Le Grand Coeur and Spa

We pre-booked a spa visit for Monday this week but we were only told on arrival that we had to pay in cash, as the hotel has had all British and US credit and debit cards blocked. Carol and Victoria were excellent masseurs and the spa is beautiful but I’m very disappointed that this hotel chose to withhold this information and is now funded by roubles.

We stayed at Le Grand Coeur for the first time after many years of visiting Meribel and having drinks in the bar there, always thinking what a great place it would be to stay. How disappointed we were. Two things stand out as fabulous at this hotel. The location is superb, directly above the town center and easily accessed by stairs at the back of the hotel and also at the bottom of the Doron piste, so it really is ski in, ski out. The second positive is the public space, a lovely bar and restaurant to spend the evening hours. Unfortunately the hotel bedroom that we were given was shocking. One of their 'Classic' rooms at €540 a night, it was very old, very small and very disappointing. We gave the hotel the opportunity to put us in a different room but they were unable to do this (understandable if they are full). Despite making it very clear that we were not happy with the room to the reception staff, who seemed a little embarrassed at its 'Classic' status, at no point were we approached by hotel management to talk about it, or offered any sort of goodwill gesture, such as a reduced rate or even a free drink. Poor show. The hotel website mostly shows their renovated rooms, which are probably much better, with just one photo showing a classic room that looks much nicer than ours. The room had outside access to the large terrace which we thought would be a treat to sit on in the afternoon sun. Unfortunately, the terrace is dangerously full of holes in the wooden planking (see photos) and has not been adequately maintained. The ski room is good, the small spa area is very pleasant and the staff are a mix of pleasant and helpful (bar) and indifferent (breakfast & reception). We felt a bit like we were privileged to be allowed to stay there at times. That isn't to say we didn't spend some lovely hours in the bar, listening to the live piano music and watching the world go by. If you get a decent room, then you'll probably love it. Unfortunately the room spoiled our trip and we tried to spend as little time in it as possible and we aren't minded to give them another try.