Chalet Abade Val d'Isere

Great Chalet. Great Resort.

Val d’ Isère is the quintessential ‘something for everyone’ resort. You can take your party of family and friends, whether they be thrill seekers or lunch loungers, and have the ski holiday of a lifetime.

Chalet Abade is a home mountain home that will welcome you all, however diverse, with the warmth of a log fire and the sparkle of an alpine panorama. It is spacious, it is elegant, it is brand newly renovated. It sits right next to a ski piste. You click into skis (or boards) and slide straight down to a mega-bubble, with heated seating for ten people, that whisks you up into one of Europe’s most prestigious ski areas. As well as to a snow-sure beginners’ area at the top station. This is Val d’ Isère.

You are probably aware of Val’s reputation as a magnet for adventurous skiers. Its attractions, however, are more inclusive than you might have thought. Yes, the most ambitious members of your skiing party will never be bored, whether it’s distance, a powder bowl, or a challenging narrow descent, that turns up their adrenaline. But opportunities for all levels are rich. Steep lower slopes fan out into wide, often sunny, pistes and a fabulous, interconnected ski domain. Progressing beginners will soon turn into enthusiasts as they emerge from the nursery slopes in the village to the area at the top of the Solaise lift. There are snowboard friendly routes and a snow park that caters for riders from those taking their first centimetres of air to those whose flips draw crowds.

At Chalet Abade, all this is at the tips of your skis before they have even emerged from their resting place in the ski room. We all know that an easy life and family ski holiday fun go hand in glove-warmed hand. Here, life is easy, with a good measure of luxury thrown in. On the ground floor, along with that well-placed ski room, there are two double/twin bedrooms and a bunkroom for four aspiring ski racers. All en suite, of course. The top floor has two large doubles, both of which are worthy of the title Master. One is lightly larger and has a balcony, but they are spacious with seating areas and large bathrooms with separate showers. They look to offer a rather delectable opportunity for the occasional retreat from the more boisterous members of the party.

After another epic day on the mountain, you can ski almost straight into the Hamman and let the steam warm you to the core. Or perhaps a massage in the treatment room will iron out kinks in the muscles. Or you sink into the hot tub on the terrace looking up towards those slopes where, not long ago, you were making your triumphant (you made it down, that’s the thing) descent.

The evening then fans out, somewhat like a wide and sunny ski slope. Drinks on the terrace, dining by a blazing fire, board-games with the family, a movie in the cosy cinema room. Or hit the town! Val has managed to avoid developing into a one of those bland (polite for ugly) resorts. Modernisation has been all about traditional materials and prettification, it is sophisticated and charming, the kind of place that is pleasant to go for a stroll. Restaurants range from Michelin stars to the humble fondue, you can large it up in a foot-stomping venue or get mellow in a piano bar. It really does have something for everyone and, often, everyone often wants a little bit of everything. At Ski Boutique we know that it isn’t a dichotomy. You can be an enthusiast of the steep and deep AND a lover of a luscious lunch. Why not have it all!