News and FAQ's on cheap ski and snowboarding holidays in France.
Fully catered in Chalet Chardons Hotel Tignes

News about our Ski and Snowboard Hotel in Tignes, the French Alps.

New air routes, coach lines and web pages added to the site. News about Tignes and Val d'Isere Ski Area. Snow Reports from Tignes.

24/03/08 FANTASTIC END OF SEASON SNOW It has now been snowing pretty much non-stop for three weeks. It's getting a bit tedious for those of us that live here and have to dig the car out each morning... And great if you're coming on holiday. We've even taken to swan diving out of the first floor windows into snow drifts when wer're all drunk. This is usually something we can only do in January. April skiing or snowboarding could be pretty special this year.

09/12/07 HERE IS THE SNOW! The first really big snowfalls have arrived in abundance. About a metre has fallen in the village over the last two days with much more to come according to the forecasts. This is the best early snowfall since about the 1999 season and will set us up with great conditions for the rest of the year. Here's a photo taken at 10am on the 9th December 2007 to whet your appetite.

28/11/07 WORK IN PROGRESS The Chardons is being completely renovated to a high standard this year. All the rooms are being painted and renovated, the whole hotel is being re-carpeted and the dining room and bar transforemed by our three carpenters Rick, Jonno and Paul. Ten of us have been working full time since the start of November to be ready for the season. Here's a pic of some of the team at work and Bungle the Dog wondering what to do with all the sticks he's been given.

21/11/07 NEW WEATHER AND WEBCAM PAGE ADDED We now have a comprehensive weather page including a live webcam and information on piste and lift openings. The webcam is not very good at the moment but we've got a higher resolution model on order. It will give you an idea, at least. Find it here.

21/11/07 NEW BUDGET AIRLINE SERVICE TO CHAMBERY Startup Snowjet are running flights into Chambery Airport from many UK regions this season. Chambery boasts easy transfer links and is the closest airport to Tignes geographically. Flights are currently only on Saturdays but the company has ambitious plans to expand to other days of the week should there prove to be sufficient interest. You can book a flight at Snowjet

15/11/07 FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON! The first snows of the season have arrived. About 30cm has fallen in the last two days, more up the top of the mountain. Yesterday it was snowing hard in Bourg St. Maurice at 900m altitude. Here's a picture taken from the balcony of the mountain and pistes leading into Tignes les Brevieres taken on the 15th November

22/10/07 NEW ACCOMMODATION ADDED TO THE SITE We are pleased to announce that we have secured the use of two important properties in Tignes Les Brevieres. Chalet Hattieres is a lovely alpine lodge for 22/24 people situated just up the hill from Chalet Alpey and commanding beautiful views over the village and pistes. See the new page for details. Hauts Hattiers Apartments are located on the top floor of the same building and are unique in Brevieres having large picture windows and great views. They can be reserved either fully catered or self catered and combined with Chalet Hattiers below them to make enough room for even large groups. See the new page for details.

20/10/07 NEW LIFTS FOR TIGNES LES BREVIERES By the time the season kicks off we will have a new ski lift from Les Brevieres to Tignes Les Boisses. The brand new four-man chairlift will replace the ageing two man one which will be taken down. 2008 should see the building of a high speed lift from Les Boisses linking with the four man to provide a speedy alternative to the existing bubble lift/four man chair lift which will remain in place to almost double capacity and reduce the modest queues we sometimes see just after lunch for the Sache Bubble lift.

08/09/07 ANOTHER NEW SEASON APPROACHES This year will see an extensive renovation of Chalet Chardons and the Underground Bar. Alpey remains a great location for those seeking a cosy chalet on the pistes and there will be new apartments and chalets added to the range just as soon as we've signed the contracts on them.

29/04/07 THE END OF THE SEASON Well, to paraphrase Ronnie Barker in 'Open All Hours' "It's been a funny old year". Whilst the UK press were shrilly telling anyone who would listen (and I'm surprised anybody does anymore) that the Alps had no snow till March we enjoyed excellent conditions from early December. Luckily, enough of our customers could see through the media hype to keep us very full all year and we again had a record year. Let's hope for more honest reporting and plenty more snow come December. Have a good summer, Mark and the Chardons Team.

03/01/07 LOTS MORE SNOW!. We've had the first really good snowfalls of the season in the last few days. It's snowed about 40/50cm high up and about 30/40cm in the village meaning good skiing and snowboarding conditions all the way down to Tignes Les Brevieres. The outlook is unsettled which should mean more substantial snowfalls over the next few days. Here's a picture I took on the 29th December during a break in the snowfall. Don't believe all you read in the UK papers about how little snow there is in the Alps!! We've had plenty here now since the start of December.

11/12/06 PHOTO TAKEN FROM THE OFFICE WINDOW. This was taken Monday Afternoon, 11th December 2006 if you want to know if we have snow... We're just trying to get our techie chap, Chris, to rig up a webcam. Watch this space in the next couple of days.

10/12/06 ESPACE KILLY OPEN Reports from my staff (I don't have time to get out on the slopes at this time of year) are that the major lifts of the Espace Killy are now open and that the slopes linking Val d'Isere and Tignes opened today. Snow conditions higher up are good with plenty of very cold powder snow and the recent snowfall has made most of the pistes down to about 2000m useable.

08/12/06 LOT'S OF SNOW! It's been dumping it down for the last 24 hours and Tignes Les Brevieres has turned white again. There is about 20cm of snow in the village - not quite enough to open the slopes but not far off - and in Tignes it snowed upwards of 40cm which means the Espace Killy should be open in a day or two. As soon as the weather clears up a bit I'll take a photo...

05/12/06 WE'RE BACK! After a long season paragliding around the World we arrived back in Brevieres to set up the hotel. The glacier is already open with good snow on it and the weather is looking unsettled for the next week or so. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

24/08/06 NEW WEBSITE CONTENT AND LOOK. We've just revamped the site with new accommodation, new information, lots of new photos from the Underground Bar and of course, new pages for Chalet Alpey and airport transfers. Have a browse and call or email Nicky on +33 493 597 354 if you need any further information.

20/08/06 NEW AIRPORT TRANSFERS. Due to demand last year, we have teamed up with some private airport transfer providers to try to help our customers get an easier and more personal transfer from the Airport. This service is really only intended for our own clients but call if you are looking for something as we may be able to fill up a 'dead leg' if some our clients are travelling one way and the bus is empty coming back or going to the airport. As ever, call Nicky on +33 493 597 354 or Email (ANY EMAIL PROBLEMS CLICK HERE) for details

15/05/06 A NEW CHALET ADDED TO OUR RANGE. We are pleased to announce that we will be running Chalet Alpey this year. A traditionally built alpine chalet only 50 metres from the pistes, we will run it in the same style as Chalet Chardons but with a little more luxury and privacy for our more discerning guests. The new page can be found at Chalet Alpey Ski and Snowboard Catered Chalet. We will again be using the Relais du Lac as overflow accommodation next year and possibly some more chalets to add later. Watch this space!

29/04/06 FINISHED AT LAST! This has been our most successful year to date. We have seen numbers increase by nearly 60% and an overall happy and impressed clientele. We should be adding more properties to our site in the coming months - keep checking back. And thanks to everyone who travelled this year for a great season. See you all in 2006/7.

31/01/06 NEW TRANSFER OPTIONS FROM GRENOBLE TO TIGNES. AGBus (www.agbus.fr) are now running daily transfers from Greonble St Geors (served by Easyjet and Ryanair) to the resorts of the Tarentaise. The bus runs to Bourg St. Maurice where you can get a local bus to Brevieres for 8 euros. Transfer price is 45euros one way, 65 return.
Times are 13.20 departing airport, arrives Bourg St Maurice 15.50, Departs Tignes 08.30 arrives airport 11.00 everyday.
On Saturdays there are two buses. Leave airport at 14.05 or 19.45 arriving Bourg St Maurice 16.55 or 22.15 respectively
Saturdays leaves resort at 08.00 or 13.45, arriving airport at 11.00 or 16.45 respectively

01/12/05 We have been so busy with bookings that we've taken on a second chalet! The Brise is situated 100 metres from the Chardons and we'll be using it for overflow accommodation as well as the Relais du Lac as in previous years. This now gives us nearly a hundred beds in the resort for busy weeks

22/10/05 Don't forget Easyjet are now flying to Grenoble from Luton and, from early November, Gatwick. This option is looking to be a lot cheaper than the traditional Geneva and Lyon airports and you can be in Les Brevieres in around two hours using the motorway network. Drive through Grenoble then follow signs to Albertville. There is car hire at the airport and as soon as I have any news on transfer options, I'll post them here

21/10/05 Well here we are back again! Arriving in Les Brevieres it's raining here but, apparently snowing hard on the glacier! We're, of course, all hard at work in the hotel so no first hand reports I'm afraid. New this year will be improved hotel accommodation, slicker booking, more midweek deals to let you get the cheapest flights and the same unique atmosphere that we pride ourselves on. We are taking a lot of bookings from skiers and snowboarders earlier this year as our website guru, Jeff, has been hard at work making sure more of you find us by getting our search engine rankings ever higher. Book early - it is never cheaper for a snowboarding or skiing holiday in France with us if you leave booking until the last minute as the air fares almost always go up.

01/05/05 Is it really 4 months since I last filled out this news page?! It's certainly been a busy season and the most successful we've had to date. Record client numbers and a VERY busy bar must mean we're doing something right! To all our clients who've stayed this year and all the faces who've made the Underground Bar such a happening place - A BIG thank you to you all from the Chalet Chardons Team! See you next winter!

05/01/05 New year's arrived and we have some stunning deals for January. Check them out on the special offers page. Happy New Year!

11/12/04 Our ski hotel in Tignes has now officially opened. The Underground Bar opens tomorrow (Sunday) and we might even all get out to do some skiing and snowboarding next week after 10 days hard work setting the ski hotel and bar up. Check out the special offers page for some stunning deals in January. But get in quick as we fill fast for January from about now onwards. The travel page is now fully updated with lots of new links to cheap airfare sites and other options for travelling to the French Alps for skiing and snowboard holidays.

6/12/04 Stag, hen or office party? Take advantage of our flexibility on transfer days to come out skiing or snowboarding for a long weekend ski trip. We will also arrange a good discount in the Underground bar to help get things underway. Mail Bookings for details. 

4/12/04 Eurolines are now offering return coach travel all the way to Tignes from £69 return. They will also pick you up from anywhere in the UK to link with the Bus from London Victoria for an extra £15. When you are booking, select 'other' from the list of destination options and you will be shown a selection of ski and snowboard resorts.

4/12/04 Flights too expensive ? Flights to the French Alps have been at a record high this winter with one way flights £180 around xmas at the time of writing. All is not lost! Several new companies have started flying to ski and snowboard resort airports. Amongst them are EUjet flying from Manston in Kent to Geneva. Prices were about £50 each way as I write this. Flybe, Openjet and BMI baby are all operating into Geneva or Chambery this winter from a variety of UK airports with far more reasonable rates. Also, British Airways have finally caught on to the cheap travel market and have re-launched their website in an 'Easyjet' style with different pricing for each leg of the journey so you can mix and match the flights. See the Airline links for details.

4/12/04 Alterations to the website include the addition of this news page and a last minute special offers page. Check these out for the latest news about the ski area, the hotel in Tignes and any cheap deals we have going for the forthcoming season.

3/12/04 WE HAVE LOTS OF SNOW!! The link between Val d'Isere and Tignes opened today and the reports from clients who have been skiing is that the runs are in pretty good condition above 2000m. The cable car on the Grande Motte is closed till xmas for repairs but the glacier is open as usual as they are bypassing the cable car with the drag lifts normally used in the summer.

2/12/04 There are many new cheap airlines now running flights to Geneva, Lyon, Grenoble and Chambery. I have spent a day going through all the websites and compiled a list of links and advice to help you find the best flight option to France. See the Travel page for details.

20/11/04 We are now doing all we can to allow skiers and snowboarders to take advantage of the changed airline flight market by not insisting on Saturday changeovers. From now on, we will not charge any extra for midweek arrival dates. The only thing we may have to ask if we have a large 'traditional' group arriving on a Saturday is that you may need to change rooms on that day to allow us to accommodate them. This allows you to find bargain flights on Easyjet, Ryanair or any of the new budget airlines and also to take weekend ski breaks to the Alps without paying inflated prices for the privilege.

01/10/04 Chalet Chardons, Tignes les Brevieres, France. Specialists in cheap ski and snowboard hotel accommodation in Tignes announce their winter program 2004/2005. This year we will continue to provide quality cheap hotel accommodation at the lowest rates we possibly can. New for this year, midweek changeovers, refurbished bar and much more.

• Who are we?
  Chalet Chardons aim to provide quality cheap hotel accommodation for budget minded ski and snowboarders in Tignes, the French Alps
• How far is your Tignes hotel from the ski lifts?
  About 100 metres to the main ski lift out of the village. This links directly to the Espace Killy.
• What standard is our hotel accommodation?
  Most rooms are now en suite with at least a bathroom with shower and, in most cases, a loo. Check out the Hotel accommodation page for details.
• How do I book my ski or snowboard holiday with you?
  In the summer, phone the Tignes Hotel office number, in the winter, phone either the hotel or the office. Better still, send an email and we will reply promptly with a quote. Quotes normally assume you fill the room to capacity.
• How many beds do you have in the ski hotel in Tignes?
  56 if we cram everybody in but more normally about 50.
• What does the cost of the ski or snowboard holiday include?
  Continental breakfast with a hot option and a 3 course evening meal with wine on 6 nights, linen and guests reduction in the bars. We don't normally provide towels but can lend you some if you forget.
• Do you charge single supplements?
  Not normally unless it is during a busy period and we have to move other people out to accommodate you. Discuss this by email and we can normally find a solution.
• Do you have special offers or cheap weeks?
  Yes, see the new special offers page for details.
• Can I stay at your hotel for a weekend or just a few days?
  Yes. We are happy to take bookings across weekends and for midweek arrivals. This can be more difficult during school holidays and other busy periods but send an email and we can let you know if this is possible.
• Can you arrange transfers from the airport?
  Yes. Email or phone us and we can arrange a transfer if a minibus is available. This is not always possible but we will try our hardest. You pay the minibus driver directly but pay a cheaper rate through us.
• Do you accept children?
  Yes. We can also take large school groups as we have the French DDJS (Departement De Jeunesse et Sport) certificate allowing us to take parties of guests below 16 years of age. This is now a legal requirement in France. If you are a school, make sure the hotel you are travelling to has this accreditation for liability reasons.
• How will I pay for my ski or snowboard holiday?
  You can give a credit card number when you book for reservation and pay the balance on arrival by cash or card. Easy.
• Can you arrange a reduction on ski and snowboard equipment hire?
  Yes. See the reps on arrival and they will issue you with a ticket. Take this to the ski and snowboard shop and you will get skiing or snowboarding equipment which you can pay with your hotel bill at a special discount.
• Can I stay for an extended ski and snowboard holiday?
  We have a number of people who stay at our ski hotel in Tignes for the whole season or sometimes for a month or so. See the 'longstay' page for details.
• We are a large student skiing or snowboarding group. Do you offer reductions?
  Yes. Contact us for a quote. We can normally arrange travel through one of our sister companies and we can offer attractive free places and big drinks reductions in our bar to ensure the week goes well.
• Do you accept stag or hen parties?
  No problem and we can organise reductions in our bar for groups.
• Do you cater for vegetarians/vegans and allergies?
  Yes. Let us know at the beginning of your stay and we will organise veggie or special food for you.
• Do we have to transfer to the ski resort on a Saturday?
  No. We accept hotel bookings from any day to any day allowing you to take advantage of cheap midweek flight prices.
• I am travelling to France by Train. Can I get from Bourg St Maurice to Tignes?
  There is a bus about every hour and a half for 8 euros or a taxi ride is about 20 euros.
• Do you have childcare facilities?
  Not normally but you can often bribe one of the chalet girls to look after any very young children in the daytime whilst you ski. Older toddlers (about 2 onwards) can be put in the special 'marmottons' ski club.
• Do you accept dogs?
  If they are well behaved yes. Our hotel dog Bungle acts as the night watchman to ensure security so your dog must be able to socialise with him. He generally ignores other dogs as he thinks he's human and they are all beneath him. Small dogs he tends to regard as barking toys, bigger ones just get ignored.
• Do you have internet access? Can I watch the football match that I'll miss when away?!
  We have two computers in the Underground bar and we have the full range of Sky Sports for all of you who just can't miss that vital game! We also now have Wi-Fi access in both the hotel and the underground bar so bring your laptop.
• Can you arrange reductions on the Tignes Ski Pass?
  Tignes does not give reductions on passes except if you have a pass from the previous year, in which case bring this with you. There can be small reductions for larger groups out of high season.
• Does the Espace Killy pass include days in other ski resorts?
  You get a free day in Les Arcs, Three Valleys, La Rossiere and La Plagne. In addition, you get a reduction at St Foy (correct at the time of writing)
• Do you have car parking facilities?
  There is lots of space available at the back of the hotel and parking is free. In addition there are two large car parks in the village.
• Are you all jolly good chaps?
  Of Course!!!!! See you here!
  
  Back to top