Maison Famille Macchi, Hôtel Restaurant & Spa

Had a very nice stay over the new year period. Staff were very accommodating to travel issues we had. Hotel accommodation was very good and comfortable. Rooms very warm but could open windows to regulate temperature. New bar is lovely and restaurant serves great breakfast and dinner.

Thank you to Peron and Max for a totally brilliant stay. We booked through *********** and, in our experience, as Brits abroad in a post Brexit Europe, when you contact the hotel the response is a little stilted. Not here. The communication from the Macchi team was really great, particularly Valentine. We were able to pre book ski hire and Spa treatments without any problem. Our booking was for four nights. We took the red eye flight to Geneva, so we could get on the slopes in the early afternoon. Whilst our room wasn’t ready when we arrived at around 1pm, Valentine arranged so we could get changed into our skiing kit in their dedicated changing room and store our luggage in their dedicated luggage room so we could get skiing straight away. A nice touch. Peron, the owner and a French skiing champion as a youngster, helped us with our skis, boots etc. from their on site ski hire shop. The kit was perfectly fine for average skiers like us. Now for three really great skier friendly things Hotel Macchi does. 1. Your own dedicated locker with boot and glove warmers; 2. The skier entrance is 30m down some steps to the free bus service stop that takes you to Pre la Joux, the skiing area that opens up Portes de Soleil. 3. The hotel lays on a free shuttle service to Linga, another portal to the wider Chatel skiing area. Our Cosy room was perfectly fine, with a great view of the mountain. I’d always prefer a few more hooks on the wall for hanging jackets and goggles etc. but risking being picky here. We pre booked a full body massage in the Indian themed Ayurveda treatment area of the Spa and had an amazing time. Don’t be put off by the price, it is great value for money. The couple that run this service are great professionals and the whole experience was just perfect after our second day on the slopes. The breakfast was lovely, the staff including Alexander were really attentive. Make your own fruit juice and the seeded baguette were particular favourites, along with the egg station, the poached eggs were perfect. We were too late off the slopes for the pancake party except our last day, another really nice touch and it’s always good to see the owners mixing so kindly with the guests. The Spa is another perfect touch; the swimming pool big enough to enjoy a stretching swim, the jacuzzi relaxing, steam room and sauna small but they do the job. A perfect end to a decent ski day. Max was running the bar on a couple of our nights, and what a nice guy. Unassuming, warm and fun. Finally, it was nice to meet the resident Golden Retriever, being black lab owners ourselves. We’ll be back, it would be stupid not to.

Some people will read this and think I am expecting too much from a small hotel in the alps and being too picky. However when you pay €350 per night for a room (we had 2 rooms so €700) in a hotel I expect a certain standard from that hotel. The rooms were clean but tired and I think are in need of some attention. There is no where to hang ski jackets and salopettes apart from 4 small hooks - very easy to rectify. We had light bulbs missing In the toilet and bathroom which made it seem dark. We had a kettle in the room but no tea bags or any milk, again easy to rectify. The Sauna is not open until 4pm, Why ? If you take a day off from skiing you want to relax and have a sauna and a steam but you can’t. The clock next to the pool has nearly all the numbers missing and doesn’t work! Either repair it or remove it. Furniture in the pool area also very tired. Breakfast was a joke!! Literally 5 industrial tins with some fruit in to put into a juicer. Tables are not set you have to get a tray and some cutlery from trays at the end. Like the school canteen. 2 bits of stale bread to choose from - come on - the French are the kings of making bread, put some thought into it. Some cold sausage and a bit of cheese was another alternative. Then you come to the egg station 🤦🏻‍♂️ It’s not the fault of the boys and girls but I don’t believe they have been shown what to do. I asked for 2 fried eggs and they came burnt on the bottom and slimed uncooked on the top - because the oil was boiling - I sent them back and asked for 2 more and told the girl to turn the temp down otherwise she will keep burning them. My wife asked for a soft boiled egg - the girl brought it raw and said it’s been in for 2 mins. My wife asked for it to be runny and it came back hard boiled 🤦🏻‍♂️ and here is the kicker. So for 2 fried eggs and a hard boiled egg we were charged €50! Yep €50. On check out we queried the bill as they had put €96 on per day for 4 breakfasts, we actually on had a total of 4 breakfasts, which they did remove off the bill. Oh and a beer 🍺 in the bar is €11.60, make it €8 and we would have had a few drinks in the bar and as we were a party of 15 in total invited our friends down to have a drink, however at those prices forget it. Positives are location of the hotel and the beds are very comfortable. Also the guy in the ski shop is great and the shuttle Service he gives is also fab but that’s about it I am afraid. In my opinion the owners of this hotel need to have a nights stay and take a look around at what they offer as I think you need some help on what other nationalities expect from a hotel. Trying to make more money by having less staff works if you get the basics right but if you don’t then it’s a double whammy. Maybe it’s just me being English but I’m damn sure the Germans and Dutch would expect more also. We won’t be back