For more than 30 years, the group Les Balcons has been welcoming its customers in privileged surroundings. Concerned about the impact of our activities on the environment, we have implemented an eco-responsible approach throughout our development.

As a builder, we are lucky to manage the construction and renovation of our facilities from A to Z. Built in 2019, the Hôtel Alparena**** & Spa is a good example of our approach to reducing energy consumption through reinforced insulation, pellet heating and centralized technical management.

Our aim : to make you enjoy your stay while respecting the natural environment around you as much as possible.

Lighting & equipment

• 99% of our light bulbs are energy-saving, mostly LED fixtures with bulbs, so we can replace the bulb without changing the fixture.
• Many fixtures are controlled by automatic sensors to limit energy waste.
• All newly acquired electrical appliances are energy-efficient.
• We have introduced regular meter readings to better manage our electricity consumption.

Reinforced insulation

• We have built the hotel with a high-performance insulation system of over 30cm on the walls and roof to retain heat and avoid over-consumption of heating and energy losses.
• 100% of the building’s windows are double- or triple-glazed.
  With the resort and hotel facing due south, in winter the heating is turned off in the suites and bedrooms! (excluding bathrooms)

Centralised technical management

• The hotels’ heating, electricity and ventilation are controlled by a centralised technical management system, enabling energy savings. Heating and lighting can be controlled by a home automation system (digital box) in each room.
• We have installed a wood pellet boiler to heat the entire establishment.
• We have installed wood-burning stoves in the suites and offer the wood to customers.
• We’ve installed a powerpipe system to recover heat from the grey water in the drainage pipes.

Soft mobility

• We provide our customers with charging points for electric vehicles.
• We are a partner of the Tictactrip website, which lists low-carbon solutions for getting to the resort (train, shuttles, car sharing, etc.) see this page : https://hotel-alparena.com/en/la-rosiere-transport/.

Water flow management

• All taps are fitted with mixing valves for fast, precise temperature adjustment. They are fitted with aerators that reduce the flow of water by injecting air into the flow.
• All toilets have a dual-flow flush system to regulate the flow of water.
• We have introduced regular meter readings to better manage our water consumption.

Réduction des emballages et impressions

• As far as possible, we take care to reduce our packaging by ordering large-capacity products and reusable or refillable products, such as shower gel dispensers in the bathrooms.
• We limit paper printouts and provide our customers with an app to give them all the information they need for their stay.
• We have reduced the amount of individual packaging in our restaurants.

Waste sorting

• We provide a number of waste sorting garbage bins in each bedroom and suite and educate our teams and customers about waste recycling.
• We have set up a composting system for our restaurant’s bio-waste and have started a test with the La Rosière ski resort to offer it to our customers.

Second life for furniture

• Our technical department maintains and repairs almost all our equipment. When this is not possible, we donate them to our teams or to someone specialising in furniture renovation.

Purchasing ethics

• We have drawn up a sustainable purchasing policy : for each of our purchases, we take into account the location, manufacturing methods and means of transport of the products.
• We mainly use European service providers, and French and local service providers when we can, for both the construction and operation of our buildings.

Product quality

• We take care to select high-quality, durable materials and goods, and avoid plastic as much as possible. We use a majority of eco-labelled cleaning products.
• The hygiene products we make available to our customers are made from 90% natural ingredients, with packaging made from recyclable or recycled materials (Thalgo brand).
• We select food products made in Savoie.

Optimising deliveries

• We centralise our purchases for our various sites at a single point at head office and optimise our employees’ journeys to transfer documents or materials, and encourage car sharing.
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Contributing to local development

• As an accommodation provider that has been established in Savoie for many years, we contribute to the local economy and have set up numerous partnerships with shops, ski schools, sports shops and restaurants.
• We sponsor the La Rosière cycling club and are a member of the Comité Ski Savoie.
• We make our facilities available for local events (Safety Shred Days on mountain safety) or for photo exhibitions on the mountains and the environment (by Pierre Tollet).

Promoting local heritage

• We promote visits to discover the local heritage: farms, discovery of local biodiversity, mountaineering photo exhibition in the hotel.

Raising awareness of eco-gestures among our teams and customers

• Our environmental manager has undergone specific training on the challenges of sustainable tourism.
• Our teams are trained in the eco-gestures to be respected in their daily tasks.
• We provide our customers with information on the local flora and fauna, and the eco-gestures to adopt in the mountains.

Encourage the well-being of our employees

• We provide on site accommodation for our teams and they can enjoy our customers services (shopping discount, return of unsold goods, etc.).
• For the 2023-2024 winter season, over 50% of our group workforce is made up of women, including 9 at the helm of our 10 establishments!

Encouraging sustainable food

• In our restaurants, we use fresh, seasonal, French produce and have banned protected species.
• We also offer several vegetarian alternatives à la carte.
• We offer local products for breakfast.
• Anti-gaspi: we ask our customers to choose their half-board menus in advance.

In your apartment

• Remember to turn off appliances on standby. They consume electricity continuously. Use the induction chargers available in the rooms for your cell phones!
• To save water and energy, don’t ask for your sheets and linen to be changed during your stay!
• Fill up your dishwashers and washing machines and use eco modes.
• Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Easy with home automation! 3 75 W bulbs consume as much in one evening as a 60°C washing machine!
• Use the various garbage cans at your disposal to sort out your waste.
• Remember to eat local and in season! Ask our team about cheese, meat and honey producers in the resort.

To get to the resort

• Think of alternatives to the car. Use Tictac Trip to find solutions.(available on www.les-balcons.com.)
• If you have an electric vehicle, you should know that we offer recharging in our parking lot. Ask at reception.
  Transport accounts for 52% of the carbon footprint of a day’s skiing.

On the mountain

• Don’t throw your cigarette butts just anywhere. Pocket ashtrays are available at reception. 1 cigarette butt pollutes 1m3 of snow or 500 liters of water! Up to 7,000 butts are found per day under a single chairlift.
• When skiing, beware of young trees and wildlife: every new track opens the door to an unspoilt area
• Don’t feed wildlife, as this can lead to behavioral problems and disease.
• Take photos of the flowers, with your eyes or with a camera, and leave the flora in its environment.
• Keep or recycle your ski pass! Rechargeable ski pass cards are now the norm in the resort, providing an economical and environmentally-friendly way of reusing your card for each day’s skiing, which you can collect from reception. Keep your card safe from one season to the next, or hand it in at reception at the end of your stay.