Mont Soleil Apartments

Plagne Soleil, La Plagne.

I was very apprehensive when the coach started to near Plagne Soleil, like I always get when I start to think about the accommodation and the horrible things that can go wrong, especially in cold snowy places - I’ve been to Poland!

My initial reaction was that the location was great - not at all heavily built-up, a nice square with children building an igloo in the centre and sledging down an embankment (I planned to join them later…), some small shops (including a grocery store of the ‘Spar’ variety), a few bars/restaurants and the accommodation. Perfect.

I had felt a little worried when the rep on the coach said rather dramatically, ‘well, for those of you staying in Plagne Soleil, this is it. Everything is in this square’, but it turned out that everything you need is in that square…and for anything else, Plagne Centre is about 5 minutes away on the 3 ‘bubble-lifts’ across the piste.


I will break the rest of my review down for ease of reading (like I always do…).



Mont Soleil Apartments (also known as Pierre & Vacances Residence Le Mont Soleil)


Accommodation – Checking-in…

The desk staff were extremely lovely and the reception area was clean and stylish – which was irrelevant really with the apartments being self-catering…but it always helps!

So, we head up to our apartment in one of the lifts - there is more than one, which is great because of the amount of baggage accumulated for snow-sport holidays, and the fact that if you have travelled with a large tour operator, you will have a number of people all heading to their rooms at the same time after checking in.

The Apartment (sleeps 2-7).

Firstly, I was relieved to find that it was already heated to exactly the right temperature (which is important when you’ve just dragged your luggage through the snow from the coach), and my first impression was that it was clean, simple and in the perfect location!

The lounge area – is open-plan style with the dining table and kitchen, and is a relatively decent size. It is furnished adequately with 2 large sofas (one is a sofa bed), and a couple of coffee tables.

The Dining Area – is quite poor really if you plan to have proper table dining experiences. There is not really enough room for a dining table of that size in the alcove style space they’ve given it. Once everyone was seated, only the end 2 people would be able to move freely. But, it is usable and well made from a farm-style sturdy warm pine.

The Kitchen Area – is compact but contains everything you might need…with the exception of a kettle (I don’t know what it is that the French have against them, but it’s travel kettle or pan!).
There is a grill/oven, coffee maker, dishwasher, pots and pans and all the dishes etc you would need for 7. Also, the dishwasher is really quite silent so it is possible to put it on overnight and still be able to sleep!

Master Bedroom – is an adequate size, contains a cupboard/dresser and wardrobe (shelves not rails), and a double bed (which I personally found to be a little small but then I am quite tall and my boyfriend is 6’3”…).

Bunk bed Room – is big enough for the bunk bed and a bit of movement, but isn’t huge. There is a tall cupboard for clothes (shelves again) but not much room for anything else alongside the beds. If it were to be used by children there would be more than enough room for them, adults would be a bit more squeezed, but then you’re asleep so does it really matter?!

Bathroom(s) – The main bathroom contains a reasonably large sink unit with mirror and a bath with shower, directly across the hall is the bathroom with the toilet and another large sink unit (with mirror). I like having a separate toilet/wash room in apartments made for many people, makes everything so much easier when someone wants a bath to ease the first day muscles!

Balcony – The doors open out from the lounge area onto a large balcony with chairs and stunning views of Plagne Soleil! You can also see across to the Plagne Villages and down to Plagne Centre.


Accommodation Summary.

Overall I found the apartment (and its contents) to be everything we might have needed for the week’s self-catering.

Apparently the apartment we had was for 2 – 7 people but I would imagine that fitting 7 people in it would be a bit of a challenge personally, 4 –6 no problem! Any more and you would all have to get on really well with one another or it could get nasty! ha ha ha!

The staff are extremely helpful and polite, and speak excellent English. The best thing about the Mont Soleil for me however had to be it’s prime location!

I would also like to mention that within 2 minutes of the apartments there is a bar/pub style restaurant called Monica’s, and it’s great! (and no, you can’t hear any noise from the square from the apartments of an evening).

I cannot recommend this place enough…the staff are friendly and helpful but not smothering, the service is prompt and efficient and the food is excellent! It is gorgeous food at decent prices for a resort restaurant; there is quite a selection of food available as well (for people like me who don’t eat red meat…France can be a nightmare!), and the deserts…it’s just beautiful!

If you go to Plagne Soleil (or the Plagne Villages/Plagne Centre for that matter), whether or not you stay at the Mont Soleil Apartments, I would highly recommend visiting Monica’s one evening!


Plagne Soleil Summary.

Plagne Soleil is by far one of the prettiest villages/areas of La Plagne; it gets the sun for the majority of the day, and has the best views of the surrounding area. There is also immediate access to a number of the lifts and you can ski in and out of pretty much everywhere.

Because Plagne Soleil is one of the least built up areas of La Plagne, there are only a few places to stay – the Mont Soleil Apartments, Plagne Soleil Apartments (above Monica’s) and the chalet’s on the other side of the square.



A Note on Lyon Airport.

I feel like I must make comment on the state on Lyon airport. Yes, our suitcases came through relatively quickly given the volume of people on the plane; however getting the snowblades and board-bag was another story.

The system of reuniting people with their skis at Lyon is a total farce. Basically, you go to one carousel and collect your suitcases and boot-bags, then you have to go to the mosh-pit like ‘queue’ for your skis.

What they do is have a very large ‘box’ between the carousels and they simply take all the boards & skis off the plane (and any other flights that happen to have landed) and throw them into it.
You have to fight your way to the front and then crawl through the mass of equipment in the vain hope that yours is there…all the while, the staff are throwing more and more into the pile. It was absolutely ridiculous, and surprised me seeing as Lyon (as with Grenoble) is one of the major airports for people going on snow holidays every single winter. It was like it came as a total surprise to them that they should receive all this oversize luggage, and yet this happens every single season, you’d have thought they would have devised a better system by now.

At Manchester, we have decent sized carousels that they can put people’s skis and boards onto as well; they send the suitcases through first, then everything else. Simple.
But this was the only joy about coming home from Plagne Soleil, I loved it there!