We had a wonderful stay at Les Lanchers and already look forward to our next visit! We had the chance to sit down with Simon who runs Les Lanchers and learn more about the hotel and what the area has to offer!
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and background. My name is Simon Chatellier, I'm 26 and French. I have graduated from Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland in 2013 with a bachelor degree in Hospitality management with real estate finance and revenue management.
I have been working exclusively abroad since my 18, Cairo in Egypt and Dubai in UAE for Sofitel, then I have opened a Maison Kayser franchise in New York in the USA and finally working in Tahiti French Polynesia where I was in charged of the 4 retails store of the airport of Papeete & Bora Bora. Decided to come back to Europe for few years and worked for a year with Club Med in Valmorel and I have been contacted by an English couple to take over Hotel Les Lanchers in Chamonix in November 2016.
We love being out in nature and Chamonix area offers great winter sports. What other trends have you noticed in the area that can appeal to non-sports adventurists?
Chamonix is a great location for people who like sports and also for non-sports adventurists because we are located on 2 boarders (Swiss & Italian). It is less than 1 hour driving to go to Geneva or Lausanne in Switzerland and 30min driving to Courmayer in Italy. Geneva lake is a must do if you come in the region as well as Annecy lake. You will have the contrast of the Alps and lakes, crazy landscapes. During summer you have also loads of hiking possibilities for all different levels. Everyone can find its path. Chamonix is a charming city where you can discovers loads of nice places, you have the Montenvers train that will bring you to the bottom of Vallée Blanche where you will discover ice sculptures and caves. (it will depend on the season). You have also the Aiguille du midi site seeing where you have the best view in Europe on Mont Blanc. You have to take a cable car up to 3400m and you will also discover the history of the valley and global warming issues. You can spend a day in each locations.
What activities do you offer at Les Lanchers resorts?
At the hotel, we are able to organize for you, your airport transfer from Geneva, ski lessons with the ESF (French Ski School), a guide to discover off piste during winter and nice hiking during summer. We are also a stop over for loads of people who would do "tour du Mont Blanc". Paragliding is also an activity that we offer at the reception of the hotel.
One of our personal favorites is how all of the menu items are homemade and truly mouthwatering. How else you keep Les Lanchers hotel ethical and as Eco-friendly as possible?
Our Chef Thierry Morbu is a truly French chef that would cook mostly french food depending on the season and every dishes are homemade. We cook as local as possible with local specialities like cheese fondu, tartiflette or farçon savoyard but we have also braised lamb knuckle confit, Veal Saltimbocca cutlets etc... . Our menu is simple but efficient so we can insure the quality of what we are serving everyday.
We offer an half-board option to our guest including breakfast, diner and access to our sauna for 35€ per day but you would have also the option of eating a la carte every day lunch time and diner time.
We work with local producer for bread, cheese and most of our meats to be as ethical as we can. We are in a small village and it is important for us to make our neighbors working. Concerning the eco friendly part, we recycle as much as we can, we replace 1 time every 2 days towels and bed sheets to save water and we have renovated the hotel in 2017 to change all the light bulbs into LED. We are using most of our cleaning products with eco friendly detergent.
Is there an increasing demand for English-speaking guests and if so, how do you meet it?
Chamonix is very English speaking town and friendly, so all our staff speaks English, we even speak more languages for some of us, like Spanish, German, Portuguese, Romanian and Arabic. All our menus, signs and information are both in French and in English.
What sets you apart from other hotels in the area?
Hotel Les Lanchers is located right outside of the Chamonix city center, so we are in a very quiet area, however, we have buses every 30min to bring you in town and all over the valley. We have 3 ski rental shops around us so if you need to rent some gear winter or summer time, we will provide you some special discounts. Last but not the least, we are located at the bottom of "la Flégère" cable car which is the beggest ski area of Chamonix in winter and in summer you have the best hiking path to "Lac Blanc"
Readers will have a special disount of 10% with the promo code: ARIANNE when booking at Les Lanchers
Some moments delicious around Chamonix:
