Hotel la Foret

I don't like to write bad review, but unfortunately we were disappointed. Starting with the good. Well-located chalet that is genuinely ski in / ski out. Food was fine, and had hot plates. A couple of members of staff that were friendly and made an effort, but there's the problem. The rest didn't at all. Being end-of-season means people want to go home, but don’t forget we paid as much, if not more, than guests who came earlier. We were completely ignored most of the time. When we came back from skiing we'd always say hello and 90% of the time were met with a blank stare or at best a grunt. Turns out problem was most of the chalet staff were on the airpod earphones so coulndn’t even hear us. Not great. One day I asked if afternoon tea could be left out for an extra 5-10 mins as someone in our group was late. “I'm not allowed” was the answer. A simple plate with a slice of cake was too much. “Against the rules”. Some food was quite tasty. Desserts shockingly poor though. Almost every day a different mousse, but all were like eating shaving foam. No topping or fruit or any flavour. One day was Tiramasu – which is hard to get wrong. But they did. Dry, bland and inedible. Wine too was so so bad. Not what you expect when paying over 1700 gbp per person. Being asked for tips with an envelope under every door was an insult after the apathy we got. We normally tip well (1000 euro or more as a group) but this was the first time ever we didn’t. I could go on – but I won’t. Unfortunately there is no survey. I asked Jarrod (the SkiOlympic MD) twice by email and got no reply. A shame, as I would rather provide feedback privately than here. But hey ho. If they don’t want feedback it explains why the service is as it is. We won’t go with SkiOlympic again.

I've just come back from a week at the Chalet Hotel La Foret and had a very pleasant time. A Ski Olympic staff member met us at the airport (Grenoble) and the coach trip took about 2 1/2 hours including a 15 minute break at a service area. Pre-booked ski pases were handed out on the coach which was helpful. When we arrived we were told to just take our hand luggage with us and the friendly and welcoming English speaking staff would bring up everyone else's baggage to save up having to take it up the slope (not too steep) from where the coach stopped to the hotel. The room was warm and tidy, and the heating was easy to adjust, although some end of season signs of chipped paintwork were visible on the (very hot!) bathroom towel warmer, but nothing to make a fuss about. The beds were also very comfy and had good duvets. The en-suite bathroom had a bath with a shower included and the water was hot and plentiful. The only apparent room cleaning was on about the third day when the bin in the room was emptied and an additional toilet roll added to the stack on top of the loo, but since I don't like someone going in and out every day, that didn't bother me. Ski hire is available in-house with storage racks and boot warmers, although the boot warmers weren't switched on for the first evening, nor for the staff's night off on Thursday, which made putting on cold, stiff boots a bit more difficult the next morning. The "gold" rental skis are nothing special and I found the edges to be less than sharp, but they were good enough for my needs. Maybe it would be cheaper or better to hire them in the village (plenty of choice), but then you'd need to carry them back up the hill. Sometimes the in-house ski tech appeared not to be available when people wanted to just pick up their skis from the workshop after getting their edges sharpened, which was most frustrating for them. The staff put a piece of gaffer tape on the tips of the rental skis and suggested you write your initials on it so you could pick out yours from all the others in the racks. This also meant that, a couple of times, I spotted other Hotel guests when queueing for the lifts and cable cars. The Hotel is literally ski in, ski out, you walk out of the boot room, across the outside decking and you're on the easy La Foret blue piste which is a short (less than 500 metres) ski from the bottom of the Vallandry ski lift. There's a map outside the dining room which tells you how to get back to the Hotel which was handy as they only had half a dozen piste maps when we got there and they disappeared before I could pick one up. Breakfast is fairly limited, it alternated either bacon or sausage, beans and fried eggs on one day and a continental breakfast of pain au chocolate, croissants, sliced meat, cheese and hard boiled eggs on the other days, plus there was tea, coffee or orange juice to drink and cereals and fruit available. It would have been nice if they had had a toaster available too.

I just can't stop returning to this place. I was fortunate enough to holiday here in both January and April this year. This will be our 17th year holidaying at this fantastic hotel. I think the term 'ski in ski out' might have been borne for this place as its literally on the piste. You can ski from and back to the front decking area (i don't think you're supposed to though haha) and you can even touch the hotel as you ski past on the run back to the village. The amazing front decking area with it's far reaching views over the valley that catches the sun all afternoon and evening and the cosy adjoining public bar and restaurant really are two very special reasons to holiday there. The two hotel managers Gary and Dave did yet another superb job of hosting us and a special mention has to go to this years staff who were an absolute credit to Ski Olympic. I hope that some of them will return for next season. Yes you've guessed it, we will be returning next season as our kids absolutely love the place.

Wounderful location, ski in ski out with great conections to Les Arc and La Plagne. Such potential but not realised in current format. Food was poor, no choice, very school dinnerish and the wine was aufull. There is no sitting room as shown on the website. Very ridgid management , little things like asking for fruit instead of the pudding offered was refused despite there being a fruit bowl at breakfast.

Great location. Food ok. Friendly and helpful. There was plenty of staff who seemed to say that they had time time ski most of each day if they wished. Bedrooms spacious with baths in bathrooms. Ski and boot hire available on site. Main issue was they did not clean rooms or change towels during week

Remember that this is a very large chalet rather than a hotel. It's position is one of its best features, as not only is it truly ski-in/out but the nearby bus stop allows easy access to Arcs 1800, 1600 and 2000, etc. The Ski Olympic Staff were very friendly and helpful, even carrying everyone's luggage from the drop off point and leaving it outside our rooms, which had been pre-allocated, so check in was virtually unnecessary. My room was huge compared with what you'd normally expect in French ski resorts. The beds were very comfortable and there was always plenty of hot water. Room was clean and had plenty of towels. There was plenty of storage space. La Foret has its own ski hire facility and, though I didn't use this, others seemed happy with the equipment and the prices. The ski/boot room had plenty of space and effective boot heaters. Once kitted up, an easy track down to the Vallandry lift is accessed directly from the outside terrace. Evening meals were typical chalet fare. The excellent range of canapes on the first night and the duck on the last night were highlights but all meals were acceptable with good amounts and more vegetables than you would usually get in France. Breakfasts did let the food side of things down somewhat. Some hot options were not too bad but others were poor. There should have been a full continental option as well as a hot option, as is usual in most chalets and hotels. In fact, the best breakfasts were probably the days when a normal continental selection of meats, cheeses, cereals, croissants, etc., was offered. I would happily go back to La Foret but would not take children who were beginners there. The area round Vallandry is not noted for its nightlife but buses run to Arcs 1800 and back until quite late.

Chalet Foret is perfect for a group ( or singles, families etc) holiday- we were looked after from start to finish by Gary, Jo and the team- what great group of kids! Location is perfect- 1 min ski down to the gondola- 🚡…access to sooo much skiing! Food was yummy- breakfast, afternoon tea 🫖 and 🧁 🍰…& a good dinner with plenty of fresh vegetables… so often lacking on holidays! Staff were great- you run a good ship Gary! All smiling, helpful with ski tips and happy just to chat! We had one of our group land up in hospital and Gary was great- sending us down to visit her armed with sandwiches, cakes, chocolate and fruit supplies ( we were lucky we had access to a car to go and see her)…. She appreciated it for sure! My suggestions to make it even better- -Put an Alexa or something in the lounge so the guests can play music -Maybe put on a quiz or something ( we did our own asa big group ) to help people to get to know each others bit more -Skis weren’t amazing for the gold ones- def not new ( ish even) -would suggest Ski Olympic recommend guests to take out on the mountain rescue insurance- about €25 for a week - gives free recovery if needed…we had 2 of the group who had to be brought down by snow patrol @ €445 - with insurance excesses it would have been better to also have this service…

My first solo trip as a package holiday for many, many years. First off at Gatwick I was met by a very friendly Ski Olympic Rep. Then onboard with Jet2 who I had never travelled with before. Again, only good things to say about the flight. Super easy transfer onto the hotel. We were met by the staff who helped us with our bags and efficiently to our rooms while we had welcome drinks. Pre paid lift passed distributed and any ski rental dealt with. A warming meal in a comfortable spacious dining area was served and there is a lounge area to relax and a separate bar onsite too. My room was clean, well appointed with an en suite. Nice and warm with ample hot water and a great view over the valley. For me, one of the great advantages of the hotel is its location. You are literally on the piste outside the door. Less than a minute's warm up ski to the main cable car which accesses the whole resort. Les Arcs is amazing and together with La Plagne there is something for everyone. The lifts are modern, efficient and well located. Unfortunately I became ill with tonsilitus during the stay, but the manager Gary helped with locating a chemist etc and the staff were very flexible to any requests I had. Overall I had a really good experience in all aspects of the stay. Brexit has changed the way chalet operators can run their business and they have to work with the draconian rules of the French. Ski Olympic did a great job and I would come back and bring my family too.

I had a wonderful week here and was very impressed with every aspect of my holiday, from the helpful, friendly staff on the end of the phone when I booked it, right to the hug goodbye from Gary and the cheerful send off from the wonderful group of staff who walked down to the coach to wave us off at the end of our holiday. It is a lovely large chalet right on the piste, you can ski home down the Forêt run at the end of the day. The skiing was wonderful, I enjoyed 4 days exploring Les Arcs and had 2 days over in La Plagne - the Vanoise Express was very straight-forward. The staff are wonderful - always smiling, helpful and professional. The afternoon cake was delicious and plentiful and just what we needed after a day on the slopes. I enjoyed all the meals. A good selection of continental/hot food in the morning and a three course meal in the evening. I had a lovely room and balcony, appreciated having a bath to soak in after a day on the slopes. Brilliant view of the moon setting each morning. Nice communal areas to relax in as well as the bar next door. I especially loved chilling out on the chair made of skis outside on the deck! I stayed at the chalet at the same time as the "party of elderly people" mentioned in an earlier review. The "severe and public humiliation in front of the entire restaurant" is a complete over-exaggeration, I was in the restaurant at the time and completely unaware that any such public humiliation was taking place. The behaviour of some guests that week was unbelievably bad, and I was very impressed with the calm and mature way that all staff handled themselves throughout what was probably a very trying week for them. It highlighted to me what a great bunch of people they were, an absolute credit to themselves and to Ski Olympic.