More Traveller Reviews of Vert Hotel
Friendly staff
from Morganz
The hotel is a lovely old quaint building - therefore expect querky aspects of this hotel. It is good value for money. The evening meals were of an excellent standard (have the Sunday roast - delicious) and the staff were helpful and friendly. We did have problems with our room, but on reporting it, the staff reponded and resolved the issues immediately. The bathroom was small (and damp), but functional. The size was not a problem as we were in Chamonix to ski and not to spend all our time in the bathroom! Our room was above the restaurant, so we did not get any noise from the bar. The room walls are very thin - you can hear everything! The hotel is located out of town, but from the town it is a 15 minute walk (downhill) to the hotel. Not a bad walk especially as were on an ACTIVE holiday! If you don't want to walk, transfers to/from the hotel can be easily arranged, just ask one of the hotel staff, who are more than happy to help. There are also public buses - the bus stop is practically outside the Hotel. Chamonix is a lovely town, with a great choice of shops and places to eat.
Le Vert - Party There Maybe - Stay There Never
from WestsideSnowman
The Good: Staff is nice and speaks great English. Lounge is comfortable. Bar is fun. The Bad: Guest rooms are small and rundown with thin walls and tiny w/cs. The whole place is LOUD...with no quiet hours mandated, people are coming, going and partying all night. The hotel is located at least a long mile outside of town, which might make for a nice stroll in the summer, but is inconvenient in the winter. Buses supposedly run every 1/2, but they were spotty. The Ugly: The place is staffed only when it's convenient for the staff...meaning when they're not too partied out, hung over or don't have better things to do. Breakfast, which is scheduled daily to start at 7:30am, wasn't served until 9am because staff decided not to show up until then. The ski room was locked, the front desk was closed. If you intended to get an early start to your day, whether it be skiing or traveling to the airport, you were literally SOL. This is terribly disrespectful of guests, and suggests that they're really operating the hotel side of the business just to help subsidize their bar/party business (which you can tell they think is way more fun, who would argue?). Conclusion: Do yourself a favor and stay at a hotel in town. The rooms are larger, cleaner, quieter and cheaper. Add hospitality and location, and the decision is a no-brainer. Party at the Le Vert if you'd like, but definitely stay someplace else.
Management response from richardverthotel
04 Feb 2009
Dear Clients,
Having read this review of our hotel I felt in necessary to respond.
Firstly I would like to take the opportunity to apologize to this client as we are truly disappointed when someone feels they have not received good service or value for money when staying with us here in Chamonix.
I also feel it reasonable to respond to the points made in this review:
Le Vert Hotel is one of Chamonix's most historic hotels built nearly 100 years ago and has therefore rooms of many shapes and sizes. I find it difficult to see how this guest can judge all of the rooms as they can only have had access to their room. I apologize again if this individual client was disapointed. We feel that we fairly represent the rooms on our website showing 3 typical examples of room sizes on our gallery page.
We accept that some noise can be heard in some rooms when we have pre advertised party nights. We feel that the quality of events that we put on in Chamonix benefits the whole community and tourist trade. We also feel that we make no attempt to hide that we have a bar and that there are weekly events , usually on Friday or Saturday nights. Our website has a clear and defined page highlighting the bar aspect of our business and we are proud that we have won awards for the best bar in Chamonix in 2006 and 2007.
As regards staffing levels I am again disappointed that this client received poor service. We operate the hotel 365 days a year and occasionally, being human, we get things wrong such as a staff member being late in the morning. On this occasion we offered each client 10 euros towards the cost of breakfast on the mountain and gave everyone who asked free transport to the piste areas. To suggest, however, that client service is not our top priority goes against are whole work and business ethic. Le Vert is owner operated and as such we set a high standard of service that we expect all our staff to follow.
In response to the claim that we are over priced then I simply invite you to research your own prices in the Chamonix region and to check our website for pricing taking note of the cheap midweek deals and occasional last minute offers.
Kind Regards
Richard Quinn
What It Lacks In Value It Makes Up For In Inconvenience
from I_A_N_B01
This place was booked by a friend who had seen a review in a paper which suggested that this was a great place with a contemporary cool vibe...I assume the reviewer was a friend of the owner as an unimpressive exterior was considerably surpassed by a truly grim interior. The bar area was OK, but the bedrooms were slightly shabbier than those you see in fly-on-the-wall documentaries where recovering smackheads are shuttling about between doss-houses and DSS hostels. We had a room for three which involved one of us sleeping on a child's campbed. Big warning - the place shuts down from 12 - 4pm and unless you have your room key with you, you won't be able to get back into your room. The day we were leaving, some skiers had come back because the lifts had been shut and they couldn't get into the ski lockers or their room. Adding insult to injury, we were unable to get into the bar on Saturday night as a private function was being held. We were told that this was put on for the local residents to bond with the community. However talking to someone having a fag outside when we got back from town - it was a birthday party and the place had been hired - this party goer was easy to understand because he was English (and not part of the local community). So basically paying guests couldn't access the only decent part of the hotel because the owner was seeing a greater cash opportunity. And then there's the location - it's a mile out of Chamonix which is a long way at night in the freezing cold. The hotel will do transfers for 3 euros each - this mounts up and believe me Chamonix is hideously expensive. 3 beers on the mountain - 27 Euros which is 27 quid at today's rates! We looked around town at other places and they were pretty much all cheaper, nicer and better located than the Vert, so my advice is don't believe the hype - stay somewhere else.
Management response from richardverthotel
04 Feb 2009
Dear Client,
I am choosing to reply to certain parts of the review as i feel there are one or two reasonable points.
Firstly as regards this clients descriptions of our rooms then I can only suggest that this particular client must have a high opinion of DSS houses in the UK.
We do occasionally close for an hour or two in the day. As a 2 star hotel in France we are operating within the guidelines of every 2 star hotel in France. The front door is operated on a key code basis and guest are encouraged to keep their keys. In full high season we are open from 07.30 till 02.00. I'm unsure what happened on this occasion and can only apologize if we we're closed for the period described.
The closure of the bar for the Saturday night in question was a annual event for the local community. There are many local english people in Chamonix.
Having said that after the Saturday in question we discussed how some clients were disappointed and resolved that we would not offer the bar for private hire during the winter or summer seasons. Again I apologize for any inconvenience.
Are location is 1.5 KM from the centre-ville. This is clearly advertised on our website on the how to find us page. As for the price of beers on the mountain then thats a little out of our control!
We have extended our happy hours, in recognition of the current economic climate, and feel we offer good value for money in our award winning bar and restaurant.
Kind Regards
Richard Quinn
Awesome
from Mickle7
What a fantastic hotel and great base for Chamonix adventures. Enjoyed a nice large room. Always a good atmosphere and often lively ... "the place to be". Didn't mind the dinners also.
Brilliant Vert
from brady777
We enjoyed the service from the moment we walked in the door. The food was tremendous and the atmosphere electric with a great sociable bar. Rooms were of good size, clean a tidy and suitable for a comfy stay. We also hired our snow gear from the very friendly team in house @ Le Vert, with no problems changing/upgrading gear mid way during the stay. Easy walk into town centre and a great park just accross the road to chill out in. Highly recommended
Loved Le Vert Hotel, Chamonix
from Rooboy_96
I was looking for somewhere to stay in the Chamonix area while journeying through France recently and found this nice little hotel that was reasonably priced. As soon as I entered te property however, my experience was greater than expected. I was warmly greeted and there was no issue with the staff at the hotel making my stay as comfortable and pleasant as possible. I've been in other accommodation in the same price range and you expect a certain level of service and for the most part you are lucky to get that. The staff at Le Vert went well above my expectations and made me feel more like a local than a visitor. The ambience of the hotel was great as well, with several locals actually entering the htoel bar in preference to other more established locations. The mix of locals and the youger corwd who had been skining made the atmosphere of an evening lively and upbeat. The fact that the hotel has its own hire facilities for ski and other equipment makes life very easy, as one afternoon I decided to go skiing and eveything was in the hotel. My three nights there were most enjoyable and great value for money.
Fantastic place...I will be going back there
from slovett
I stayed there for a week. It was fantastic. The staff totally looked after my every need. The other people who were staying there were all great. Everyone is up for having a fun time and helping you do whatever you want to do in the area! Chris is a CHAMPION!!! Thanks guys!
A great place for a ski break
from DecDorset
Le Vert was super easy to get to from Geneva - the AlpyBus dropped us off at the door. it's a little out of town, but that's good as across the road is a lovely park on a lake with a spectacular backdrop. It's about a ten minute walk into town. The staff were very friendly and helpful - lots of Aussies so English is not a problem. The ski shop guy was really helpful and knew his stuff. The food is great and the atmosphere is one of fun and frivolity. A great place for a short break, with some partying intended. NOT a place for young families though.
For Riders by Riders
from HWTSydney
Having participated in the best European snow season in years i wanted to write a quick review of the Hotel and Chamonix Valley. Arrived Geneva airport the feeling of expectation riding high, a quick journey up the super highway we arrived in the beautiful Chamonix Valley National Park, what a wonderland of sports, food and fun. Hit the mountain hard and fast day one and packed in a full afternoon of mind boggling pow pow..sick. Later i returned to the hotel, although quite when i arrived at apres midi the place was buzzing by six o'clock. A mix of tourists and French locals reviewing on the big screen their events of the day - it seemed a film crew was about and a large party of people had been filming their pow pow adventures. It turns out the owners of the hotel and some friends from London had been there for most of the year filming all the sports experenced in the mountain range. I watched asked some questions and before i know it i was partying with the locals...super cool, a word of warning all the locals speak excellent English as Chamonix is tourist destination number one for the UK crew. Food was good, everything i needed without the price ticket normally reserved for the Alps, the bar was busy all night, although it was my intention to go out i didn't make it, I stayed on home turf all night. Out the next day i waited to find the crew from the previous night, my intention was to follow them for a little local knowledge. No problems, right on time as always these guys are keen and making the most of the amazing snow. As it turns out they tell me the window for filming is small due to the sun and light availablity so they are on time all the time. A big day on a big mountain and then more and more and more....One of the best skiing holidays ever. Meet the locals, ride with riders and all the ammenties of home in one location...LeVert Hotel. Big up to all the boys and girls at LeVert...Thanks for the memories...See you all again soon.
What a great find!
from runningpix
Can't recommend this place enough. Stayed for a long weekend to celebrate my 40th birthday with 4 friends and this was the perfect base. The staff and co-owners (mixture of nationalities) were incredibly friendly and helpful. Although not originally planning to eat in the hotel in the evening, we ate there for the second two nights as the food was delicious, plentiful and very reasonably priced (set 3 course menu changed daily was 19 euro per person). The Bar was very lively with good selection of beers and cocktails. Pro shop in hotel to hire and service ski equipment. Good selection of room sizes from twins to rooms for small groups of friends or families. If travelling with children or like early nights book room on top floor as they have music in the bar every night. Will definitely go back!
More hotel photos
Chamonix alone is already one of the biggest natural parks with the easiest access in the world. Having a super highway that takes you right to the resort. We stayed at a new place that is called Le Vert Hotel. Its a great place to meet people and the staff and pro riders... more