Hi, I have an apartment in Chamrousse, Domaines de l'Arselle. While there are currently some issues around the management company which hopefully will be resolved soon, I have to say that I have no qualms at all in recommending it as a place for a holiday, in Summer as much as in Winter.
I've just come back from a week in the apartment, with three children, two of them teenagers, and while I had some reservations that it might be too quiet for the children, with no skiing to occupy them, they had a ball. Meeting some other English speakers helped, but while they arent really interested in mountain walking - a pity because the walks arent difficult and are certainly spectacular - there were plenty of activities laid on by the management company and in the development to keep them happy. Archery every day, table tennis all the time, swimming pool (2pm - 6 pm pre-July) which included a hot tub which they made the most of, the really good tree climbing park in the centre of Domaines de l'Arselle...We had been prepared to take some day trips to Grenoble, into the deeper Alps..but we didnt bother because we were perfectly happy in Chamrousse. In Roche Beranger one of the sports shops organised Monster Biking for us which my husband and older son really enjoyed. There is also paragliding for the more adventurous...and guided mountain walks, some of them with a charge but some free...
The maintenance company also organised one night swim for the residents, also a couple of communal barbeques, an evening of local games...and they extend the programme as the season continues.
If you havent been there before then it's worth knowing that Chamrousse is made up of three main areas. Recoin is the main village with the main telecabine. It is very French with mainly old apartment buildings built for the Olympics in the 1960s. There is a new apartment complex being built (actually a renovation of an old building by the looks of things) which is well-placed in the very centre of the village and next door to the ski lift building. Roche Beranger is 5 minutes drive further up the mountain. It's quite an ugly, very old-fashioned shopping mall, with restaurants, ski shops, chemist estate agents and banks. Again, old-fashioned apartments and not much building work going on there. The shopping centre and the apartments on the upper floor of the shopping centre, were being renovated at the end of June 2007 but I couldnt tell how extensive the renovations will be.
Just down the road from Roche Beranger is what Bachat Bouloud. This complex was built as Olympic accomodation, and was recently fully renovated and converted into the leaseback complex of Domaines de l'Arselle, complete with new ski lift, restaurant & bar, shops etc.
The general resort of Chamrousse was quiet at the end of June, with only Le Petit Salé restaurant open in Recoin, and one or two open intermittently in Roche Beranger, but it didnt matter because the restaurant in Domaines de l'Arselle was open all the time and the food was really quite good there. Excellent freshly-made pizzas in particular!
The Transmontagne staff were friendly throughout the development; the local shop was open and had everything we needed. We did take a trip down to Uriage one of the evenings, just for a change.
As far as investment is concerned, if I was thinking of buying again in Chamrousse, Domaines de l'Arselle is still where I would want to buy, as it really is where all the activity is happening. The fact that Recoin and Roche Beranger hadnt opened their restaurants at the end of June made sense as the only place that had any visitors was Domaines de l'Arselle. Ecrin des Neiges, which is a big development, didnt seem to be open at all.
Domaines de l'Arselle is really only going to get better as far as I can see. However, the success of Domaines de l'Arselle will probably encourage sales in the other apartment complexes which are being built, and I would expect to see some of the other older buildings trying to get in on the act, so while Domaines de l'Arselle is the centre of activity at the moment, this should spread right across the whole resort as work progresses. But as far as a place with potential is concerned, I think that it should be an excellent investment.
Hi, I own a 1 bed apartment at this development and have been very impressed - over the last two years the resort has changed quite alot. The pistes have been extended and the new snow board park looks very impressive. With the new develoments planned (over 5 new developments are planned) the whole look of 1650, 1700 and 1750 chamrousse will be totally transformed. Having skied all over the French alpes I actually prefer Chamrousse to most of the other resorts - the charm of chamrousse is hard to beat as are the views of Grenoble if only there were a few more decent bars.
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Chamrousse ski apartment
Hi, I have an apartment in Chamrousse, Domaines de l'Arselle. While there are currently some issues around the management company which hopefully will be resolved soon, I have to say that I have no qualms at all in recommending it as a place for a holiday, in Summer as much as in Winter.
I've just come back from a week in the apartment, with three children, two of them teenagers, and while I had some reservations that it might be too quiet for the children, with no skiing to occupy them, they had a ball. Meeting some other English speakers helped, but while they arent really interested in mountain walking - a pity because the walks arent difficult and are certainly spectacular - there were plenty of activities laid on by the management company and in the development to keep them happy. Archery every day, table tennis all the time, swimming pool (2pm - 6 pm pre-July) which included a hot tub which they made the most of, the really good tree climbing park in the centre of Domaines de l'Arselle...We had been prepared to take some day trips to Grenoble, into the deeper Alps..but we didnt bother because we were perfectly happy in Chamrousse. In Roche Beranger one of the sports shops organised Monster Biking for us which my husband and older son really enjoyed. There is also paragliding for the more adventurous...and guided mountain walks, some of them with a charge but some free...
The maintenance company also organised one night swim for the residents, also a couple of communal barbeques, an evening of local games...and they extend the programme as the season continues.
If you havent been there before then it's worth knowing that Chamrousse is made up of three main areas. Recoin is the main village with the main telecabine. It is very French with mainly old apartment buildings built for the Olympics in the 1960s. There is a new apartment complex being built (actually a renovation of an old building by the looks of things) which is well-placed in the very centre of the village and next door to the ski lift building.
Roche Beranger is 5 minutes drive further up the mountain. It's quite an ugly, very old-fashioned shopping mall, with restaurants, ski shops, chemist estate agents and banks. Again, old-fashioned apartments and not much building work going on there. The shopping centre and the apartments on the upper floor of the shopping centre, were being renovated at the end of June 2007 but I couldnt tell how extensive the renovations will be.
Just down the road from Roche Beranger is what Bachat Bouloud. This complex was built as Olympic accomodation, and was recently fully renovated and converted into the leaseback complex of Domaines de l'Arselle, complete with new ski lift, restaurant & bar, shops etc.
The general resort of Chamrousse was quiet at the end of June, with only Le Petit Salé restaurant open in Recoin, and one or two open intermittently in Roche Beranger, but it didnt matter because the restaurant in Domaines de l'Arselle was open all the time and the food was really quite good there. Excellent freshly-made pizzas in particular!
The Transmontagne staff were friendly throughout the development; the local shop was open and had everything we needed. We did take a trip down to Uriage one of the evenings, just for a change.
As far as investment is concerned, if I was thinking of buying again in Chamrousse, Domaines de l'Arselle is still where I would want to buy, as it really is where all the activity is happening. The fact that Recoin and Roche Beranger hadnt opened their restaurants at the end of June made sense as the only place that had any visitors was Domaines de l'Arselle. Ecrin des Neiges, which is a big development, didnt seem to be open at all.
Domaines de l'Arselle is really only going to get better as far as I can see. However, the success of Domaines de l'Arselle will probably encourage sales in the other apartment complexes which are being built, and I would expect to see some of the other older buildings trying to get in on the act, so while Domaines de l'Arselle is the centre of activity at the moment, this should spread right across the whole resort as work progresses. But as far as a place with potential is concerned, I think that it should be an excellent investment.
Chamrousse ski apartment
Considered one but waiting for that VAT back from another property. They look cheap & have been on the market a while, not sure if this is a good sign
Chamrousse ski apartment
Hi, I own a 1 bed apartment at this development and have been very impressed - over the last two years the resort has changed quite alot. The pistes have been extended and the new snow board park looks very impressive. With the new develoments planned (over 5 new developments are planned) the whole look of 1650, 1700 and 1750 chamrousse will be totally transformed. Having skied all over the French alpes I actually prefer Chamrousse to most of the other resorts - the charm of chamrousse is hard to beat as are the views of Grenoble if only there were a few more decent bars.