After reading a mixture of reviews for the Hotel Prieure, I bit the bullet and booked due to the good price and great location. Upon entering my room, I immediately regretted it.

I stayed at the Hotel Prieure for a quick end of season snowboard getaway in mid April for 3 nights. I have been to Chamonix before and have had great experiences with hotels in the valley. This was not one of them. I must start by listing the things I liked about Hotel Prieure. The location is great, it sits right on the end of the main pedestrian road which will lead you to all of the best shopping and restaurants in Chamonix. The hotel also had a great hot tub, excellent for a relaxing soak after a day on the pistes. The hot tub is in a conservatory off the side of what they refer to as their Fitness Centre, but anybody else would refer to as an exercise bike and 5 or 6 free weights.

In my room, there was a double bed and a single bed. I first attempted to sleep in the double bed despite the state of it. The mattress had obviously been there for decades as could be seen by the curling up on the edges. The concavity of the mattress made it look like the letter 'U'. The mattress proved to be unbearable. Luckily, I was on my own and was able to squeeze into the single bed for a somewhat more bearable experience. However, as was stated a few times on this site, the walls are very thin, and every opening and closing of the door was easily heard.

The hotel required all ski equipment to be held in the Ski Room, which was perfectly understood. I was informed that I would need to supply my own padlock to lock up my snowboard, and if I didn't travel with padlocks (who does), they have them available requiring a €10 deposit, understood. I said fine, and reminded them that they have my credit card on file, which is taken upon check-in for such charges. Apparently not, as the front desk required the deposit to be in cash. Then what's the purpose of having your credit card on file with the hotel? I encountered the same protocol when I needed a towel for the hot tub. The Hotel Prieure tries to pull of this 3 Star persona, but then charges guests a €10 deposit on towels like some roadside travel lodge.

As for the restaurant, I ate breakfast twice at €13. The breakfast buffet was a bit thin, and definitely not worth the price. Despite being advertised otherwise, the restaurant was only open for breakfast, and was completely shut down in the evenings. The "bar" was open for a few hours each evening, but that was the extent of the restaurant.

Chamonix is definitely a fantastic ski destination: the people are wonderful, the food is superb, and the skiing is world class. I will definitely be back. However, I will not return to the Hotel Prieure.

Our experience at The Hotel Prieure was terrible beyond belief. I should have been forwarned by my experience on arrival. A guest was in a furious arguement as to why she should be moved for one night in her week long stay because the hotel had overbooked her room. Apparently she had been an annual guest at the same hotel for 20 years previously.
I experienced the same level of indiffrence from the hotel staff, when my shoes were stolen from the hotel foyer, by persons unknown.

The hotel staff were not interested or helpfull and claimed it was somehow my fault for leaving them unattended. The food was adequate but edible, and not up to even an average standard experienced at similar hotels in europe
Why the staff at the front desk were so mediocre in a world class resort mystifies me, although I found the room service maids very helpfull and courteous.

The rooms were comfortable but dark, the beds hard, the walls thin.
As you probably have guessed by now this hotel is no longer of an acceptable standard for tourists, choose another.

We just got back from our first trip to Chamonix and Hotel Prieure exceeded our expectations. Initially after booking, we wondered if we should have tried to find some place less expensive but once there, we were so happy. The hotel staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Every evening a representative from the ski mountains sat in the lobby and answered our questions about where to ski plus decent ski rentals and a ski guide were available right at the hotel. They also offered a shuttle to the mountains most mornings which saved us trips on the very crowded town bus. When we returned from skiing we did have to take the town bus, but the stop is just two blocks from the hotel. Overall, the location is great -- right in town and an easy walk to all the restaurants and shops.

It's a great spot for first timers because they make it all so easy for you! We bought a bottle of wine in town to drink in the room and not only did the front desk rush to open it for us, but they translated the bottle, told us all about the wine we'd chosen, and sent us upstairs with wine glasses from the dining room.

As others have reported, yes, the walls are thin. Our floor seemed to be pretty quiet and respectful. The room was otherwise quite nice with plenty of extras -- the wall mounted hair dryer, good pillows, comfy mattress, mini fridge (good for storing the amazing cheese you buy in town), etc. Most of the other guests seemed to be Americans and there were lots of families there (it was Easter Holiday) but everyone was nice and respectful. We often sat in the lobby in the evenings for a drink before heading out and it was a fun little scene.

I've stayed at the Prieure each of the 6 times I've skied at Chamonix. I was very disappointed to see that the previous post was put in a room that has not been redecorated because it was my understanding that they've all been done over at this point. SnowKate described the rooms as they were long, long ago.

The rooms are clean. They are pine paneled with two built-in closets, a dresser with 4 drawers, a mini fridge, safe, large bathroom and each room has a tiny balcony that faces Mont Blanc. There is also a small pine table with two side chairs and a larger upholstered chair. Great sources of light with a huge window on the balcony side and a glass door. Overhead lights, reading lights over each bed, a phone, heating radiator (you can control the temperature) good for drying boots, gloves, etc.

OK, so I must tell the truth here. When we arrived (we've had 3 rooms reserved since AUGUST), we were told that we were going to be put at the Pina (their sister hotel) for one night and they'd move the six of us and our luggage the next day for the remaining 6 nights. THEY HAD OVERBOOKED THE HOTEL!!!!!! It was ONLY because of my outright admittedly obnoxious and repeated REFUSALS ("NO, WE WILL NOT DO THAT") that we were finally given our rooms. At one point during the negotiation, they dug up two rooms and suggested that one couple would have to stay at the other place. I was tenacious in my stand and the three rooms, side by side, became available. I'm so sad to have to report this.

Breakfasts were more than adequate, included eggs and ham, fresh fruit, etc., etc., and oh, the croissants - both plain and with chocolate - are to die for. A HUGE bowl of fruit is also available.

Dinners (we chose to have those included with our stay) were always 4 courses. And truly, no one noticed or cared that we helped ourselves to multiple desserts or that we headed to their bountiful cheese table before we had our appetizers. Beautifully presented, delicious and we were NEVER rushed. They don't do the two-time-turn-around that restaurants do here in the US.

The hot tub is large. It's in a lovely glassed-in area. There's a sauna, too. Well maintained and clean.

As far as the noise is concerned, there is a double door that lots of people forget to use. It is a door that is between the bedroom area and the bathroom area. This keeps hallway noises down. Yes, the walls between the rooms are thin. Fortuntately our neighbors were not noisy.

Le Prieure is right around the corner from the bus stop that includes those that take you to the various ski areas in neighboring towns. Their location is on a street that runs parallel with the main street in town. It's a convenient location so near to everything yet sufficiently away from the bulk of the foot and auto traffic. I'm not sure how the previous post was affected by street noise since there isn't any activity on the street there.

In spite of the upsetting circumstances we had to go through upon our arrival there, I'll maintain my loyalty to this place. I'll stay there again and I'll recommend it to others.