Val d'Isere Centre Hotel

Where do you start - One positive was the location, you can't fault that. But it has to be the noisiest hotel that I have every stayed in - Deliveries at 5.30 in the morning and late night parties. Don't get me wrong we can all party, however the Audi Ice Party showed a blatant disregard for residents of the hotel (Rave music until 3am and very loud drunk people after that). Our room was not above the bar but the noise was still excruciating - Take my advice if you end up in one of those ask to be moved immediately. The room was adequate - We had booked a double and arrive to find two single, which were then pushed together for make a double - However we did not get a double duvet, so had to managed with two singles and I won't even mention the quality of the pillows. One last thing is the temperature in the room was stifling and the only way to get fresh air was to open the balcony door as the latch of the window had been removed to stop opening.

Having booked the trip through Iglu.com (pretty incompetent, getting the spelling of my name wrong despite three notes to say it was otherwise) I purchased a 1 week skiing trip to Val D'isere (13th Jan thru 20th Jan '07) for myself and two friends. The hotel is billed as a four star and has good facilities. Bar is ok...tries to be a little too cool...and something to be careful of: I asked to be moved from my room on the first floor as it was above the bar and I could hear the very loud music. SO make sure you don't get stuck in one of those. I was lucky as they werent full (i was unlucky as the reason they werent full was because the snow was not great) Service was very average, there were some very nice helpful staff, but some quite imperious, insistent on delivering the French service more typical of Paris than the regions. The bar manager asked myself and some friends to move from where we were as he'd allowed some other guests to book tables. This seemed bizarre to us as we were all guests in the hotel. It was also very poorly handled, and the hotel manager intervened...at our request. Food was average at the hotel with both extreme served up, there are some great restaurants in Val D'Isere (like the canyon, great food, friendly service, good prices) The "spa" was ok, one of the saunas was out of action for the whole week (how difficult can it be to fix a sauna?). The facilities shut off on a timer so you had to know (divine inspiration?) to go and ask at reception. SO for the hotel, I'd say it is a mediocre four star. however it's location is amazing, right beside the lifts.

Stayed here over new year 2006/2007 for one week with 2 teenagers and 2 children in two family mezzanine rooms. Although billed as spacious, I found the rooms very tight and basic, with one teeny bathroom per room and hardly any storage. Also the staircase going up to the mezzanine bedroom, made the main bedroom claustophobic. This hotel has obviously been done up to appear funky, but doesn't quite make it. The public areas look really nice, and the bar is funky and fun, but the reality is that they are like being in a nightclub during the day and there is no day-time chill-out or sitting area - bad news when snowed in with four kids. The service was anonymous in an unhelpful way, with no managerial presence and there was a feeling that you could not complain to anyone to get things sorted. It's a classic case of a superficial make-over upgrade, but without any commitment to quality or service. The breakfast was basic, unimaginative and disappointing, and no room service. We therefore did not bother to eat in the hotel at all after that, so cannot comment on the food. The plus points were: the location, 30 seconds from the main lift area and in the centre of town; the ski-hire shop, in the basement and no waiting, sorted in 30 seconds; nice looking reception area. My view: not great for families, ok for couples, don't expect great rooms, go out to eat.

We stayed at the Hotel L'Aigle des Neiges formerly the Lattitude and believe the name had to be changed because of the management style ! We were expecting something special and where dissapointed. The accomodation was fine but the food so pretentious and minimalist. When one has been on the slopes all day you look forward to good food and plenty of it. We expected 4 courses and were told on arrival it had been reduced without warning or reduction in fee to 3 and then coffee was extra. A boiled egg for breakfast cost a remarkable 10 Euros if you could wait long enough for the hen to lay it. A number of guests complained to our tour operator and got a sizeable refund as the hotel simply said they could do nothing as the catering side was hived off !! If the Hotel were to put guests first this could be a great venue but we wont return until the name and the management changes

The Hotel Latitudes has been refurbished and renamed the L'Aigle des Neiges. The hotel accommodation is under the management of Pierre et Vacances. The rooms are of a good standard, imaginatively decorated, with pretty good facilities and helpful staff. However the restaurants and bar are under the management of the La Fruitière restaurant and their ability at providing 4 star hotel catering is very hit and miss. Paul the “half-board” restaurant manages to produce and then attempt to serve some of the worst food I have ever had anywhere! Breakfast was so bad I went to the bakery, conveniently located 30 metres from the hotel, to buy my own croissant rather than experience their mangled offerings. Dinner was even worse overdone beef, raw eggs and appalling service. Think a 1970's UK motorway service café managed by Basil Fawlty and you will be pretty close to Paul! Pier the “gourmet” restaurant is much better with excellent service, decent quality food and a pleasant ambience. I would recommend taking the €23 half-board contribution and eating here. The only downside is that the Franco/Asian fusion menu is limited, particularly if you do not eat fish, and does not change on a daily basis. Unfortunately the bar area “Jack” is also under the La Fruitière management and this causes a constant problem for the hotel guests as the bar doubles as a Tapas bar. The result is there is nowhere to sit and the needs of the caterers/external drinkers take precedence over the hotel guests. Pretty poor for a 4 star hotel I am afraid. Interestingly the La Fruitière restaurant remains one of the best on the ski slopes with high quality imaginative food served in a superb restaurant. It’s a real flair and expertise has not transferred to the L'Aigle des Neiges operation at Paul.

Concerning this hotel, we can wonder why it’s classified 4 stars, considering little of services offered to the customer. Here are some lived examples : we arrived around 1 pm and the reserved room was ready only at 3:30 pm, there, second surprise the luggage handler is in break between 2 pm and 5 pm so I have to take care of my luggage myself, the restaurant now certainly very beautiful but where for example a simple green tea for breakfast is in supplement, the spa which opened only at 4 :30 pm so forget it if the weather is bad and if you want to take advantage of the hammam or the jacuzzi, anyway this minimalist spa has no personal so don’t expect either for massages or bodycares. Other example we found our room opened on the return from a ski day maybe since the morning after the visit of the household. What can I say more except that if you wish to stay on Val d'Isère find a real 3 or 4 stars hotel and go for a drink to l’Aigles des Neiges to see the decoration which is nevertheless a success…if the waiters after 10 minutes want to pay attention on you (always lived).

This hotel has exactly what you need for a great holiday ski weekend--well appointed rooms with space for your gear, a fairly active lobby lounge scene with a hybrid mix of live singing and a dj, very cool and very close proximity to the slopes and the heart of town. The design leans towards Wallpaper magazine-modern, the inclusive breakfast was very satisfactory, a good mix of meats, cheese, eggs and of course freshly baked french pastries. The lounge has a cool tapas menu with interesting soup shooters and hot and cold selections and a killer drink menu. We visited one of the more traditional French hotels and came away VERY GLAD to have booked ourselves at Latitudes, it was more international, people were friendly and we will go back for sure. If you are accustomed to hitting boutique hotels around the world, this has that vibe; if you are accustomed to the Ritz or traditional 4+ star service, this might be less your style.

The Hotel is ideally situated in the centre of the Old Town, next to the church. A stones throw from the main lifts and equally handy for the selection of bars in town. Our room was a superiour room and had been newly refurbished, as had the whole hotel. The standards compared to the usual French fair were exceptional. The staff were attentive and bent over backwards to help in any way. However the other members in our group had a standard room which was situated on the first floor dirctly above where the evening Jazz band were playing. If you fancied an early night you would have struggled in that room. We were on a half board basis, you really need to go into this with an open mind. The menu is poorly translated and sometimes a little bizzar - like 'Pear and Watercress soup' served in a pint glass, must be a French thing, but I have never come across that delight before. This is the only downside, but was made a little more bearable by the amuzing nature of some of the waiters. In all I highly recommend this hotel, however I would not return to Val D'Isere as I feel there are better resorts on offer. The overcrowded, icy, flatlight runs back into town are nothing short of dangerous, which would go some way to explaining the amount of injured people hopping around the resort, get over to Tignes then take the lift back into town.

Just got back from Latitudes, now renamed Aigle des Neiges. Staff couldnt do enough. All refurbished I believe. Our room (superior room) was huge with beautiful new bathroom and lovely view of the mountains. Food lovely although translations a bit strange for the english menu. Right on the slopes and in the town centre. convenient for everything. Very good hotel all round.

We loved the style, reminiscent of Sketch, a London restaurant. Just redone - I think they had a launch party whilst we were there - everything was new and clean. A few hiccoughs which didn't matter (my door handle came off but was mended very swiftly). As close as you can get to anything so terribly convenient. Downstairs marvellous brand new jacuzzi, sauna and steam room area which we used most days. Food divine. Great to require the children to eat French and no choice. Of course special requests can be made, not that we told them. I would highly recommend it.