Accomodation in Val d’isère
02. Chalet Holidays in Val d’Isère
The "chalet holiday" is a particularly British institution – a house party in the Alps. Your chalet becomes your home from home for the week with the added benefit that someone else does all of the cooking and cleaning while you just relax and enjoy yourself.
Traditionally, a tour operator rented a chalet for the whole season (or sometimes actually owned their chalets) and provided a total package including your flight, transfer from the airport up to Val d'Isère, accommodation, breakfast and afternoon tea every day, and dinner with wine six nights a week.
Generally, you have a chalet girl or boy who may live in the chalet with you or live out and who acts as your host during the week, taking care of the chalet, cooking and cleaning. In higher-end chalets you may have a private chef who does the cooking as well as a chalet manager and one or more hosts – some of these chalets are basically a super-yacht in the Alps.
For decades the traditional chalet holiday was by far the most popular way for British skiers to spend their annual week in the Alps, and it's easy to see why. Standards vary from fairly basic to ultra-luxurious, but the atmosphere is generally informal and relaxed so it can be a great option for both parents and children. You treat the chalet as your own home for the week, meals are included most nights so there are fewer extras to budget for, and most operators will happily serve an early high tea for younger children if required.
Brexit and Covid between them have changed the face of the British chalet market. Ten or fifteen years ago there were close to thirty tour operators offering catered chalet holidays in Val d'Isère. Today there are fewer than ten, and most of those have moved away from selling traditional package holidays with flights and airport transfers included.
For most people that's not really a problem. Budget airlines and the large number of shared airport transfer services now available make it easy enough to arrange your own travel, while buying accommodation separately has also opened chalet holidays up to a much more international clientele. Whereas catered chalets were once occupied almost exclusively by “the Brits”, it's now common to find skiers from all over the world staying in them.
As far as chalet companies are concerned, we couldn't really recommend anyone more highly than Le Ski if you still want the traditional package holiday including flights and transfers, or YSE if you're happy to arrange your own travel.
If you fly, YSE will still pick you up at the airport, which is pretty much the best of both worlds. Both YSE and Le Ski have been running ski holidays for as long as we've been hiring equipment, and their values and personality are remarkably similar to what you'll find at Snowberry.
