Chalet Charlotte, Val d'Isere, France

30 seconds from the slopes and about 4min from the lifts

Marvellously located about 100m from the corner of the nursery slopes, on the edge of the old village

Chalet Charlotte is marvellously located on the edge of the old village, about 100m from the corner of the nursery slopes. You can ski to and from this point.

Situated as it is on some of the most hallowed ground in the skiing world, Charlotte is not our roomiest chalet, but it is a lot more spacious than it ever has been, because the top half of the building has been re-built and extended. The two upper-floor bedrooms have doubled in size and gained big french windows and balconies with views of Bellevarde. These rooms also have the option of good-sized single beds or six-foot doubles (ideal for those who share a bed and those who don’t, for those who hope they might or swear they won’t…).

As an extra touch, each bedside in bedroom 1 and 2 has its own USB port.

As well as the extra space, the chalet gained an extra bathroom upstairs, so there are now three showers, one bath and three loos for its four bedrooms. Each of the top two bedrooms has its own shower and loo, while the lower floor is unchanged: two good bedrooms, a bathroom containing both bath and shower, and a separate wc.

Next to those is the sitting-dining room. With its open-plan kitchen and log fire it is definitely on the cosy side – a little too cosy to share with strangers, so we seldom recommend it to guests who don’t already know each other – but for eight friends, four couples or a family or two, it is perfect.

So why is it such good value? What’s the catch? Why are we not charging extra for the super new top-floor bedrooms? The reason is one tiny detail: the staircase between the first and second floors. It is typical Val d’Isère: they call it a staircase, while anywhere else it would be a black run. Or off-piste! It is seriously steep, and that is why the prices aren’t. If you are lucky enough to have a munificent grandmother who pays for the whole family’s holiday, don’t give her Bedroom 1 unless you want to inherit sooner rather than later…

But for eight people (who can handle a steep staircase), looking for a really inexpensive four-bedroom, three-bathroom chalet with heaps of atmosphere in a brilliant position, Chalet Charlotte is the best!

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’.

• Sweet, surprisingly roomy chalet in a fantastic location
• On edge of old village and nursery slopes of Val d’Isère
• Top floor re-built and extended, so two large upstairs bedrooms each have shower & wc. (NB very steep staircase up to these rooms)
• Option of twin beds or doubles in rooms 1 & 2 (please specify which you prefer when booking)
• USB ports above the beds in bedrooms 1 and 2
• Excellent living room with log fire and balcony
• WiFi
• Good ratio of baths, showers and wcs
• Boot warmers
• On edge of old village, four minutes from lifts, and thirty seconds from slopes
• Bus stops to other major lifts nearby
• Two chalet staff who live out

4 bedrooms for 8 guests
1 bath, 3 showers

Bedrooms in order of preference (in our opinion)

Bedroom 1
Twin/double (13′ x 10’3″) on upper floor with en-suite shower and wc, and a balcony facing west towards the centre of Val d’Isère and Bellevarde.

Bedroom 2
Twin/double (13′ x 10’3″) on upper floor with private shower and wc, and a balcony facing west towards the centre of Val d’Isère and Bellevarde.

Bedroom 3
Twin (10’8″ x 10’3″) on the lower floor, with east-facing balcony.

Bedroom 4
Twin (10’8″ x 10’3″) on the lower floor.

Bathrooms
A wc and a bathroom (containing bath and shower) on the lower floor outside bedrooms 3 and 4. Each upper floor bedroom has its own shower and wc.

Sitting-Dining Room
(19′ x 12′) plus open-plan kitchen. Balcony, log fire, and underfloor heating.

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