We hired Chalet Les Pierrys in Morzine (part of the TGSki group of chalets), which is billed as a refurbished luxury chalet, between late December to early January.
For the purposes of gathering authentic and diverse opinions for this review, we invited reviewers aged from 11 to 81 to share their thoughts and experiences.
Booking and Arrival
Booking and communication of the chalet was done directly via the helpful and friendly TGSki staff via phone and email. All instructions were clear and send well in advance of arrival. This included requests about food allergies/preferences, details of the guests attending and also offers to help organise ski equipment and inclusive transport from airports (pick-ups and drop-offs)
Our 10 reviewers arrived in 3 different groups: A flight from London to Geneva airport (3 people), one from Dubai to Geneva airport (4 people) and the third group drove from the UK directly to the chalet. Parking was available for the car right outside the chalet, which was really handy.
For those flying in, The Mountain Bus Company was there to handle the airport pickups and this went as smoothly as can be expected. The driver greeted arrivals with signage.
We were met by the friendly chalet staff upon arrival. We then took our luggage cases into the lift up to the bedrooms.
A short welcome/induction was delivered to show guests the ropes of the chalet.
As pre-arranged, Doorstep Skis visited immediately after guest arrival to bring in hired ski equipment. This useful service was recommended by TGSki and it had the advantage of bringing equipment to the chalet direct and thus not needing to organise ski hire gear at the ski shop (plus no queues etc).
In the main, Doorstep Skis did a good job with this, although they did advise that they could not manage to get supply of 2 helmets that had been requested on arrival due to a shortage. This meant that two of the guests had to make an additional trip to the ski shop the next day.
While skiing during one of the days, of the bindings of on a ski needed to be reset. Doorstep were contacted via TGSki and came that evening to solve the problem, which was great. Another skier found that he had some tightness in a boot and Doorstep were able to attend quickly and efficiently to help again.
Accommodation
Entry is via the lower-floor door which leads past a seating area and the ski boot room to an elevator/lift (level -1). The bedrooms are located on floors 1 and 2, which the lift provides access to. In the event of a fire, stair access leads to outdoors on floor 0.
The chalet features seven bedrooms, 6 with ensuite bathrooms. All rooms looked inviting, with modern facilities. The walk-in showers produced nice warm water instantly and no issues were found with the water supply at all. Here are photos taken of the bedrooms:
In the opinions of all guests, on arrival the chalet appeared to have had only a light/surface level clean. Dust was evident under beds, around sofas and the TV (which also appeared to have finger marks on it). During the remainder of the stay, it did not appear that vacuum cleaning took place in any of the rooms.
Most of the adults found the beds to be on the hard side and a bit uncomfortable. One asked for the bed to be remade after an uncomfortable first nights sleep due the mattress hanging off the divan. Pillows were stacked in two for each sleeper, with some of the pillows quite hard while some were soft. Several of us had to find a soft one to combine with a hard pillow. The ideal combination would likely have been 1 soft/1 hard pillow on each side.
Amenities and Facilities
The communal areas included the dining room, hot tub and outdoor seating area & balcony, plus a lounge room area with television screen and fireplace.
As a party of 10, we couldn’t easily all congregate in the lounge room on the sofas due to space, so it’s hard to see that there would be enough seating for 14 people if the chalet was fully occupied.
Given that it’s a main room that people ended up in every evening, the tired leather sofas also felt in need of a refresh. They had quite a lack of firmness for what one might expect for the price of the chalet and sagging cushions made for a sinking seating experience despite being described in the brochure as ‘lavish’.
Storage for ski equipment and other facilities, such as boot warmers was provided in a well-proportioned boot room.
Skis were held in an even more spacious area close by:
The Kitchen was fairly well equipped and stocked.
There was a bottle of hand sanitiser and dish washing liquid next to the kitchen sink. However, hand soap (which would have been preferable) was not available. The freshness of served food seemed fine but one reviewer noticed that there was mouldy garlic residing in the fridge, which was alarming.
The dining area (featuring a nice oak table) was the right amount of space for a group of 10 people, and the table and chairs felt sturdy.
A hot tub was located outside on the balcony, just a few metres from the indoor dining area. This facility proved to be a popular, relaxing place to spend time enjoying the warmth while having the benefit of a great view. It was easy to return inside afterwards thanks to its close proximity to the indoor area.
We did, however, notice a few ash trays full of cigarette butts outside near the hot tub. None of our guests were smokers.
There was Wi-Fi available in the chalet, although in some of the bedrooms upstairs the signal was quite weak or non-existent.
The chalet was advertised as having satellite TV, Apple TV & games console. However, none of these were evident. As we had some people in the group staying indoors for long periods, a lack of TV channels to watch was deemed to be an important omission.
Daily enquiries were made about satellite TV but in the end, there was no joy. We were initially advised that the chalet does not have TV channels and that they would have to install a satellite dish for that.
Eventually, a TV/electrical engineer came to look into this with a member of the management and said that there was a satellite on roof but it had not been connected. In the end, time ran out and so this was disappointing.
Regarding heating and insulation, it was warm and cosy throughout the stay
On a couple of nights, a very loud alarm sounded in the boot room. When we reported this, first we were told that it needed a battery that would be replaced, but when it went off again we were told by the resort manager that it does this beginning of season but stops doing it. Confusing.
Location
Chalet Les Pierrys is located at 589 Chemin du Mas Metout, Morzine, France. While it isn’t directly close to Morzine’s slopes as per a ski-in/ski-out resort, booking a driver (included with your stay) in advance allows you to be at one of the nearby lifts within 10 minutes or so. For example:
- the Pléney gondola near the centre of Morzine that goes to the Pléney slopes (good for beginners and intermediate skiers),
- the Prodains Express cable car, leading to Avoriaz which offers a mix of slopes and ski parks
- the Super Morzine gondola (also near the town centre) that takes you to Avoriaz and the larger Portes du Soleil ski area
- the Les Gets lifts which takes you to the family-friendly Les Gets ski area
Avoriaz, in particular, is well-worth visiting.
Service
There were pros and cons. The quality of service provided by the drivers was excellent, coming to pick up and drop off guests with regularity. They even took guests skis out of the vehicle and put them away in the storage room.
We found all TGSki staff to be friendly and relaxed. In the main, responsiveness to requests or issues during the stay were responded to efficiently.
However, not all were. On the second from final day, the fridge in the communal area had run out of a soft drink (Orangina). At least two requests were made to have it re-stocked and these were acknowledged each time, but not fulfilled. This and issues with the requests regarding television as mentioned earlier should really have been dealt with.
Some of the staff members came to work despite appearing/sounding unwell with winter illnesses. The sound of phlegmy coughs emanating from the kitchen where dinner was being prepared wasn’t the nicest thing to hear. Many of our guests became ill during the stay.
There was a bottle of champagne seen in the chalet’s kitchen fridge all week, but this remained in there for the duration and wasn’t offered.
There was a midweek towel wash. One reviewer noticed the towels in the washing machine had been set on 30 rapid and had then sat in the machine overnight wet.
Shampoos in one of the guests rooms were removed for the final night and not replaced. The attention to detail to things like this matter in a top quality resort.
While the website showed that wake-up drinks would be brought to guests bedsides, this was shown as something to request if desired once in the chalet. No one took up this option.
Dining
The Les Pierrys chalet comes with an in-house chef. The quality of meals was good. Heated up frozen pastries were served at breakfasts, alongside a selection of nice breakfast items such as cereals. In addition, an offer of hot cooked food (e.g. Eggs Benedict) was always made when the chef was on duty.
Canapés were served on 5 nights alongside a pre-dinner aperitif/cocktails and these were very pleasant indeed.
Dietary considerations were made for those with allergies or intolerances.
A coffee-maker was always available and was well utilised.
Afternoon tea was also a nicely prepared treat, such as tea and cake.
Dinners were well-prepared and a paired red and white wine was offered for each of these. After dinner, desserts were also of a good standard. Cheeses were also offered.
Because the chalet is catered in-house for dinner for 5 of the 7 nights, there is the option to visit a restaurant in town on the chef’s days off or get a takeaway or delivery. Morzine village offers a mix of traditional Savoyard cuisine, international flavours, and fine dining.
The group booked into La Rotonde restaurant in Morzine village for Savoyard specialities like raclette.
Highlights & Drawbacks
Key highlights that made the stay enjoyable:
- A pool of pleasant & helpul drivers being on hand to transport guests to and from the chalet to various destinations.
- A lovely fireplace with freshly stocked wood every day
- Relaxing hot tub with fantastic views
- Great views over Morzine from the balcony
- Easy walk into town
Some of the main drawbacks or areas that could be improved:
- Cleanliness (more meticulous vacuuming, for example)
- A television that had terrestrial channels or satellite/cable channels to watch
- More comfortable and plentiful sofas in the main communal area in front of the fire & for it to be a larger space overall
Conclusion
Chalet Les Pierrys has much to offer in terms of location, ambiance, and potential for a luxurious stay. While the experience was satisfactory, it was marred by cleanliness issues, inconsistent service, and shortcomings in advertised amenities.
Would we recommend staying there? Perhaps, but only if these issues were addressed. While the chalet has significant initial appeal, it did not always meet the luxury standards one would expect for the price or as advertised.
All 10 guests who attended the Chalet contributed their own opinions to this review.