Chalet La Couchire, Val d'Isere, France

This location is La Couchire’s real USP. Much of the best skiing in Val d’Isère starts 75 seconds from its door. The Fornet cable car might not win any awards for architecture (though the Pompidou Centre did), but it serves the best snow and emptiest slopes in the area. There are pistes for everybody, from long, easy blues to the wicked black Forêt mogulfield, and an infinite off-piste area. Now that even the highest runs have snow cannons, this is some of the most snow-sure skiing in Europe. Guests from La Couchire are already in the powder while everyone else is on the bus, and they can be on the slopes of Solaise in no time, via the up-and-over or the never-busy Laisinant Express.

Le Fornet is at the very end of the Haute Tarentaise valley, where the road becomes piste. Although it is some distance from the village centre, it is not inconvenient for shops, ski schools or nightlife. The free bus waits just outside La Couchire until the early hours, and gets you to the village centre in about five minutes.

La Couchire is a stunning five-bedroom chalet, built for us a few years ago by Ingrid, Magali and Cédric Bonnevie. Bedroom 1 is the biggest bedroom. Bedroom 5 is quite a lot smaller. But all the rooms are warm, wooden and welcoming, with very smart en-suite bathrooms. Four rooms have the choice of large twin or vast double beds (please specify which you prefer when you book).

The dining room is lovely, with a log fire and spectacular views from the table. The downstairs sitting room is enormous, with a big fireplace and even better views of the pretty hamlet of Le Fornet and the mountainsides leading up to Val d’Isère’s glacier.

The Michelin two-star Atelier d’Edmond restaurant is close by, and on the slopes just above are the excellent Edelweiss, many people’s favourite mountain eatery, and Le Signal, recently named best mountain restaurant in Europe.

Incidentally, when we say that Ingrid, Magali and Cédric built the chalet, we don’t mean they watched the workmen and hung the occasional curtain. Val d’Isère people traditionally build their own houses. Their plan is to live in it as soon as we (you) have paid off their mortgage. Which is why the chalet has gone from eight bedrooms to five this winter: Cédric now lives in his part. You may see him in the front hall from time to time. He’s quite a useful person to know, being the deputy director of the Piste Service, and the man who tells us on the radio every morning where to ski and where not to. Ingrid has always lived in an annexe off that same front hall (she’s an instructress and ex-racer, so also a good contact), while poor Magali still seems to live in the garage, though we never see her. She is a pisteur, and definitely the pisteur we’d most like to be rescued by…

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 costing half the normal price (without flights), or 85% of the normal price if flights are included (though we cannot guarantee flights for extra beds).

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’.

5 bedrooms for 10 guests
3 baths, 2 showers

Bedrooms in order of preference (in our opinion)

Bedroom 1
Huge twin/double (L-shaped, outer walls 18′ x 16′) under eaves on top floor, up the same staircase as Room 3. Vast windows to watch sunrise over Italy. Bathroom with wc.

Bedroom 2
Twin/double (11′ x 10′) on ground floor, french windows to wide terrace with superb views in all directions. Bathroom with corner bath and wc.

Bedroom 3
Twin/double (12′ x 10′) under eaves on top floor, up the same stairs as Room 1. French window to balcony looking south up pistes. Shower-room with double basins and wc.

Bedroom 4
Twin/double (16′ x 8’6″) on ground floor, looking west. Shower-room with twin basins and wc.

Bedroom 5
Double (11′ x 9′) on first floor, by the dining room, looking east. Bathroom with wc.

Sitting Room
(17′ x 16′) On ground floor, with french windows to wide terrace. Superb views in all directions. Fireplace. TV, DVD and WiFi.

Dining Room
(10′ x 8′ not including the kitchen) On first floor, with french windows to large balcony. Open-plan kitchen.

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.