In reply to hairy51:
Let's not exaggerate, huts aren't usually that bad for sleeping
As for guardians, they are variable, like any humans - I found a really miserable one in the Tete Rousse hut in 2002, they didn't seem to like us doing our own cooking although this was standard practice years before. Speaking to locals they confirmed that this was the trend, especially in crowded huts like on Mont Blanc, but the same year we had a really nice stay in the Torino hut. Recently on ukc someone complained about the Torino hut so it shows what it shows!
Coming back to the choice hut or bivvy, when I was climbing regularly in my youth it was mostly a question of price as even with an Alpine Club reduction it was dear for us, nowadays I would prefer huts. If you want to do an early start, 1 or 2 in the morning for example, I find it easier from a hut than from a tent and the evening in a hut has it's pleasures - the Couvercle hut with the view is hard to beat, and also it makes your sack a lot lighter if you don't take bivvy gear, tent, stove etc. which matters if you find the hut slogs hard!
A compromise is to go up out of season and use the winter hut if there is one. The Albert 1er winter hut is the old wooden hut built, I think, with money from the original Albert who was king of Belgium and a keen climber - a small room there has a name plate for his family IIRC. When I was there in May 2005 I was on my own, there are no guardians in winter huts, so I could choose the bunk I wanted, loads of blankets... No water though, I had to walk up to the bivvy sites above the hut where water can be found when the sun shines, and no matches to be found which was a pain as I'd forgotten mine... all old wood, lots of character.