Chalet in the Alps

A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to get away to the mountains for a few nights. We're now tied to the school holiday system which generally means you need to book holidays at least 6 months in advance! We managed to plan this pretty last minute as we didn't want to book a full week's holiday skiing and we were lucky that the chalet we found allowed shorter stays. This gorgeous chalet was called Ferme du Ciel located in Samoens, France.

 
The chalet is owned and run by a couple of British ex-pats, Su & Andy. They oversaw the incredible transformation of a 350 year old derelict barn into a luxurious, modern, light filled chalet.

The double height living areas framed by huge glass windows with a view over the valley and surrounding mountains were a joy to relax in. There is also a games / tv room filled with books and toys and a Nintendo for the older children. 

Food was included so every morning there was a fantastic breakfast spread including bacon and eggs. After a day on the slopes you came back to some freshly baked afternoon tea and I was really impressed with the 3 course dinners that were served up. One night we had a bbq served with a great array of salads and another night we enjoyed the quintessentially French Beef Bourguignon. We stayed at a catered chalet a few years ago and every night they had classic dishes from the Haute Savoie which tends to be very creamy, cheesy and rich so I think it's a good idea that they try to mix up the food here. Also they cooked up separate dinners for the kids that was served at 6pm which was perfect and my girls loved their mini toad in the holes they had one night!

 

Another highlight was the outside jacuzzi and sauna room, perfect after a long day's skiing.

 
You can stay at the chalet all year round and it would be great in summer to dine in this inside / outside dining room.

 
As I'm writing this post I'm thinking about what a fantastic stay we had there and what made it stand out? One of the big things has to be the chalet itself and what has been achieved with the renovation. I loved the huge glass windows paired with big old wooden beams, the airy living spaces, the double height fire place. This combined with really great hosts and also a friendly team running the chalet where no request was ever a bother. Other things that made it feel luxurious were an electric drying rack for boots, a drying room for jackets and gloves, spare towels for the spa and sauna and the rooms included Molton Brown toiletries. Heated towel rails in the bathroom were nice as well.

We hope to be back sometime in the future!

MP