Heavenly French Alps

Guest: Tom&Joan (Nantucket,MA)
Date of Stay: 12/20/11 Review Submitted: 01/18/12

This December was the second time that our family has had the exciting occasion of living in beautiful Vallorcine over Christmas and New Years, just up the road from Chamonix and Agentiere where we bought most of our groceries and where we walked and shopped on days when we chose not to ski. The Chalet, Les Cerisiers, was very accommodating for the eight members of our family, including two children under eight years of age, because of the openness of the ground floor (living room, kitchen, and dining room), the furnishings, and because of the large bedrooms and bathrooms. The Chalet is far bigger than it appears in the photograph. Its location is on a cross country course along a lovely river and towering peaks and a short walk from the village center where we either bought fresh croissants and bread each morning to take back, or where we ate breakfast at the patisserie. As well, the lift (Tele Cabine) to Le Balme and Le Tour (enormous, sunny, and beautiful ski areas) is a minute away by car, or one could ski down to the lift from the Chalet on the cross country trail. Vallorcine is beautiful and unspoiled where we always enjoyed plenty of snow!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, girls getaway, families with young children, romantic getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers.

Master Craftsman's Masterpiece

Guest: laurelc (Basalt, Colorado)
Date of Stay: 07/20/11 Review Submitted: 09/13/11

Every detail of stone and beam in this lovingly constructed chalet is a monument to Colorado-based master craftsman, Robin Ferguson. Our family hiked the Tour de Mont Blanc during the first week of our stay, making "Les Ceresiers" our base camp for a second week of hiking, mountaineering and via ferrata routes. It's the perfect launch pad for the Chamoinix valley and--after you've experienced the quaint village of Vallorcine--you won't miss the crowds down valley. An easy walk from two "Mont Blanc Express" trains, you're just minutes from Chamonix or Martiny (and from there, the St. Bernart Express to other Swiss towns). We would happily stay here again & heartily recommend it to others

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, girls getaway, sightseeing, romantic getaway, families with teenagers.

Vallorcine Visit

Guest: bon bon (Colorado, USA)
Date of Stay: 05/17/11 Review Submitted: 07/30/11

This Chalet was in a beautiful setting of Vallorcine. The views were wonderful in every direction. It was comfortable and charming and furnished with everything one would need to have an enjoyable stay. I would recommend it for all seasons. It is close to skiing and other seasonal activities in the winter. The spring is fabulous. The Fall is also a beautiful time. Although I haven't visited that region in summer, I'm sure it would be fun. If one wants a great rental experiece, I would highly recommend staying in this Chalet.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, girls getaway, sightseeing, families with young children, romantic getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers.

Tracy B

Guest: TB (Basalt, Colorado USA)
Date of Stay: 06/01/11 Review Submitted: 06/22/11

Words cannot express how wonderful our first European stay was here in France, highlighted by this fabulous property! Imagine waking to the sprawling views of the Frence Alps, the quaint tinkle of cow bells, crisp mountain air, peaceful solidude, with all the comforts of home. We know of the builders work from here in Colorado, and be assured no detail was left undone! You could not ask for a better property to stay in while enjoying all the charms this little slice of heaven has to offer! Activities abound for young and old and you are centrally located for day trips to Switzerland and Italy. The train is a great, easy, and convient way to get to Chamonix or over to Switzerland if you choose to leave the car behind. Thanks to Martha for listing such a wonderful property!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, girls getaway, sightseeing, families with young children, romantic getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers, tourists without a car.

Pierre,Shari,David,Beth Canada

Guest: Pierre,Shari,Beth,David (P.Q. & N.B. Canada)
Date of Stay: 02/18/11 Review Submitted: 04/11/11

SWEET, cozy cottage with ample room, clean, very well maintained. description and photos accurately describe the property. Location is quiet, beautiful stream running along property, train travel is fun, mountains georgous. Patricia (property manager) was very helpful. Martha (owner) very accessable and knowledgeable about the area. All in all a very very restful relaxing vacation. Would love to go back, and would highly recommend to friends. No problem on return of deposit!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, girls getaway, sightseeing, families with young children, romantic getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers.

Improper cleaning charges

Guest: Chuck G (California)
Date of Stay: 12/30/09 Review Submitted: 03/03/11

We rented this chalet over New Years and had a great time. Our disappointment came when we were charged an additional cleaning and energy bill on top of our rental fee. There were 9 of us (as the owners permit) and we stayed at the house for 7 days. We left the house in fine condition. I'm sure there was some cleaning to be done as would be expected when renting a home to 9 adults over a week in the winter. I would not make an issue out of this except we really did clean up after ourselves and it seems that this is a way for unscrupulous owners to get more money out of their rental properties. It could be that whoever was managing the property in France is taking advantage of the American owner but in the end it was us, the paying customer, who got stuck with the bill. We thought the chalet was very nice and we did have a nice time but the charge was unfounded and very disappointing which is why we chose to give this rental two stars. The owner was not interested in our complaint. My dear friend had used his credit card so the fee was tacked on without his permission and he did not want to fight it but it was not right. I am a property manager myself and work in the hospitality industry. I'm sorry that I have to give this chalet a negative review, but what happened to us was completely unfair. Really unfortunate because we found the place rather charming.

Owner response:This reviewer forgot about a few very important facts as to the condition his group left our chalet: * Renters moved all the furniture around to suit their needs, which the rental contract points out as not allowed. In ignoring that they seriously scratched the wood floor, damaged some of the furniture -- all needing repair -- and created several hours of additional work to put the furniture back in place. * A portion of this party's damage deposit went towards replacing a large number of glasses, dishes, and serving plates that all broke in the dishwasher when they turned the temperature dial to high heat, which in France means extremely hot temperatures. They failed to read the instructions provided in the guest manual for how to operate this and the other European appliances. * Upon departure these renters left the chalet with several windows wide open in the month of January, with the heaters on full blast. Uncounted hours of heat, fired by electric heaters located under the windows, were lost directly to the outdoors. Electricity is costly everywhere, and extremely costly in France. The electricity bill alone for this rental period -- in euros -- cost more than the entire damage deposit. * This rental group also departed leaving the front door not only unlocked, but wide open where more electricity/heat was lost, and leaving the chalet vulnerable to theft and/or plunder. Unfortunately, these were the type of people no one wants as renters or guests. Our management said it appeared that more than the allowed 9 guests inhabited the chalet even though the contract prohibits this. I explained to the signatory of the agreement (who is not this reviewer) that I had never held anyone's deposit in 10 years of renting, but why, in detail, I was forced to withhold theirs. As a final anecdote, this reviewer has his facts all wrong: we do not accept payment by credit card and never have. Thus, nothing was ever "tacked on without permission" to anyone's credit card, debit card or library card! Our only thought is that by inventing this story, it leaves his credibility in question regarding the true intention of his statements and rating.

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Guest: Tom (Snowmass, Colorado USA)
Date of Stay: 01/01/09 Review Submitted: 07/28/10

We all slept late and woke to the brightest sunshine which any of the Alps could offer. I went to the little store to purchase bread and croissants. We ate bread and croissants with jam, drank coffee, orange juice, and tea, told and retold the story of the night before, and walked outside to enjoy the beauty of Vallorcine. We were hooked on the beauty of the mountains, the downhill tram and cross country trail in our back yard, and the quiet, colorful train! Les Cerisiers was just the finest accommodation for our family. It is huge and comfortable and allowed us room to relax and enjoy each other's company. Joan and I loved opening the window in our bedroom (heat off) each night, snuggling under the duvet in the Queen room and sleeping until 8:00a.m. each morning. Never slept better in our lives. It was so for everyone else, as well; even the Little Ones.

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Guest: Bill (Snowmass, Colorado USA)
Date of Stay: 07/10/10 Review Submitted: 07/28/10

Robyn and I, along with our friends who joined us in Vallorcine, would like to say "thank you" for providing such a lovely and comfortable chalet for us during our stay in France... thanks so much for your long-distance hospitality and provision of such paradise in Vallorcine.

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Guest: Don K. (Snowmass, Colorado USA)
Date of Stay: 07/18/09 Review Submitted: 04/25/10

“I've never seen such a nice rental. Usually they take all the nice stuff out. It has beautiful art, nice dishes, books, gorgeous furniture, rugs.... everything....which also makes it very homey.”

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Guest: Denise W. (Snowmass, Colorado USA)
Date of Stay: 01/10/09 Review Submitted: 04/25/10

“We had a great time. Les Cerisiers was located in a fabulous place...it was a beautiful house, just as you described. It was very well built and was finished to the expectations of a craftsman…listening to the cowbells and the river at night was incredibly pleasurable and relaxing.”

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