Auberge la Boerne

Our stay at La Boerne was very good. Everything was well organized and the room was perfect — no complaints at all. We saw some negative comments, but many of those are things you simply don’t expect to find in a mountain refuge. We really enjoyed the dinner and breakfast. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

Stayed a night here during our hike along the TMB. Though it's near the main part of town, it was quite a steep ascent to get to the refuge which was a little infuriating after a full day of hiking already. That's a matter of circumstance however, so not really a big matter. The rooms however, were absolutely packed with no space to move around or even stand. People were packed like sardines in each room, and I could hear the commotion across the board as people saw their rooms for the first time and exclaimed in surprise and amusement at the situation. Some of the rooms had windows, but most of these windows opened into other bunks, rendering them pointless. There was limited ventilation and we had to end up sleeping with our door open, but at the cost of privacy and security. Even though we had a private room, no keys were given so we couldn't even lock our belongings. The food was decent for what it was – a bean medley with plain rice for mains, and bread and cheese and salad for starters, with lemon cake for dessert. However, given the price paid and the proximity to the main town of Chamonix and transportation, this is rather appalling. No meat was served at all, whilst I had meat even on the mountaintop refuges which were by bounds more inaccessible! The toilets and shower facilities are all shared, not just by the people staying in the building but also with the campers nearby. From what I could see, I could only count 2 toilet bowls and 3 showers in the whole building, which isn't enough to service everyone. If this were on a mountaintop where resources are scarce, I would be able to understand slightly more..but given the circumstances it was rather puzzling. My only guess was that margins are the main consideration instead of customer experience, probably knowing that most people have no choice but to take any refuge they can get anyway.

These rooms are danger traps. Claustrophobic. Skinny ladders. Low roofs. Absolutely horrible. I should have left before trying to sleep in here. Dinner was a simple tomato based veggie chili with rice. Lettuce with salad dressing.