Zannier Le Chalet

Tout

L’accueil et le sourire du personnel toujours au petit soin. La proximité de randonnée magnifique avec la vue sur le mont blanc inégalable.

Absolument rien

L’accueil parfait de Pauline ,le charme fou du lieu

As a background, I had stayed at Zannier chalet decades ago when still living in France and more recently stayed at Zannier in Namibia, which I wrote after a few downside experiences (incl. food poisoning on the first night)… However, my partner and I decided to give Zannier another chance for our winter week in France, especially for the intimate boutique hotel feel of the concept and despite other attractive 5 star hotels available in this classy French ski resort.After dropping a note to the CEO founder of the chain and in light of our sad experie at Sonoop, I was curtly advised to how confident he was that we would of course be treated well as everywhere (sic). After active email exchanges re. logistics and activities booking ahead of our stay, we were warmly greeted on check-in day by the Concierge/acting deputy manager Ileana ( the main asset of that were advised that we had been upgraded to a suite. Of course, we were grateful for the gesture b’s Leadership and training) although came to realize later that this room had some serious downsides (counter intuitive layout, noise from room upstairs etc..) well as experienced repeated shortcomings for this 5 star establishment which is not much less costly that most of its 5 star competitors in that village. All in all, we were impressed by the one on one attention and service that this 12 room resort staff is willing to provide

But when you come to reflect in the end, esp. as a world traveler who has experienced the best 5 stars standards in the world (from Mandarin Oriental, Oberoi, Four Seasons to Waldorf Astoria or Aman…), you realize that Zannier is more of a concept store for books and website than the warmth and comfort of true hospitality: what you feel , especially in India or Asia comes from the heart of the people who work in hospitality beyond the guidelines décor, materials, menus or procedures from Corporate executives: they will always bend the rules or adapt to special requests or circumstances to deliver the best and satisfaction to their guests and more importantly listen to your requests rather than explain why it can’t be done. And that’s exactly what Zannier doesn’t have or deliver, in Namibia or France: it feels more like a brainy concept or staged décor that is more important to its C-suite than empowering its actors to play their role which is to make the guest feel unmistakably welcomed and valued. The “brain” at Zannier might be there but the heart is cold or stingy: this translate into every missing link in each property we visited: the G.M. can’t change a book display or seating arrangement that would deviate from the central concept even if it makes more sense for the comfort of the guests for a week…no wall or art in the rooms, no bath salts, no standard crepes or waffles on a winter breakfast menu, no control of thermostat by guest from the room without digital override from of Tech staff, no fireplace handling for the guest even just to keep fire going, no heated floors in bathrooms as any winter resort had them now etc… Everything reminds you that you, as a guest, are not the heart of the concept but rather a disciple that has to conform to the written design. For that fundamental reason, I will return to Megeve and book the immaculate Four Seasons or Les Fermes de Marie where we felt immediately welcome for a tour, massage or a drink at the bar from the ge