Refuges and Huts
Alpine tourists talk about staying in “huts” and “refuges,” which gives the impression of bare wood shelters that might consist of a platform, roof, and thin walls, or perhaps no walls at all. Though there are facilities like that in the Alps, those are not what is means by “hut” or “refuge.”
Huts, refuges, and the related auberges are a combination of hostel and hotel. Lots of them have private bedrooms, sometimes with en suite bath facilities, sometimes with bathrooms and toilets in the hall. They might have rooms of dorm accommodations, with multiple bunkbeds lined up. Some have platforms lined with mattresses, where travelers cozy up to one another.
What you get depends at least partly on what you pay.
Almost all these places have a heavy emphasis on food. They serve hearty, multi-course dinners, typically at communal tables. People buy carafes or even bottles of wine – no civilized European dines without wine!
We chose Alpine Exploratory’s “comfy” mix, which put us in hotels wherever possible, but it wasn’t always possible. Probably half our nights were in some form of hut/refuge/auberge. It was fine. Most of time, we had rooms to ourselves. When we didn’t, it was all right – just one night of lousy sleep won’t do lasting harm, and the communal arrangements are meant to be part of the “charm” of Alpine trekking.
Not gonna lie, we prefer our own space. But at least we never had to camp, and we made some of our best trekking friends at those communal dinners.