at busy times it is not a good arrangement. The pool was steaming hot (quite literally), very busy and didn't provide much opportunity to get any swimming done! Some brave souls were venturing outside to throw snow on themselves and jump back in the pool - we didn't participate in this activity ourselves!

Overall hotel was OK. Belle Plagne is pleasant looking village, whilst some others in La Plagne were not. We had lunches at Le Cheyenne (cafe/bar), Le Matafan & La Face Nord (popular with ski instructors) - all in the village and all very good. We had drinks at La Cloche, which looked a nice place to dine when the ski boots were off, Le Chalet de Maitre Kanter (also had large dining area) and Le Saloon (the most pub-like place - sit on milk churns and listen to live music).

Skiing was fine for all abilites and it's a large area. Note that the lift to Les Arcs, the Vanoisse Express, is closed for the season due to cable replacement.