Hôtel le K2 Chogori in Val-d'Isere

This hotel, priced at 2000 per night for our stay, is one of the worst value for money experiences I have endured in Europe. This pricing pitches the K2 in direct competition with the very top end of the European hotels in the region. Notable highlights include from this ‘top end hotel’; 1. On the site of an old pub, which was never renowned for its location. 2. The Junior suites are best avoided as they have no view. The small terrace overlooks an adjacent property, with no ability to see the mountain 3. There is a design flaw where the heating of the rooms cannot be controlled within the rooms. The suggestion from management? Open the window! It was -14 degrees outside… 4. The hammam wasn’t open ‘because of covid’ despite the other 5 star in the area having theirs open 5. Typical 5star hotels have special arrangements with the service providers of the area. K2 we’re not able to get us availability for husky rides, snow bikes, moon bikes or skidoo’s. We were just about able to get a table at the hotel restaurant!!! We complained so many times that we got sick of complaining and just left 2 days early (knowing that there would be no refund). Even fixing an issue in our room by upgrading was fully billed. A special mention to the ski shop staff, the driver and the front desk who were all very pleasant. They will have a particularly difficult job in the weeks ahead, but try admirably against the odds to make guests happy. Go to Val and stay at either La Refuge or Les Airelles. Both will leave you with a lot more money in your pocket to enjoy your stay.

This heavy criticism is mostly in due to underwhelming installations and the terrible value for money this place offers. I didn’t have any remarkable issues with the staff, even though on the first day we were called around eight times in our room. First to say they needed the payment in advance for a tour, second to say they didn’t really need it, third to confirm some other tour and it went on through the day. Last one was at 7pm to confirm if we were attending our dinner reservation at the hotel restaurant at, 7pm. Phew. Breakfast and dinner take longer than the sermon on the mont. Fresh fruit plait consists basically of pineapple, pears and apples, if you don’t like one of those, you’ll have two fruit option throughout your entire stay. We book dinner at 7pm because we like to be finished with it early, it should be intuitive. There wasn’t a day we weren’t forced to wait until 21:30h to finish our meal. As for the decoration, the architect should pursuit something else. The “ski carnival” dolls displayed on the main hallway (and, shockingly, inside some rooms) seem straight out of some voodoo sect. Our first room option offered some ugly back road view, first floor in front of the elevator for over 1200E a night. We were offered a room change (under price readjustment) with a better view, but since the hotel is located right in front of a busy road, it’s now noisy. We can’t sleep on those square pillows (if you’re offering only one pillow option it should at least be a traditional, rectangular one) and spent the first night awake because the room was too hot and AC impossible to figure out, which caused issues multiple times during our stay. Whoever built this place simply seemed to ignore its location, with one of the most famous ski stations in the world as a background. There’s no views and no sunlight anywhere but on the doubtfully taste decorated restaurant or the upper floor rooms with balcony. Don’t be fooled by the “mountain view gym”, it’s a picture. Yes, a picture, not a window overlooking the mountains, inside a tiny claustrophobic space next to a tiny underwhelming spa. Every hall feels dark, no proper lighting and the Himalayan decoration doesn’t help. The disturbing red and dark grey tones and Asian theme in the middle of the French Alps make me wonder how on earth could someone choose this place over the bright, cosy, typical chalet decorated hotels around it. I couldn’t be more underwhelmed, I’ve endured a 26h journey to be here for a cosy Valentines trip with my boyfriend after a month apart, and I honestly could endure it all back as I write this, laying on my uncomfortable square pillow, just so we manage to get out of this ridiculously overpriced place.