1779 - Blair's Hospice
Lord Blair, an English gentleman, finds himself caught in a storm at Montenvers. The shelter under the stone was so uncomfortable that he had a hut built of planks and dry stones, with an inscription above the door: “Blair’s Hospital – Utile Dulci”. Goethe spent a night there in November 1779.
1795 - The Temple of Nature
Blair’s dilapidated cabin soon becomes too small. Marc Théodore Bourrit was commissioned to organise the construction of a more resistant building, to serve as a hospice and observatory for amateurs and scholars.
1840 - The auberge du Montenvers
To serve as ‘an asylum and rest for travellers who visit the remarkable places surrounding Mont-Blanc’, the town council has a small hotel built consisting of four rooms, a dining room, a kitchen and a cellar…
1880 - The hotel du Montenvers
On the eve of the annexation of Savoy to France, Chamonix was already a very attractive tourist centre. The capacity of the Montenvers inn was insufficient and the construction of a large granite ashlar building was launched.
Before the arrival of the train in 1908, the Montenvers site was already the site of great activity. On the terrace, on sunny days, there is the incessant coming and going of muleteers with their animals, chair carriers, walkers and knick-knack-sellers. An animation that would increase after 1908.
2017 - The revival of the Montenvers refuge
Remaining in its original state for a long time, the hotel was no longer suitable for a current clientele. Beautifully renovated in 2017 by the Sibuet Group, which has respected the soul of the place and its history, the hotel also opens in winter. Managed today by the Best Mont Blanc Group, the emblematic establishment has 17 rooms, suites and dormitories, as well as a restaurant.
A stay at the Refuge du Montenvers remains a unique and timeless experience.