Swiss Alps Coliving

Misleading Information and Disappointing Experience at Petit Velan/Albergue des Alpes

We booked a week at Petit Velan, but when we got to the train station, they took us to a different place called Albergue des Alpes without telling us why until we asked. They said Petit Velan was empty, but we should have been told about the change sooner.

The Place and Location:

Albergue des Alpes wasn’t nice. It looked old and wasn’t what we expected.
It’s really out of the way. You need a car because there’s no supermarket nearby, just a tiny shop. This is different from what their website says.

Working Space:

The co-working space is just a small room with four chairs. It’s hard to work there with people talking and having meetings.

False Advertising on Their Website:

Skillsharing Workshops: They said they had these, but they didn’t.
Community Cooking: They talk about cooking together, but when we got there, they told us to buy our own food. The kitchen only has four cooking hobs and no dishwasher for a place that can host 22 people.
No Activities: They didn’t have any group activities, events, or trips like they said.
Ski Pass: We asked for the ski pass they mention on their site, but we never got it. It’s also really hard to get to the ski slopes. It looks us 2h by bus to get to the closer ski station that was open.
No Community Manager: They say there’s a community manager, but that’s not true.
Getting There: They say it’s easy to get there, but it’s not. From Geneva, you need to take 3 trains and a bus, and it costs about 50 CHF. You often wait a long time for the next bus.

Price:

It’s too expensive for what you get. You can find a one-bedroom flat in the same area for half of the money.
Overall, we were really let down.