Yellowstone Ski Lodge
Best of the rest Skiing Life
FIVE OTHER SATELLITE HIDEAWAYS
paper and the car-free centre with its mere handful of shops and bars allows for the children to roam free...
And where else in the Alps can you let your children schluss down the slopes on their own, while you watch them with one eye, from the comfort of your chalet deck across the rim of your glass of white wine.
❆ Where to stay can ski in and out at the beginning and
the end of each day. Forego the high profi le
glamorous resorts where your accommodation is bound to be miles from the school and nursery slopes, and opt instead for its satellite neighbour. These invariably friendly child– friendly villages attached to the big ski areas off er lower prices, shorter queues amid a genuine local atmosphere. Sainte-Foy in France is just such a fi nd – a beautiful, overlooked village sandwiched between its stellar sisters Tignes and Val d’Isère. Actually, Sainte-Foy has long been a secret escape for native ski buff s and instructors on their days off – the expansive Espace Killy ski area is easily accessible and its untracked, off -piste powder is renowned. For families, there is plenty of relaxing easy
greens and blues; four lifts servicing 30kms of runs and taking you up the 2,612m of the Col de l’Aiguille. The family skiing experience here is unstressful and gentle as it is low-key and low-tech – ski passes are still issued on
*Top Tip Take the TGV from
Paris to Bourg-Sainte- Maurice, a 10-minute
transfer from Sainte-Foy, to avoid the hassle of budget airlines. Or fl y with Air
France from Heathrow to Annecy, from about £140 each way.
Yellowstone ski lodge at the bottom of the nursery slopes and a stroll away from the ski school is a light-fi lled, chic and unpretentious interior which makes this the perfect rental for a family group, although during certain weeks of the year, it works equally well as a hotel. There is a den for the kids, ping-pong tables and other games, a small gym and hot tub. Adults can enjoy the large L-shaped living rooms that open on to hammock- strung decks with views over the Tarentaise Valley. A nearby heli-pad will whisk you over to Italy’s pristine powder fi elds, while non-skiers can snowshoe over to meet friends on the slopes for lunch. From £11,500 per
week, including food, alcohol, chef, housekeeper and driver. Sleeps 12. Four nights from £600 a room. Six-day ski passes, approx
£120 each adult, £109 each child; www.
yellowstoneskilodge.co.uk;
www.saintefoy.net.
❆ Where to eat A clutch of bistros service the slopes at lunchtime, the most atmospheric being La Brevette, a rustic herders’ hut and halfway house for cattle moving between the upper and lower summer pastures. There are sleeping quarters above the wood-burning stove and a simple menu that off ers copious amounts of vin chaud at a snip of what it would cost in Val d’Isère.
For further information ❆
www.espritski.com Established 29 years ago, Esprit Ski is the UK’s leading family ski holiday specialist with a huge range of childcare and family ski chalets in France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. ❆
www.skipeak.com Off ering quality skiing holidays to Vaujany, a charming village resort with direct access to the mega Alpe d’Huez ski area. ❆
www.powderbyrne.co.uk For parents who prefer to have their children taken off their hands (they attend the brilliant Powder Byrne ski schools ) so that they can ski in grown-up company. ❆
www.ernalow.co.uk Experts to the Alps since 1972. “Erna Low make me feel like I am their only customer. The individual treatment, responsiveness, and fl exibility are truly amazing, especially in today’s market...” ❆
www.clubmed.co.uk The best thing about Club Med say parents is that it is
such great value and the buff et food is so good. Its resort in Cervina in Italy is high enough to make Easter skiing a very viable option.
ç Chalet Abode
is located in rural Saint- Martin de Belleville, but has links to France’s Trois Vallées ski area;
it’s a 100-year-old Savoyard farmhouse which blends contemporary elegance with rustic charm. Seven nights half-board from £695 a person (sleeps 8 to 10) with Alpine Club;
wwwthealpineclub.co.uk.
é Les Granges d’en Haut is on the edge of Les Houches with its gentle family friendly slopes. Only 10 minutes
away is glitzy Chamonix with its vast ski area and giant verticals. Les Granges is 14 chalets, self-catering but with hotel facilities such as spa and room service available too in case you don’t feel up to whipping up a souffl é after a day on the slopes. Three nights from €3,600 for 8 people in a 4-room chalet, including breakfasts and access to the spa; 0033 4 50 54 65 36,
www.grangesdenhaut.com.
è Maison Blanche et Verte is the fi rst luxury chalet in the Portes du Soleil resort of Chatel, with giant picture
windows off ering sweeping views over this charming traditional Alpine village that accesses the largest ski region in Europe. It comes with indoor pool, gym and private cinema, and sleeps 12. Seven nights, from £1,250 a person including transfers and all meals except lunch and wines;
www.maisonblancheetverte.com; 020 3074 1130.
ê Villa Gella, is the fi rst fi ve-star rental chalet in the Bulgarian mountains, with private swimming pool and
delicious food all locally sourced. Sleeps 12; from €7,200 per week for exclusive hire, half-board;
www.villagella.com.
www.fi rsteleve
nmagazine.co.uk Michaelmas 2011 FirstEleven 73
å Chalet Auriane is a hidden gem in the lovely resort of La Tzoumaz in the Four Vallées region
of Switzerland. This new on-piste chalet sleeps 12 and off ers fantastic access to the facilities and buzz of Verbier; www.
chaletauriane.com.
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