Summer 2006, I spent a little over a week in Les Deux Alpes, riding the park on the glacier. I stayed 7 nights in Le Meijotel and then the last night in a B&B - the Sick and the Mental Inn. This is a review of our self catering apartment in Le Meijotel.
Booking
I booked the accommodation with Deux Alpes Voyages, a company based in Le Meijotel itself. However I didn't contact them directly, it was all handled via the accommodation pages on 2alpes.com. At the time I used the summer section of the website, but they have a winter section also.
I was looking for an apartment for 3 to 4 people, Le Meijotel popped up and it seemed right for what we wanted... All very easy, but they weren't the quickest to reply by email. Also, I think they were testing my language capabilities becuase they kept sending me the information in french first, which unfortunately I couldn't read (well, not all of it anyway). No problems though, after a quick prompt they sent it on in english.
The Apartment
The apartment turned out to be great - everything we needed. It was the typical french resort-style apartment, but one or two differences seemed to give it an edge.
Chiefly - there seemed to be a lot of space. Granted there were only three of us in an apartment built for 4, and to be honest, if you're on a budget I reckon 5 would fit; but I still think it had good space. The main wardrobe was big, full height and had two large shelves at the top. Loads of space under the bottom bunk. A second full height storage area. Good cupboard space and towel-hanging in the bathroom. Plenty of room around the dining table. A couple of wall shelves in the living room... it just seemed a little more spacious than usual. For example, compare it with this apartment in Tignes designed for 6 people.
Secondly, and I know that almost every aparment has one, was the balcony. OK, so it's not a feature unique to this apartment and if you're going in the winter you might not be as interested, but for summer snowboarding a balcony is great. Relaxing with a case of ice cold beers after a half-day's riding - this apartment had the sun all afternoon and a great view.
Beds. First impressions were excellent: bunks with a single on the bottom and double on the top, and then a not-too-shabby double pullout bed in the living room. However, there weren't any windows in the hall/alcove section where the bunks were which made it kinda warm. I was ok in there, but I was sleeping alone - the other two were in the living room. With three people sleeping in the alcove area I'd imagine it gets a fair bit hotter. I suppose this is more/less important depending on whether you're visiting in the winter or summer.
The kitchen, for what they are was good: decent selection of utensils, microwave, cooker and dishwasher.
The ski locker was exacly that, a locker for skis. Forget boots and definitely forget snowboards - they'll be drying out on the balcony. No change here then.
Location
This was the reason that I selected this apartment. The location is excellent - especially for summer riding. The main lift that takes you up to the glacier - the "Jandri Express" - is literally right outside the apartment door. It's like this: apartment exit, lift pass office, Jandri Express. Perfect.
Not only is the apartment right next to a lift, it is also in the centre of town. There's a bus stop right outside, an Internet cafe etc. It's a good location for winter too.
Price
In my opinion the apartment was cheap. When we stayed during the summer it was 280 euros per week, which works out at around £190. Split between three that's a little over £60 each; but if you want to put 4 or even 5 people in there it's cheaper still. Of course, these are summer prices and I'm certain that it will be more expensive during the winter months. Unfortunately I haven't seen the winter prices as I write this.
Overall
Typical resort-apartment, maybe a little more spacious than the norm, cheap (in the summer at least) and great location. It's also worth noting that the Deux Alpes Voyages offices are actually part of Le Meijotel, which isn't usally the case with apartments. This makes it handy for checking-in and checking-out as you don't have any distance to walk (potentially with all your luggage).
