Le Roc de Tours at Le Chinaillon
Space for a family of 5. Check. Activities for kids and accessibility to events? Check and check. You'll find that a stay at Le Roc de Tours will check a lot of boxes for you, gay family or not. Timing is everything of course so planning your stay during the Bonhomme de Momes, a large children's festival in late August, will give you plenty of options during your sejour. The kickoff for this event is just steps from the hotel, then the hustle and bustle moves further down the mountain in Grand Bornand proper - which leaves a more peaceful atmosphere near the hotel. Le Roc de Tours does offer free bus tickets so you can get down to the festival's offerings (see previous post). It also gets you discount on lift tickets.
The rooms offered at the hotel are quite family friendly and the nicest touch was being personally shown your room after check-in. No need for Hotel GPS to navigate the hallways. The duplex we stayed in had three large bedrooms with queen sized beds or larger, along with a pull out couch in the living room. Two full baths, open air balcony, and a fully equipped kitchen makes the hotel room feel more like a home. While the room structures have a definite cabin/chalet feel to it, the decor and furnishings are quite clean lined, modern, and comfortable.
The 9th floor check in office allows for an exit higher up the mountain with access to two grocery stores, restaurants, bus line, and tourist office. On the lower exit floor "0", you'll find the car park, trails, and a playground for the kids complete with a zipline!
If you can, stay in chalet "C", the lowermost section, on floor 4. Then you'll be conveniently be located on the pool, gym, and hammam floor. Staff are friendly and helpful, and speak English fairly well - no need for awkward language exchanges. There's also a washing machine and dryer available at 5 euro each per load, convenient for the longer term traveller. If you're there on a Wednesday, then you'll want to visit the market. The fresh produce is wonderful, I especially recommend the strawberries - small in stature but large in savour! Don't forget the blocks of Beaufort and Roblochon cheeses, the region's specialties.
If you do take the discounted lift tickets to take in the magnificent views, try walking back down along the trails and understand why it's called Pres de vaches! Awesome stay? Check.
