Club Med Grand Massif Samoëns Morillon

Where to begin? We previously stayed here in 2019 and had a wonderful holiday so had high hopes for our return visit. Sadly we could not have been more disappointed. The hotel has gone downhill in every respect and our experience this time was terrible. For context, we were a family of 4 with two teenagers (17 and 14). Restaurant/Food: The buffet restaurant was totally shambolic. Finding a table was almost impossible. Large numbers of tables had reserved signs for chalet guests (who often didn’t show) or tables were left dirty and uncleared. We frequently had to ask for cutlery, glasses and sort out our own drinks. Experiencing this chaos 3 times a day meant we dreaded meal-times. Often we were sat right next to staff also having their meal which felt really weird given we had not received any restaurant service whatsoever. The food was bland and repetitive and often inedible or cold (eg. burnt steak haches, lumpy mashed potatoes, watery bolognese, undercooked eggs, dried out pork, gristly steak). A promised birthday cake for my husband (that I’d emailed and arranged with the hotel) never materialised. For New Year's Eve, we were told if we pre-ordered wine/champagne (charged at full menu price) then we would have a reserved table. On arrival, none of the staff could find our table and they suggested other guests had removed the sign and had sat down (which I'm sure wasn't the case). It was clear from the large numbers of other irate guests waiting for tables that the reservation system had totally failed. It just felt like a greedy money making experience. Gourmet Restaurant: We were told on our first day it was fully booked for the entire week. How? Eventually we were offered a table for our penultimate night. Our experience was absolutely shocking. Way worse than the buffet restaurant, something we didn’t think was possible! The majority of the dishes on the small menu were unavailable. Two of us had to skip starters. We had to request basic cutlery. The fondue for 4 would barely have fed 2 people (see photos). Only my children were offered a dessert and then eventually were told their dessert was ‘unavailable’. The restaurant looked tacky with cheap tables, no tablecloths, paper napkins and battered clipboard menus. The very opposite of gourmet. Bar/Entertainment: This had been a highlight of our previous stay. But the shows were utterly bizarre and inappropriate. On NYE, we inexplicably had a ‘Viking’ show complete with a burning village backdrop. Another evening, we had giant lit up robots with wings (you had to be there) and on our final night, a show where the Club Med staff lip-synced (very badly) to songs. After the shows finished at 9.45/10pm, we had the same medley of Club Med songs EVERY single night followed by dance techno which was so deafening that the huge bar totally emptied and families just took themselves off to the lobby area with their drinks/card games. Most of the people left dancing in the bar (and having a grea

This holiday was a game of two halves. While the skiing was fantastic, the hotel was a complete failure. Here’s what went wrong: Food The dining experience was a complete disaster: • The queues were excessively long, often waiting 30 minutes inline to be served. Try managing that with 3 young boys! • The ques at the food stations were so long we would return to our tables to find another family had taken it! • The evening restaurant opened at 7 pm, far too late for children who, after skiing all day, were ready for bed by then. • The food was consistently cold; I stopped expecting a hot meal after the first few days. • The drink selection was minimal, with house wines tasting like vinegar. • Sauces were left out so long they developed skins on top. • Not once during our 20+ meals were we offered a drink. • Many of the items, especially the desserts, weren’t fresh, bought in and unwrapped prior to being displayed. • Food was left out far too long under barely warm ‘heat lamps’ • Beer was unavailable in the restaurant. • The staff all eat in the restaurant, they don’t have a separate dinning space. • Staff are sruffy. There is no unifying uniform and in the evening the staff dress as if they are going out for a night partying. It’s weird and unprofessional. The ‘higher-end’ restaurant was no better. We ordered pasta for the kids and received undercooked, plain pasta with water in the bowls. Our meals were inedible, and after repeatedly asking for a glass of wine that never arrived, we left in frustration. And… so did many of the other guests, several arguing and complaining very loudly. Swimming Pool The pool was absolutely freezing and far too small for the 1,000 guests. My children refused to swim as their lips turned blue. The outdoor ‘hot tub’ was also freezing, making it almost amusing to watch guests quickly retreat indoors after attempting to use it. It was a shame as the view, which the temperature prohibited from enjoying, was stunning. Entertainment The entertainment was dreadful—cringe-worthy and often unbearable. It was, in effect, a staff talent show. Power There were evening power cuts, leaving us in complete darkness. Transfers The airport transfer was chaotic, it was like a group of teenagers from the local 6th form had been tasked to run it as a work experience exercise. People waited for hours just to board their coaches. It’s better to take a taxi and avoid the stress. Management The manager, who I was told is relatively new and young, was dismissive of my concerns, despite the very substantial cost of our stay. He appeared more interested in talking to guests than ensuring staff met basic standards. His inexperience was evident, and it was reflected in the poor service across the hotel. Ski Hire Despite being told our pre-ordered equipment would be in our ski lockers upon arrival, nothing was there, wasting an hour of our time to sort it out ourselves. The Skiing Thankfully, the skiing was brilliant. We e

After a 10 year hiatus from club med ski holidays of which we had very happy memories, we had high hopes for this holiday. Positives: Great proximity and ease of access to ski slopes. Onsite sauna, pool and hot tub. Heated ski lockers. Negatives: we are far from gourmands but all agreed that the food was generally not good ( with exception of pasta and pastry chef offerings which were excellent)). Queues for buffet made mealtimes feel like a battleground. The “free” wine was THE worst ever tasted. Terrible restaurant service made it very difficult to order alternative from the wine menu. Only on the third night did we manage to pin down a waiter to facilitate purchase. Thereafter it was problematic to retrieve our unfinished bottles in the restaurant at dinner on the following two nights. On our last night we went to the sit down restaurant and while it was nice not to have to face the nightly buffet battle, the food wasn’t really any better,and the service - harassed wait staff, slow service-was far below the standard expected. Nice enough public areas with seating around what would have been lovely cosy fireplaces save for the fact that the fires remained unlit for the entire duration of our 7 day stay. Not even on Christmas Day! It was miserable. .While we very much enjoyed the experience of another family ski holiday and appreciated the ease of ski in ski out and the facilities generally, the dining experience at this CM was a total let down.