Chalet Sanville, Val d'Isere, France

• Ski-in ski-out via the M piste on the Solaise side
• Solaise and Bellevarde ski lifts a 30-second glide away

We are delighted to have added this super four-bedroom chalet to our programme this year. It has two USPs: it is one of the very few chalets in Val d’Isère which really are ski-in, ski-out for all of us, not just free-riders and cliff-jumpers, and it has a swimming pool.

Sanville is a proper, solidly built, free-standing chalet, with four very pleasant bedrooms, three bathrooms and an excellent sitting-dining room. The windows are huge, and the spectacular views south-west up the Charvet or north-east across the slopes to the church and old village are fabulous.

The swimming pool is not the sort of plunge pool we were imagining, where you bang your tummy on the bottom and your head on the end. It measures 10m x 3.5m and is 1.45m deep. It’s a proper pool, and even skiers who think that after a day on Val d’Isère’s slopes one should not have any more energy to burn will find it difficult to resist a few quick lengths before dinner. If you’ve come home cold, leap in to warm up. If you’ve come home hot, dive in. And if it’s -20º and you’ve come home frozen, there’s an excellent sauna by the pool.

Chalet Sanville is actually on the side of the M piste. From Solaise it’s an easy ski. Our photo was taken at the very end of the season, but you can see that there was still snow right to the terrace. The chalet could not be more ski-in. And as for ski-out, you take your skis and boots from the ski room under the house, walk perhaps ten yards, click in, then glide across the M to the Olympique or Solaise rapid bubbles or, our favourite, the Bellevarde Express chairlift. Or perhaps stop off for a gourmet bite at the Étincelle restaurant a mere schuss away.

Being actually on the piste, above the lifts, means that the chalet is not right by the shops, night clubs, church or whatever. It is about a ten-minute walk across the snow from all these, but if the thought of walking for ten minutes through a beautiful valley does not float your boat, worry not: the Rogoney chairlift is the last lift to close, so you can always ski home; the free Train Bleu bus service runs consistently between 08.30 and 21.45, and a Land Rover runs a shuttle service from the Tourist Office to the door every 20 minutes between 17.30 and 20.00. For those who want to dance the night away, Chalet Sanville is not far from the Doudoune night club (and its pre-dinner den of iniquity Cocorico), where there’s a free shuttle running until at least 04.00!

(Please note that the use of the swimming pool and sauna in Chalet Sanville is at your own risk and that of your party members. We cannot accept responsibility for any accidents/injuries that occur during the use of these facilities. Children must be supervised at all times.)

We are extremely well-suited to families. Some of our chalets are large, some small. Some are very smart, some very good value. And some have Extra Beds for children.

Chalets are more relaxing for families than hotels, where parents are constantly worried that their brood will upset fellow guests, or self-catering apartments, where most of someone’s holiday will be spent shopping, cooking and clearing up.

And, perhaps surprisingly, Val d’Isère is the ideal family ski resort. It has good snow, short queues, wide nursery slopes with free lifts, and extensive new beginner runs higher up the mountain at the top of Solaise. (Beginners do, however, need a ski pass to access these higher nursery slopes) The flat village, free and frequent buses, very good ski schools, English-speaking instructors, and lots of British youngsters also help hugely. Where to Ski and Snowboard magazine describes the nursery slopes as ‘95% perfect’.

• Beautiful chalet with private swimming pool and sauna
• Attractive bedrooms, two en-suite and two sharing a shower room
• Huge sitting room with log fire, balconies and fabulous views
• WiFi
• Ski-in ski-out via the M piste on the Solaise side
• Solaise and Bellevarde ski lifts a 30-second glide away
• Evening Land Rover shuttle from village centre
• Ski room with boot warmers
• A chef and an assistant (or two other equally responsible staff members) will live in

Bedrooms in order of preference (in our opinion)

Bedroom 1
Double (17′ x 9′) on second floor, bathroom with double basin, bidet and wc. French window onto a large balcony.

Bedroom 2
Twin (15′ x 13′) on first floor with en-suite bathroom. Wc just outside the bedroom (not private to this bedroom).

Bedroom 3
Double (11′ x 9′) on second floor, sharing a bathroom and separate wc with Bedroom 4.

Bedroom 4
Twin (11′ x 9′) on second floor, sharing a bathroom and separate wc with Bedroom 3.

Sitting/Dining Room
(14′ x 9′ sitting room, 18′ x 10′ dining area) on first floor. Two french windows, each opening onto its own balcony. Large fireplace. WiFi.

Swimming Pool and Sauna
(Pool and surround 39′ x 18′, sauna room 11’6″ x 10′). On the ground floor, with an extra shower and wc.

We start with a proper breakfast. Fruit juice, porridge, cereals from Rude Health, bacon, eggs, baguettes straight from the famous local bakery, yoghurt, tea and fresh coffee from Nespresso machines (with instant or infusions for those who prefer them). On one morning breakfast will be self-service with fresh croissants and pains au chocolat delivered to your chalet.

You return from the slopes to find bread and jam, a freshly-baked cake (except on staff days off), tea and coffee left out for you. If you would like hot chocolate, please inform your chalet staff (and tell them how you like it!).

Dinner is where we pull out all the stops on five nights of your holiday. Our policy on food is straightforward. We start with the best cuts of meat and the best fresh fruit and vegetables, not really counting the cost. Everything we need is available in Val d’Isère. Most people are very happy with our normal formula of canapés followed by a three-course, fixed-menu, dinner-party-style meal. The cuisine is largely French, though with a fusion of other influences.

A small proportion of our guests wishes to eat different food from the rest of their party. If you request a different diet, we will be able to offer one alternative meal so that the normal meal or this alternative will be suitable for vegetarians, vegans, dairy free, no red meat or no onions/no garlic.

Or you could tailor-make a menu for your party for the week and ask us to cook, say, two fish meals, one chicken, one red meat (when vegetarians can simply not have the meat) and one vegetarian meal – or whatever combination suits your group. This way everyone enjoys the same meals all together and, dare we say it, eats a little more healthily.

If a diet is more complicated than those mentioned above, we may have to make a charge for special ingredients but we will let you know in advance. If you want us to buy in special non-dairy milks and yoghurts there will be a charge in the resort, much the same way as the alternative wines mentioned below.

There are some diets we cannot cater for. We regret that we do not have the separate fridges, etc., required for Kosher diets, we do not have access to Halal meats, and we cannot guarantee that our chalets will be nut-free.

With dinner, we serve free unlimited quantities of a selection of very drinkable French AOC wine and vin de pays. This is, unfortunately, only with dinner, not breakfast, and we stop serving the wine when the coffee appears.

We also have a wine list from which you can buy everything from slightly smarter wine to Châteaux Lafite-Rothschild or d’Yquem. We sell these wines at less than they cost because you are not drinking the house wine.

Damage deposit for all bookings