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Ski chalets If you’re planning a ski

holiday with your family, a
group of friends or even by
yourself you can’t pick a
better option than a ski chalet,
says Mary Townshend.

W
hatever type of holi-
day you go on,
where you stay is as
important as what
you see and who
you meet.
This truism is nowhere more true than
when it comes to picking the right accom-
modation for skiing holidays. Of course the
Arnaud Malon

skiing or snowboarding itself is bound to

take centre stage, but you will certainly
enjoy your trip more if you have a
Picture: Scott Hughes

The Travel & Leisure Magazine 23

 comfortable and homely base. And while ski
When money is no object… hotels and apartments can be fine, one of the
most popular choices is the ski chalet, pound
If you have a lot of money to spend then you can have a truly luxurious time in for pound probably still the best value for
your ski chalet. One of the most expensive options is Game Creek Chalet at money way to enjoy a ski holiday, especially
the rather nice Vail in Colorado, a private retreat 10,000ft up the side of Vail in these credit crunching times of rising fuel
Mountain accessible only by Sno-Cat. For your $2,800 a night you get all the and food bills.
obvious options plus a private chef and your own ski instructor, three
bedrooms with vaulted ceilings and bathrooms and an outdoor hot tub. More Best Choice
information at http://lodgeatvail.rockresorts.com. The best ski chalets are a mixture of hotel
In Europe, chances are that like Sarah Ferguson, Diana Ross and James Blunt, and weekend holiday home and have been
you will be heading to Verbier in Switzerland to splash out, a resort which is popular, particular with Brits but also other
really smartening itself up spectacularly. One of the top spots here is Richard ski-loving nations, heading for European
Branson’s nine bedroom, 18 person chalet The Lodge, part of the Virgin Limited snow for the last 40 years. Initially, the set-
Edition programme – two years ago it was a normal ski hotel but it has now up in most catered chalets (you can choose
undergone a £3.5m refit and been completely redesigned. self-catered ones but for many skiers that
Between December and April, seven nights will cost you – take a deep breath largely defeats the object) was a bit rough
here - from £43,500 (for up to 18 guests) which to be fair does include most and ready and, let’s be frank, the earliest
meals, all drinks (including champagne), a 24-hour driver service, beauty therapist chalet girls were not necessarily the best
and chef trained by Raymond Blanc, but not flights. Or there are shorter deals cooks or cleaners in the world – the infa-
until October from £665 per person for three nights. For that money you also mous cake at the end of a day’s skiing was
get to enjoy a vast lounge, heated oak floors (no shoes please), 50-inch plasma not always a treat to be anticipated, although
television, pool table, swimming pool, Jacuzzi and bunk room for six children plus the lakes of free (if rather low quality) plonk
Rick Audet

its own Kids Club. More details at www.thelodge.virgin.com made up for it. Indeed, guests often did a
fair bit of work themselves.

24 The Travel & Leisure Magazine


Arnaud Malon
During the 1980s, standards improved con-
siderably as lots of small independent chalet
operators – including keen skiers investing
their city bonuses - entered the market and
since then competition has kept those stan-
dards on a generally high level. Translated
into what you should expect that means a
good chalet will have ensuite bedrooms,
high quality meals, wi-fi connections,
maybe a sauna and a minibus. Chalets have
Lynn B
come a long way since their early days when
they were traditionally used as lock-ups for
cattle.
Chalets are also being increasingly fea-
tured on various television property pro-
grammes from an investor's point of view as
well as on series such as Grand Designs
which take a more aesthetic approach.
If you’ve never tried a ski chalet holiday
this is roughly what you should expect. For a
start, depending on the size of the chalet you
could be sharing it with other skiers – sizes
of chalet range from something cosy enough
for half a dozen people up to something
more monumental for 50 or 60 bodies - in
which case you’ll get to meet them at meal
times and in the communal sitting rooms.
These areas are usually well stocked with
books, DVDs, and games and are good spots
to simply kick back and relax with a beer. If
you want exclusive use of a large chalet but
can’t fill every bed, sometimes you can pay
an empty bed supplement for the odd one
left over.
‘Chalets have come
a long way since
...they were tradi-
tionally used as
lock-ups for cattle.’
Your ski chalet host/girl/boy – who can
help with general resort information - will
prepare your daily breakfast and indeed
serve you tea and coffee in bed. You’ll be
exercising for the rest of the day so there’s
almost always a wide choice of fresh crois-
sants, bread, fruit, yoghurt and cereals as
well as full cooked breakfasts before you
head out to the slopes, and when you come
back there’ll be tea and coffee waiting for
you with the traditional cakes and biscuits to
fill you up. While you’re away, the chalet
person will tidy and clean up and if they
have time nip off to the slopes themselves
briefly to enjoy themselves.
They will also prepare your three or four
course evening meals, with special menus
for special occasions such as Christmas and
New Year, all of which comes with free wine
The Travel & Leisure Magazine 25
 WIN A
HOLIDAY
ref: T&Lm
ag

Gourmet cuisine, sauna, games room,

near to lift...
Small company – big on service
• World’s second largest Ski area - Les Arcs, Paradiski
• Charming 18th century en suite chalets
• Independent and owner-run
4 star ski in snowchateaux
ski out chalets Chalet holidays fit for a King
www.alpinetracks.com www.snowchateaux.co.uk
dan@snowchateaux.co.uk
01248 717440 0800 066 4996 or 0033 631924793

Peak Ski
Verbier

26 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

 Teri’s
Top
Tips
If you and your friends go skiing
regularly, instead of renting somebody
else’s chalet, you could consider buying
your own property. For example, Alpine
Homes International
(www.alpinehomesintl.com) have
apartments from £116,000 and offer
leaseback schemes which give a
guaranteed annual rental income. There
are various UK agents who specialise in
ski accommodation such as Savills
(www.savills.co.uk) and if you are
thinking of investing, don’t limit your
search to the most famous spots in
France and Switzerland, cast your net
Omar Ansari.

further afield to countries like Bulgaria

which have great growth potential.

and coffee: don’t worry if you have special However they will usually still provide a chalets are more child-friendly in terms of
dietary requirements as these can be catered cold breakfast and afternoon tea and give their layout than others. Some will offer
for if you give enough advance notice. And, you suggestions about the decent places to childcare options and qualified staff or can
best of all, they’ll do all the washing up. eat in town. arrange for qualified nannies to come to the
Most chalet hosts will take one day off a If you’re skiing with children, it’s worth chalet and help with pickups and dropoffs.
week, giving you the opportunity to eat out. doing your research quite carefully as some And of course some chalets are simply bet-
ter located if you have children in terms of
proximity to slopes and ski schools. Check
Yo ur Sk i Ch ale t In fo m at io n too on age limits as sometimes children are
n of chalet operators to choose
not accepted unless you book an entire
There is a bewilderingly vast selectio chalet or are simply not welcome at all.
matt with some specialising,
from in destinations from Banff to Zer Usually you would only book a chalet if
ips.co.uk) in Merible. If
such as Fish and Pips (www.fishandp you are part of a group, however small. But
best to be as precise as you
you’re searching on the internet it’s in recent years there has been an upsurge in
mind too that most chalets
can with your search terms. Bear in interest in providing skiing holidays for
in the chalets but also in chalet
have no smoking policies (not only people travelling alone. Among the opera-
ns for starting your search:
minibuses). Here are a few suggestio tors in this singles sector is ColdFusion
www.thechaletexperience.com Chalets (www.coldfusionchalets.co.uk)
e luxury end of the market)
www.skichalets.co.uk (at the mor who, in the nicest possible way, say no to
et accommodation and work
www.justchalets.com (offer budg families and children but say yes to offer-
their ski accommodation
closely with Easyjet and Ryan Air as ing the chance to “meet other people on a
providers) holiday where people communicate as ‘I’
0282546)
www.alpinetracks.com (Tel 0800 and not ‘we’.” Their successful repeat
www.skitotal.com bookings suggest that they are on to a win-
sometimes a little inconspicuous,
Your chalet hosts are an essential, if ning idea.
to hear their side of the
part of your holiday so it’s interesting Naturally, what will be uppermost in your
ongoing series of articles
story too. The Daily Telegraph has an mind when selecting your skiing or snow-
chalet boy in which they lift
written by an anonymous bar girl and boarding holiday will be the quality of the
as the cleaning and cooking).
the lid on their experiences (as well snow and ease of access to the resort. But
ing before you pack your bags
Nicely written, they are worth read don’t be tempted to pick any old chalet.
at
this year! You can find all the pieces Remember, you want to have something
tele gra ph.c o.uk /tra vel/ hubs/chaletconfidential/
http://www. impressive to say when the subject turns to
your holiday. TL

The Travel & Leisure Magazine 27