In the village centre
Smack in the middle of the main street, a few paces from all of the shops, restaurants, bars, pharmacies, physios and anything else
Slopes 4min walk
If you have noticed the beautiful new building on the main street, between the hotels Savoie and Kandahar, and thought what a fabulous place it would be to buy a flat, but then decided that £2m was possibly a bit much for a holiday home, you will be delighted to hear that there are three magnificent apartments. Ptarmigan is one of them, with four bedrooms and four bathrooms (one with bath and shower, three with showers), and a sauna. For seven or eight guests there is nowhere better to stay in Val d’Isère…
The architect of this building is internationally renowned Michel Covarel, and true to form Chalet Ptarmigan is beautifully finished and fitted with lots of old wood and granite, but also every conceivable mod con.
Ptarmigan has been built around its spacious sitting-dining room, with a log fire and huge sliding windows onto a vast balcony. It faces south, and the views of the mountains across the roofs of the village are quite fantastic, as shown in our photos above. If you are bewildered by the picture of the dinner table, which seems to be in the middle of a château, with the cook working a few halls away, it is because the table is surrounded by mirrors, and the chalet girl was just behind the camera.
The bedrooms are beautiful, with parquet floors and lots of cupboards, good lighting and lovely bathrooms. All can have two good-sized single beds or one six-foot double (please specify which you prefer when booking).
Three of the bedrooms have windows affording views across the silent snow and trees of a garden, some rather attractive buildings, and the Dôme and Signal mountains.
The fourth has no window. Most people never open the window in the Alps in mid-winter, so the French can’t quite understand our obsession with having one. We, however, appreciate that a window is essential: if you can’t see the weather from your bed, what will you talk about while shaving?
So we have decided to sell this room to single travellers with no supplement. One member of the party gets his or her own twin or double room (the beds can be made up either way) without paying more. And should he or she wish to invite a friend, the second person will only pay half price. What a wonderful chat-up line: Actually I’m off to Val in the morning. We have a spare bed in our chalet. Let me pay half… (By the time she – or he – finds out that it was a half-price holiday, it will be too late!)
The location of Chalet Ptarmigan could scarcely be better. In the middle of the main street, a four-minute walk to the lifts and slopes, a few paces from all of the action, yet high enough above it all never to be disturbed (and in any case the soundproofing is eerily good).
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’.
4 bedrooms for 7-8 guests
1 bath, 5 showers
Bedrooms in order of preference (in our opinion)
Bedroom 1
Twin/double (12′ x 10′) with bathroom containing a bath and a shower plus wc.
Bedroom 2
Twin/double (10′ x 8’6″) with shower and wc.
Bedroom 3
Twin/double (12′ x 10′) with shower and wc. Walk-in cupboard.
Bedroom 4
Twin/double (11′ x 10′) but sold as a single because there is no window. Shower and wc en-suite.
Sitting-Dining Room
Bright room (28′ x 13′) with south-facing balcony giving a bird’s eye view over the village centre and beyond. Log fire, TV and WiFi.
Sauna
With its own walk-through shower. Please note that the use of the sauna is at your own risk and that of your party members. We cannot accept responsibility for accidents/injuries that occur during the use of the sauna. Children must be supervised when using the sauna.
Second Bed in Room 4
Extra beds can only be used when one party books the whole chalet.
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
•½ of Espace Killy •Fantastic après •Traditional chocolate box village •Skiable glacier
Ski never-ending pistes and powder, ogle at colossal peaks and cosy Savoie architecture, then end the day with some of the world's most wild and wonderful après ski. Val d'Isere is considered by many to be the best ski resort on earth, and we’re inclined to agree.
Great for •Families •Groups •Non skiers •Catered Chalets
Snow Report: Top 374cm, Bottom 100cm
Snow Forecast: 96cm expected this week
Snow History: March average depth 163.5cm
Approx. airport transfer times depend on conditions:
Chambéry (CMF) | 145km, 1h45 |
Geneva (GVA) | 180km, 2h40 |
Grenoble (GNB) | 210km 2h50 |
Region: | France, Alps. |
First opened: | 1934 |
Val d'Isere lift pass price last reported as €294 (adult 6 day). Ask for a quote when booking Chalet Ptarmigan.
Night skiing: Yes, every Thursday
Val d'Isere has NSEW facing slopes.
Usually open for skiing October - May.
Town altitude: | 1850m |
Top of slopes: | 3300m |
Bottom of piste: | 1550m |
Vertical drop: | 1900m |
Total length of trails: | 300km |
Longest piste: | 10km (Tignes) |
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