You can hike the Tour de Mt. Blanc, but where do you sleep?
- The Posh Adventuress
- Jul 21, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 31, 2024
Pygmy Elephant was a fantastic facilitator for our adventure. Andrew, the founder, and his team worked with us to figure out our fitness level and our goals. We are pretty fit and adventurous, so planned for some longer days on the trail. We like a comfortable stay at the end of our dirty, demanding days, so we asked them to book high quality hotels in the cities and towns that we encountered along the way. Accommodations generally came with breakfast and dinner included, though you could likely request otherwise if you wanted to do some exploring. I might suggest this in Bourg St. Germain as well as the bigger cities of Chamonix and Courmayeur. However, many of the other towns are exceptionally limited in access to amenities and dining in is the way to go.
Our hotels included the following, each with a quick synopsis:
Hotel Mt. Blanc – Very comfortable and beautiful on the outskirts of Chamonix. Lovely public spaces and pool with a view of the mountains.
Hotel du Bois – Functional. Walking distance to the small town of Les Houches.
Hotel La Chemenaz – Functional. Close to start of next day’s trail. Not close to anything else in Les Contamines.
Base Camp Lodge – Located a car ride from the trail in the town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Functional hotel that feels like a standard mid-level ski hotel. Large restaurant. We would recommend dining in town if you choose this accommodation because town is fairly large with many good options.
Grand Hotel Courmayeur – Lovely hotel just outside of the bustling commercial area of Courmayeur. Beautiful, comfortable room, great food and a great bar. I had the best Negroni that I’ve ever tasted!
Refugio Elena – Functional and spartan, as expected for a Refugio. We had the best accommodation possible with an en suite bathroom the size of a closet to go with our two single beds. But, you are up in the mountains and this is so much more comfortable than a tent!
Hotel Edelweiss – Pleasant accommodation with a large bed and relatively spacious room. La Fouly is a very small town without much aside from the few small hotels.
Hotel Splendide – Aged, though well-kept hotel on the edge of the town of Champex-Lac. Few rooms have an en-suite, so expect a shared bathroom experience. Town is small, but cute. There are a few good restaurants and a nice lakeside trail.
Hotel La Grande Ourse – Neither the hotel or the town were anything to write home about. Just a stopping spot en route to the next leg of the hike.
Hotel Hameau Alber 1er – Beautiful hotel on the edge of Chamoix. This is a place that you could linger for a while to enjoy the Chamonix vibe. Enjoy some wine on their grounds and make sure to partake in the Michelin starred on-site restaurant!
Comments