There's just one way to access this iconic mountain address, overlooking the shimmering ice of Mer de Glace – by the Train du Montenvers cog railway. Its 20 designer-chic, wood-panelled rooms have glacier views, and hikers and families are well catered for with an insanely stylish 10-bed dorm, cosy duplex rooms for five or seven, and five-person bunk-bed rooms. Rates include dinner and breakfast.
The Grand Hôtel du Montenvers first opened its doors in 1880 to provide food and shelter for Chamonix's early mountaineers, and was remodelled in 2017 as a chic boutique hotel and glamorous hostel of sorts by the luxury Maisons et Hôtels Sibuet group.