Hôtel Village Montana by les Etincelles

Great location, nice room and a good restaurant.

This is the first time we've stayed in an hotel whilst skiing and we were very pleased with the Hotel Village Montana. We had a very warm welcome from Reception and they were incredibly helpful for the whole of our stay. We did try the hot tub and heated pool, although felt they weren't quite warm enough for us - we were expecting a warm bath experience but it was more tepid! The solarium was wonderful, though, particularly in the sunshine which we were lucky to have! The room was comfortable and the curtains dark. There was plenty of space to hang up or store clothes, and the shower was fine. The hairdryer was adequate for our needs too. Our only (minor) complaint really was that there was only one mirror, in the bathroom, and none in the room otherwise. The breakfast was fine and replenished regularly although it became a bit samey after a few days (we were there for a week). They had plenty of tea (including green tea) and coffee options, although no cappuccino (hubby) or herbal teas (me). I tried to buy some herbal tea in the local Spar, they did have some but not to my liking. Therefore, if you like herbal teas then you might wish to take your own. For the evening meals, it was great to have a selection of restaurants to choose from. We had the most in the hotel restaurant, Les Chanterelles, which is a fixed menu changed daily. Friday's meal was the best with a lovely fillet steak as the main :-) We tried La Chaumiere (local specialities) for fondue twice - whilst it tasted lovely, we felt that it wasn't quite warm enough as the cheese congealed in the centre of the fondue bowl which made it rather more difficult to swish from halfway through! It came with a lovely fresh crunchy dressed salad and hams. We went to La Place (Italian) twice and enjoyed it both times. We didn't manage to go to the Gourmet restaurant in the Montana Apartments, we just didn't like the menu enough to spend an extra €15 each before even starting! If you like your tipples then that is all extra, and a bit on the pricey side in the hotel. However, we did find a nice Bordeaux and a Pinot Noir for around the €30 mark for the bottle. There was a good service at the bar, though, and it has the feel of a lovely ski lodge. Location-wise, the hotel is close to the main bus station, and the best bit is that it is ski-in ski-out just outside the ski lockers. We found that the best way out in the mornings was to ski down to Les Almes chairlifts (at the end of the path from the hotel), do one circuit on that and then move on from there - otherwise you might find yourself poling down to the Parafour. Getting back in the afternoons is just as easy either from the Parafour run or Les Almes, just veer left just after the Montana Apartments and you can ski to the door! There's a local wine bar that we enjoy, it has '2 Boules' in its name and is next to a gift shop. Small glasses of wine for €5 each, beers are reasonably priced including an IPA, and they se

I first stayed at the Village Montana in 2003 and this year was my 5th visit. This hotel used to be a quality establishment with excellent food and service. I will not be going back after this year. Everything about the hotel has deteriorated and it should no longer be able to call itself 4 star. In particular the food and service in the main restaurant was terrible. Often cold, flavourless, poor quality meat and fish, cheese pre-cut in the afternoon so that by 9pm it was dry and inedible, if there was any left; industrial desserts instead of previously homemade produce. The staff are not hotel trained - they are generally disinterested and seem to be have been told that their main objective is to close the restaurant as early as possible and prepare it for breakfast, at the expense of guests still eating their dinner - to the extent they are hoovering around you. The quality of breakfast is poor. Often a long wait for the coffee machine. No fresh baguette in a French hotel! We were told that it was because people make sandwiches - at these prices you should let them. Or at least provide them on request. Instead there was poor quality pre-cut rubbish. The 2 main bar staff were rude and unhelpful. They rarely take drink orders from your table and are generally disinterested. This is a missed opportunity. We had problems with our bedroom for which they did offer compensation - but we'd rather have had a good experience instead of money back. There were dirty plates and glasses left in the corridor every day, sometimes the same ones for 3 days - we had to ask at reception every day to get them cleared, with varying degrees of success. The spa is OK - although the main shower seems to be constantly out of order, and the pool is not heated to the correct temperature. The directrice hides in her office when she should be out on the floor dealing with customers and their many complaints! On the plus side - the location is excellent, the Chaumiere Savoyarde restaurant is still good, Arthur on reception was charming and Tignes is a great resort. But next time I come to Tignes I will be staying somewhere else.