Mercure Chamonix Les Bossons

This hotel looks lifted straight out of the late ’70s from the outside, but inside, plenty of attention has been paid to its stylish, retro-cool mountain lodge atmosphere. An unassuming front desk provides a casual welcome and leads to the main public areas, the bar/lounge and restaurant. The two spaces blend into one another and are warm and inviting, with exposed oak beams, tons of windows and natural light, and distinctive contemporary furniture throughout, like cowhide-patterned armchairs. The retro fireplace is particularly attractive and the whole area is lined with wood and stone floors, and there is an outdoor terrace for guests during warmer months. Guests here include many Mercure Ibis return visitors, and are mostly couples and families, though business travelers are also welcome.

This hotel sits off of the busy highway leading connecting Chamonix town and Les Houches, a smaller ski-resort village. Guests will need a car (or to avail the public buses or hotel shuttle) when staying here, as walks to downtown Chamonix aren’t reasonable. A drive into Chamonix should take 10 minutes, and the town is filled with pedestrian streets lined with boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and bars. The drive to the Aiguille du Midi Cable Car, which takes riders to scenic views of the entire Alps chain, including the highest peak, Mont Blanc, also takes about 10 minutes. Les Houches is the most popular ski domaine (area) for families in the area, and is an eight-minute drive in the opposite direction of Chamonix. Geneva International Airport is the closest to the hotel, and takes a little over an hour to reach by car.

The Mercure brand’s Ibis chain is popular in France and the rooms adhere to the brand’s basic, but mostly stylish, design principles. Rooms have off-white stucco walls and brown striped carpets, and are set with contemporary light ash veneer furniture with minimalist lines. Leather desk chairs look lifted out of an airport lounge and the sofa beds that are included with some rooms, while offering an extremely comfortable night’s sleep, aren’t the most attractive. All rooms have good double beds with plush bed runners and light ash headboards, as well as telephones, large flat-screen TVs, air-conditioning (in summer), electric kettles for tea or coffee, and safes. The black-and-white lithographs of historic Alps scenes give the rooms a little bit of local flair, though some details aren’t thought through, like the lack of proper closets in some rooms and safes exposed to the rest of the room. 

Bathrooms are fine, with wood-laminate floors, faux-granite vanities/basins that are often used in public restrooms, and pump toiletry dispensers, but they are clean and have bathtub/shower combos. Views vary from room to room, and highway-facing rooms will pick up noise from the busy highway outside, though glacier-facing rooms have lovely mountain views. Privilege Rooms come with bathrobes as well as Nespresso machines, Bluetooth MP3 sound systems, and stocked minibars, a feature curiously lacking in Standard Rooms.

The hotel’s indoor pool is a lovely way to start or end the day. The tiled area has a few lounge chairs and a hot tub, while the cool lighting creates a sleek effect against the deconstructionist ceiling in the window-lined enclosure. The hotel also has an on-site sauna for guests needing an alternative way to relax. There is a secure ski room on site for guests with their own equipment, however the hotel doesn’t offer rental ski equipment or bike rentals for summer visitors. The breakfast buffet is good, but pricey for underwhelming features like machine-made coffee, and the restaurant also offers prix fixe menus for lunch and dinner, though better options exist in downtown Chamonix. The lounge and bar area, though, are an excellent place to unwind in the evening, stocked with plenty of comfortable chairs and couches, billiards, foosball. 

The hotel offers it’s own free shuttle into Chamonix for guests without cars or those who do not wish to use the public buses, and outdoor parking is also free. There are attractive five meeting and events rooms on site with audiovisual and catering services available as well. Babysitting services are available for guests with small children and there is a playground on-site. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel, and the 24-hour front desk can provide concierge and business services.