Residence Chantemerle - Maeva Selection - Studio 4 People

“Snow trip”

Although the residence was a bit old and some of the kitchen equipment had seen better days (no extractor fan either) there was plenty of space and the view from all the apartments looks over the mountains which where covered with fresh snow. Location is good, only a 5min walk to the lifts. Chantem… more

Although the residence was a bit old and some of the kitchen equipment had seen better days (no extractor fan either) there was plenty of space and the view from all the apartments looks over the mountains which where covered with fresh snow. Location is good, only a 5min walk to the lifts. Chantemerle is a small village with a few bars, some lively but not over the top. As we had a car we where able to get around and there are lots of other ski slopes to try out within 1-1/2hrs away. Staff at the residence where very friendly and helpful at all times. Best thing about the room was the shutter over the french doors to bring down at night to keep the light out.

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“Fantastic Value for money”

Me and my friends on the whole thought that the guys at Zenith a long with the hotel itself were excellent value for money as we were paying next to nothing for a great sized room, with a balcony, that was mere minutes from the lift. Our rep James Hamilton was fantastic as well and got us all sorte… more

Me and my friends on the whole thought that the guys at Zenith a long with the hotel itself were excellent value for money as we were paying next to nothing for a great sized room, with a balcony, that was mere minutes from the lift. Our rep James Hamilton was fantastic as well and got us all sorted out quickly and easily and was beyond welcoming and helpful throughout our stay. All in all it was an amazing week and we plan on making it an annual visit at least !

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“Maeva with 3 kids”

We stayed at the Maeva residence over New Year and had a great week. We have three kids and ended up getting two studio apartments as the rooms would have been a little too tight for 5 people. We flew to Turin and used ShuttleDirect for a private transfer. They were great and the transfer went r… more

We stayed at the Maeva residence over New Year and had a great week. We have three kids and ended up getting two studio apartments as the rooms would have been a little too tight for 5 people. We flew to Turin and used ShuttleDirect for a private transfer. They were great and the transfer went really smoothly. Make sure to alert the residence of your arrival time as when we arrrived, the desk was shut and on phoning the contact number were told that the reception was closed between around midday and 5PM. Luckily they had arranged for someone to attend reception at 1:30 so we had about an hour and a half wait as we arrived just after 12. One thing to note is that we got a taxi, which dropped us off at the car park behind the residence where there is a smaller entrance into the building, and we ended up waiting outside, not realising that we could have got into the reception area around the front. Mind you, you would need the code to get in if the reception was unmanned and the doors were locked. We did feel a little silly that we hadn’t ventured around to find out if we could get in elsewhere from where we were dropped off. The residence is not ski in/ski out but it is only a short walk to the lifts, no more than 5 minutes. Being a resident gets you discount at Ski Set for ski hire and if you use them, you get to leave your skis and boots there so you don’t have to carry them back and forth every day. This was great for the kids as they always hate having to walk in ski boots and carry their skis. In the morning you just walk down in snow boots or shoes, get changed into the ski boots etc and leave your shoes on the ski boot racks. Ski Set is right next to the ski lifts. My wife and I had our own equipment and we carried that back to the residence where there is a ski locker on the ground floor. The staff at the residence speak good English and are really friendly and helpful. When you arrive, you are given a checklist of items in your room and you need to check that everything is there. If anything is missing you need to let them know so that you aren’t then charged for it when you leave. We also had to leave a 200 Euro deposit against a credit card which was then released once we had checked out. They do come to quickly inspect your room before you leave and you need to make an appointment to do this. They also take one of your two sets of keys when they come to your room. If you are leaving early in the AM then make it for the day before. It’s a super quick visit and they explain a few things, ask you to make sure the room is as clean and tidy as when you arrived. You have to strip all of the linen and put in and the towels etc in the big drawer under the lower bunk bed. There is a box on the wall in reception next to the vending machine where you drop your keys if you have to leave when reception is closed. The rooms are basic and functional but absolutely perfect for what you need and all of the rooms face the ski slopes. Our only slight problem was that the fitted bed sheets were a little too small for the beds and you had to fight to get them on. They provide all of the utensils, pots and pans, cups, glasses, bowls, cutlery etc that you might need. There is an electric hob and a microwave but no kettle so you have to boil water in a pan. We drank the tap water and it was fine. The one thing you don’t get is cleaning stuff so take things like a scourer, cloth, washing up liquid etc if you are planning on cooking. There is a dishwasher and you get 2 tablets for it. You only get one toilet roll and be careful when you sit on the toilet as the metal toilet roll holder always caught our arm and we all had scratches by the end of the holiday. Towels are provided. Downstairs in reception is an open area with chairs and sofas and there is a pool table and a table football table. The only thing is that it isn’t well heated down there so you’ll need a fleece or warm jumper. There is a table tennis table on the first floor, just up some stairs next to the reception although we didn’t make use of that. In reception there is also a snack machine and every morning, the staff write on a white board the things that are going on in Chantemerle and the neighbouring villages. There is a pool out front but this isn’t available in the winter. There are recycling areas just in front of the residence on the right when you walk out and also down near the main road on the way to the lifts. Note that on a Saturday it is changeover day and the bins overflow so get there early. They are emptied efficiently in the afternoon. There are plenty of buses to get about. There is a little minibus that stops right in front of the residence to take you to the lifts and you can also get this bus back. We never used it as it is only a short walk and easy without having to carry skis. The ski pass office is right. Next to the main tele cabin ski lift. There are machines where you can buy tickets but it’s better to go into the ski pass office to buy them. There is also a tourist information office right next to it. I recommend getting the Galaxy ski pass as it gives you access to other resorts like Montgenevre and Sestriere. If you do buy this, make sure that you always carry the paper receipts with you because you’ll need them if you venture to another resort. We went to Montgenevre, which I recommend, and you have to take those slips of paper to the ski pass office at Montgenevre. They will give you new ski passes for the day and they will actually cut out the Montgenevre name from your paper receipt so that you can only do it once. Another good way to get around is to use the WiiLiik app which lets you book taxis for the Briancon area. When you install the app (there are leaflets in the tourist info place) you get the option to sign up for a yearly membership and that costs 18 euros. It is worth doing because that then gets you around 60% off the taxi fares. Doing this, let us get the cab for 5 of us with skis etc to Montgenevre for about 18 euros each way. One problem we had was getting into restaurants in the evening. In most resorts we just tend to turn up to restaurants and get a table, but here you need to make reservations, preferably the day before at busy times. Saturdays are the quietest days as it is changeover day. There is a small Sherpa supermarket in the small shopping complex next to the ski lifts and there is a small Carrefourre on the main road. Just turn left at the bus stop on the main road when you walk down the hill from the residence. There is a row of bars, shops and restaurants. The Sports bar is a good place to visit and is normally quite quiet earlier in the evening compared to the pub in the shopping centre. All in all, a great place to stay for the price and Serre Chevalier is a great place to ski.

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