I've been asked for more information on where we stayed along the way. Here's what I remember.
Night 1. Les Balmes,
We arrived fairly early at our overnight spot, by about 3pm.
This is a fairly rustic spot. We splurged for the semi-private room (as opposed to the dormitory rooms which housed about... 15 people each.) the food was basic but fine. There's a nice terrace here where we enjoyed our traditional post-walk beer. We passed one other overnight option I believe it was Refuge Nant Borrant. We have no idea what it would have been like.
Night 2. Refuge des Mottets
this was one of our favourite stops on the trip. Again, we spent extra $$ for a fancier private room. And it was very nicely decorated.
Dinner here was excellent. A big communal hall but the food was very good.
Night 3. Buton D'Or. In Courmayer.
Not really a refugio. Rather a real hotel but affordable and a very nice room and a GREAT breakfast. There Lots of good little restaurants in town.
Oh and a note. We had midday coffee at Refuge Elisabetta. This place is stuck on the side of the mountain and looked really very neat. I think we peeked into a couple of rooms and they looked cozy and comfortable. We wished that our schedule had allowed us to stop here longer, or overnight.
THINK about making this work for you.
If you want to stay in the mountains tonight (instead of going down into town as we did) at the top of the Down gondola was Maison Vielle. It looked fun but a bit of a madhouse. Lots of families running around. Which could be a good thing.
Night 4. Bonnati.
A big refuge but with comfortable rooms (again, we paid extra for a private room) but up on the mountain with excellent views.
Big communal dining hall but decent food. Very organized.
Night 5. Auberge des Glaciers La Fouly
Again, this was down in a village. More of a small hotel than a mountain refuge. But a good spot. Good dinner.
There is a small food shop in town.
This was also the perfect location from which to catch the bus along the road that skipped the flat stretch to Champex.
Night 6. Trient
for our final night we stayed at the Auberge/Relais du Mont-Blanc
There are not many options in Trient. This place was a laid back hippie type place. Comfortable but a bit cobbled together. Shared showers and WCs. (but then anything is comfortable after a long day of walkin, especially over the Fenetre d’Arpette which was spectacular but brutal)
another fun evening meal with a big communcal crowd. Tasty as I recall.
There was a fancier place just up the street that was just opening up la Grande Ourse. It looked nice, but more $$$ I expect.
And the next morning we walked back to Chamonix.
The End.
Night 1. Les Balmes,
We arrived fairly early at our overnight spot, by about 3pm.
This is a fairly rustic spot. We splurged for the semi-private room (as opposed to the dormitory rooms which housed about... 15 people each.) the food was basic but fine. There's a nice terrace here where we enjoyed our traditional post-walk beer. We passed one other overnight option I believe it was Refuge Nant Borrant. We have no idea what it would have been like.
Night 2. Refuge des Mottets
this was one of our favourite stops on the trip. Again, we spent extra $$ for a fancier private room. And it was very nicely decorated.
Dinner here was excellent. A big communal hall but the food was very good.
Night 3. Buton D'Or. In Courmayer.
Not really a refugio. Rather a real hotel but affordable and a very nice room and a GREAT breakfast. There Lots of good little restaurants in town.
Oh and a note. We had midday coffee at Refuge Elisabetta. This place is stuck on the side of the mountain and looked really very neat. I think we peeked into a couple of rooms and they looked cozy and comfortable. We wished that our schedule had allowed us to stop here longer, or overnight.
THINK about making this work for you.
If you want to stay in the mountains tonight (instead of going down into town as we did) at the top of the Down gondola was Maison Vielle. It looked fun but a bit of a madhouse. Lots of families running around. Which could be a good thing.
Night 4. Bonnati.
A big refuge but with comfortable rooms (again, we paid extra for a private room) but up on the mountain with excellent views.
Big communal dining hall but decent food. Very organized.
Night 5. Auberge des Glaciers La Fouly
Again, this was down in a village. More of a small hotel than a mountain refuge. But a good spot. Good dinner.
There is a small food shop in town.
This was also the perfect location from which to catch the bus along the road that skipped the flat stretch to Champex.
Night 6. Trient
for our final night we stayed at the Auberge/Relais du Mont-Blanc
There are not many options in Trient. This place was a laid back hippie type place. Comfortable but a bit cobbled together. Shared showers and WCs. (but then anything is comfortable after a long day of walkin, especially over the Fenetre d’Arpette which was spectacular but brutal)
another fun evening meal with a big communcal crowd. Tasty as I recall.
There was a fancier place just up the street that was just opening up la Grande Ourse. It looked nice, but more $$$ I expect.
And the next morning we walked back to Chamonix.
The End.