 Poster: A snowHead
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Anyone who's stayed in chalets will have had good, bad and ugly experiences. The standard can vary very widely indeed. In my case most have been good fun with good food, though a lot of these dwellings are obviously run on the cheap if the holiday price is super-competitive.
The most uproarious and entertaining experience I ever had was in the Chalet Le Fjord, Val d'Isere in the company of an Australian Air Force group who all had nicknames for each other such as 'Screech'. Usually it's a more sedate bunch of well-behaved (if slightly predictable) Scrabble-players from suburbia.
Here, The Guardian gives advice on selecting a chalet that works in terms of location, food, company, kids, wine (always the x factor) etc. etc.
Strangely one four-letter word that's of supreme importance isn't mentioned: beds.
If anyone knows how to guarantee a good night's sleep in a comfortable chalet bed, please advise below ... or give any other tips on how to sort the wheat from the chalet chaff.
If you've any favourite chalets, please nominate them. Or be a spoilsport and keep the secrets to yourself!
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 18-12-04 13:40; edited 2 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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After a hard day on snow and a hard evening in the bar, bar, restaurant, bar, bar, nightclub a good night's sleep is rarely a problem...
You might find that www.mountainhighs.co.uk in Morzine have a rather nice chalet or two.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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The Beavertail Lodge at Fernie. Quite the best chalet I have ever stayed in. Outstanding food and hospitality. Stunning views. And the hosts looked after me superbly after injury knocked me out from skiing.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Les Marmottes in Chantemerle. Excellent hosts, outstanding food, superb wine (host is a wine merchant), 200m from the lifts, great views, charming village, friendly locals and always a good mix of guests from Canadians, to Italians, French and the other Gallic lot, the Welsh (well you can't have everything I suppose). Oh, and the beds are fabulously comfortable - not too soft and not too hard.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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There are not that many occasions when I have paid full price for a chalet. I normally used to book at the last minute, with a hefty discount. As a result, my impressions were usually favourable.
The secret if you are sharing with strangers is a bit of give and take.
Of course the game has moved on a bit. At one time chalets were largely the province of small companies based in Fulham and advertising in the Sunday Times.
The chalet girl ( it always used to be a girl) would be a Sloane Ranger with (allegedly) Cordon Bleu cooking qualifications. If business was slack, her family would come out to stay for that particular week. She would often have a brother named 'Guy'. The only 'Guy' I have encountered apart from these situations is the one that goes on top of the bonfire.
The worst chalet experience I had was going to Val d'Isere one year. At the airport I noticed a large group dressed in black with top hats, some of whom were playing bongo drums. At the airport they got on the same transfer coach. So, for three or four hours, I was sat dreading the worst, but happily they ended up in a different chalet hotel. It transpires they were a group of mad medics/dentists who had a run in with the mayor the previous year and had left town under a cloud.
Nowadays I tend to avoid chalets. I have more funds and prefer a decent hotel.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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David Goldsmith, for a good night's sleep I recommend this.
Wish I had some . . . .
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Jonpim, sooner you get out to Belle Plagne the better, Mate. 5:29 and still looking for artificial sleep inducement. 
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kuwait_ian, you need to improve your arithmatic. Or you got the time difference wrong. I posted at 02:29.
Up then coz of gippy tummy. Now off work with same. (Was sick on train  )
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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A long time ago in Val d'Isere, I think it was in the Kandahar (which has now been rebuilt) our beds were so bad, the springs had broken and the mattresses just sagged so it was impossible to sleep (however much of the seriously bad wine we drunk), Mr Q took the door off the ensuite shower room and put it under the mattress. The staff didn't notice for the whole week!
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Jonpim, is that the structure of moronic acid by any chance?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Jonpim, sorry - keep forgetting I'm on GMT + 3. Sorry to hear you're crook. Hope it gets better soon.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Mark Hunter,
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the other Gallic lot, the Welsh (well you can't have everything I suppose).
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At least having Welsh people there helps to make up for the holiday's shortcomings 
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hyweljenkins,  To tell the truth, the guy who was Welsh was a riot - had us all in stiches all week.
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You know it makes sense.
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Chalet Bartavelle - Meribel. In a little hamlet between Meribel & Les Allues, next door to a farm, so you feel more like you are in rural France, as opposed to a big ski station. Run by ex-chef from the Oxo Tower so you will seriously indulge! Now featured in Alistair Sawday's Special Place to Stay series - Mountains of Europe - http://www.sawdays.co.uk/search/display.php?FileID=ski4178. Can confirm that the beds are OK!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Just got back from the Chalet Tolima in Val d'Isere, through SkiWorld. An excellent chalet, very well priced, with an excellent host - Simon.
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FAQ
