Choice of style

Now that I have done it twice, once using refuges and once with a tent and food, I'm in a position to say which I prefer, but can't really recommend either one to someone whose capacity and interests I do not know. 

For me it is now a total no-brainer to go as independently as possible. I slept a whole lot better, and I ate better. Plus I was more intensely and enjoyable engrossed in the hike this way. I was happy to have had a few cabanes which were most fortuitously located just when the weather was at its most miserable. These were all empty except for the same French couple on two occasions. The gites I stayed in were fine and sociable, but I actually failed to get to sleep in either one. The campsites were bearable out of season but would be significantly less appealing at the height of summer.