June 04, 2005
Chalet Beaumont
Before we set off for the wild mountains of Chamonix, there was accommodation to think about. On the last trip, we camped, but now as we were feeling richer, we were going to upgrade to a chalet.
A trawl of the internet, as usual, came up with a load of useless information about chalets, but no prices or easy way to book, and a bunch of cluttered websites. After a while I stumbled across the Chalet Beaumont, which had a simple website, all the required information, and an easy way to book. The off season price was extremely reasonable, so a few days later we booked it.
Chalet Beaumont - our home for the week
The Chalet was in a scenic location in Les Bossons, underneath the Glacier des Bossons, and with a nice view across the valley. Jenny and Steve who ran the place were nice and helpful and friendly, and there were no problems with the apartment.
The only real drawback of the Chalet was its distance from any kind of shops, and a long, steep vertical climb back up from the valley every day! To be fair, it states on the website that a 'car is recommended.' Being as we were there for a walking holiday, we thought that it wouldn't matter, but even if you disregard the extra exercise at the end of each day, it became quite time-consuming, due to a 40 minute walk to the nearest supermarket.
There was a near vertical ascent to the chalet
The other option to get food was to time the ascent/descent of the hill to match bus/train services, but these are very sporadic off season. Towards the end of the week, we sort of got the hang of it, but it was still hard work dragging food up the steep hill! In the end, I have to agree with the recommendation of a car.
Enjoying a civilised dinner at the Chalet