We just returned from four days in beautiful Chamonix, France to ski the French Alps. During our time in Chamonix, we were lucky enough to stay at Les Balcons du Savoy hotel in the heart of Chamonix. This four-star, luxury hotel is ideally situated in the charming ski village and is one of the only properties in the area to offer a ski-in, ski-out experience, which is always a major bonus on any ski trip.
We flew into Geneva, Switzerland in order to get to Chamonix. It was just an hour-long car ride (we arranged for Mountain Dropoffs to drive us to and from Chamonix) to get to Chamonix, which made it extremely easy to get to since there are so many direct flights to Geneva from the U.S. (You could also choose to fly into Milan if you like).
What appealed to me about Les Balcons du Savoy was its location for skiing as well as for visiting the village’s numerous restaurants and bars. In the drone footage we took, above, you can see the hotel and how ideally situated it is for skiing and exploring Chamonix as well as how it is in the middle of the mountains which creates the most incredible views. We were less than a 10-minute walk to all Chamonix has to offer, whether it’s amazing French cuisine or the lively apes-ski scene. The hotel totally caters to skiers who also want to take part in the finer aspects of Chamonix, such as amazing French cuisine at Josephine’s or apres ski drinks at Chambre Neuf. (You can read our full Chamonix Travel Guide here)
Les Balcons du Savoy has wonderful amenities for its guests. Each room has a full-size ski locker to stow your skis, snowboards and boots or to drop them off before heading out for some apres ski.
The hotel also has a great indoor pool and spa area, perfect for soaking sore muscles after a day on the slopes. Their sauna is a great place to sweat out some toxins and renew yourself. They also have the option to book private massages. There is a separate fitness room with exercise equipment, but we took our exercise each day on the slopes.
The room itself was incredibly spacious, and was a full apartment with a number of different rooms in it. I loved that the entire space was situated to provide unobstructed views of the mountains from both rooms.
The bed was incredibly comfy and welcoming. It had tons of cubbies and closets for storage as well. We loved how livable it was, with a full kitchen with all the fixings you need to cook up some breakfast or have some wine and cheese in, as well as a great living room opening up to a beautiful deck overlooking the famous Mont Blanc mountain range. The hotel has 44 rooms in total of all different sizes. They even have three-bedroom apartments, making it perfect for a group of friends or a family with children.
Our living room at Les Balcons Du Savoy Hotel opened up to a beautiful balcony overlooking Mont Blanc.
We also had a spacious bathroom and bedroom and all of the walls of the hotel were very classic alpine with light, carved wooden walls throughout. We love a theme at BellaVitaStyle, so we appreciated that the hotel embraced its roots and alpine location. Chamonix has a well-run bus system that skiers take to and from the ski mountains, but our balcony literally opened up to Brevent-Flegere mountain, meaning we could be up and skiing within minutes. We skied three different mountains in the Chamonix region, and Brevent was our favorite. Being in such close proximity at the foot of Brevent was a wonderful perk of the hotel.
The hotel staff, especially the front desk was kind and helpful. They helped us plot out our logistics each day depending on which part of Chamonix Mont Blanc we planned on skiing. This was a great help, and they were super knowledgeable about the level of skiing each mountain offered as well as which buses would take us to and from at which time. One of the main bus stops was just a four-minute walk away, which was incredible.
We visited in the middle of ski season, which we highly recommend, but we could see how beautiful the grounds would be in the warmer months for hiking and other outdoor activities.
One thing to keep in mind, the hotel is not full service. So, it’s more like an Airbnb in nature in some ways. You will not have the room cleaned each day and you will have to re-use your bath towels. They could definitely upgrade their toiletries, so we suggest packing your own better shampoo, conditioner and body wash. These are minor fixes they can make and I hope they do as it will better serve guests. These are small tradeoffs overall for such an ideal setting.
Overall, we would absolutely recommend a stay here to our readers. The central location of the hotel, the size of its rooms and the quick access to groomed ski slopes is unmatched. Les Balcons Du Savoy is also great value (It costs around $250 per night for a beautiful setting in a ritzy French Alps ski resort), which is just unbeatable.
More of our Ski & Travel Guides to Switzerland:
Chamonix, France Travel Guide
Travel Guide: Where to Eat and Apres Ski in Zermatt
Travel Guide: Zermatt’s Riffelalp Resort
Travel Guide: Zurich’s Hotel Glockenhof
Aspen Travel Guide: The Little Nell