Hôtel Daria-I Nor by les Etincelles

We’ve just come back from the most amazing week in Alpe D’Huez. We stayed at Daria-I Nor Apartment Hotel which was first class. The self catering apartments based within the 5 star hotel was the perfect set up with kids, giving us the option to have a quick breakfast in the apartment before skiiing and cosying up in our own living room when the kids wanted to chill in the afternoon. The hotel facilities, restaurants, food and service were 5 star throughout. The staff couldn’t have been more hospitable and this is what made this hotel and the holiday so very special. Yanis in the bar/restaurant served amazing food, delicious cocktails and was wonderful with our noisy group of children! Nothing was too much trouble. The Director Mr joubert Ugo made our sons 13th birthday so special by suprising us with a enormous chocolate birthday cake from the hotel pattiserie. Everyone in our party of 9 had the best experience at the homely 5 star hotel. We can’t wait to revisit next year.

We have booked one week with Daria I Nor and what a wonderful hotel to stay in, we couldn’t recommend them enough. Services: from the arrival, the hotel sent one of their taxis to pick us up where the coach dropped us. After a long transfer from the airport, it was great to have someone waiting for us so that we did not add any unnecessary time to our arrival. The staff at reception was wonderful and helped up with the check in. Our bags were delivered to the room and our ski gear was taken straight to the ski shop so that we didn’t have to worry about it next day. During our stay, the services were 5 stars: anything that we needed was arranged and nothing seemed to be too much for the team there. As I caught an infection half way through, the staff was excellent: they took me to the medical centre, they made sure to have our food delivered to our room, they even offered me tea to help with my recovery. As we decided to cut our trip short given my health, they arranged for us a last minute private taxi (which was added to the room bill, so paying for that was so easy and the taxi company was fantastic sending us updates regarding our trip) and the reception team made sure we could collect our ski gear even outside of the main opening hours (which helped us leave in time). We just couldn’t be more grateful of the wonderful care and services as that made everything easier especially as I was feeling so unwell. Food: the food was fantastic every day, we were half board guests and the quality of the food was excellent. Great dinner options every day, complicated by an a la carte menu. It was a fine dining experience on a daily basis (even the room service when we could not eat in the restaurant). We also had lunch a few times in their cosy bar by the fire, and again the food was delicious. The prices were a bit high (especially the drinks: teas and non alcoholic beverages) but the food portions were very generous and the quality very high. Staff: everyone from reception to the restaurant staff, to the spa and the ski shop was lovely and very friendly. We felt we were very well looked after. Nash (in the restaurant ) in particular was amazing, what a nice man he is, so friendly and excellent at what he does, we had lovely chats with him and he was always so fast, and a genuine lovely person. Alexis from reception was great as well. Facilities: the hotel itself is great: extremely clean, with a cosy and modern vibe and with great facilities. The rooms were cleaned daily, the suite was very big and it had a very homey vibe (we were in suite 6009 with an amazing view of the slopes, we could even see the Wednesday ESF ski instructors show from our room) and the spa was incredible to relax after a ski day. The gondola station made everything so easy: it was our second time in Alpe d’Huez and what a big difference did that make as previously we stayed in a different hotel, further away from the slopes. The ski shop had a great range of gear

Our first ever Ski holiday and we were not disappointed. We were self catering and the apartment was immaculate. As a British tourist we always feel we get a raw deal and the worst located room. We were in room 103 right next to the lift and the 1st floor but after a horrific day travelling we just needed sleep. Be warned though they only give one pillow per person so ask at reception for more asap if you like more comfort. A fully equipped kitchen, with everything you could need. Your snow to order pastries etc (at a charge) from the hotel reception which is super handy if you haven’t had chance to go to the shops. Towels , linen , 2 toilet rolls, washing up liquid (small) , cloth and a few dishwasher tablets all left as complimentary but would recommend taking more as can be expensive to buy in resort. Lounge area nice and comfortable but TV is majority in French so if you are travelling from England and you want to watch and chill with the TV on an evening download onto streaming channels on iPads etc. Pool, sauna and steam room free of charge but the spa is payable. Ski boot room was excellent , extremely warm and dried all our gear very quickly. Reception staff always extremely helpful. Shuttle taxi free to all guests which we only realised on the last night. A slight walk up to the gondola and some steep steps but super close to the Alp Dhuez express that is free to use and takes you to the mountains to ski or down into the village the other way. The bar area of the hotel is open to all guests and had a lovely feel but service was somewhat to be desired and very expensive food and drinks. This is now a SUMMIT collection hotel with Crystal and unfortunately the costs have significantly rose but hope it’s affordable for us to return in the future as it was everything we needed and more.