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The European catered ski chalet style holiday/vacation, is a brilliant way for you to add another level of enjoyment to your skiing experience. Over a 1m skiers each year are now taking advantage of this type of accommodation and the numbers continue to grow. There are a number travel companies offering fully catered European Chalet style ski accommodation, indeed some have featured catered chalet ski holidays for many years.
House party
The ideal Catered Ski chalet has a resident chef and ski host and is run like a house party. It can provide you with an opportunity to meet like minded people and make new friends. No matter if you're a single, couple or a group, there is usually some one to ski with and enjoy social events. Alternatively, you may wish to book exclusively for your family or group taking over a whole chalet.
The majority of people who experience chalet style accommodation never return to hotel based ski travel. However, as there are many variations on a common theme you should always check out the style of accommodation and catering on offer. Individual chalets may vary from luxury chalets with a resident chef, bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, or very basic accommodation with bunk beds in a shared room, shared bathrooms and very basic food. Make sure you have a full description!
A chalet holiday usually provides breakfast, afternoon tea (English style) and in the evening a 3 or 4 course dinner often with complementary refreshments. Some luxury chalets actually cost more than a hotel, but remember you make a substantial saving by having your catering included. Indeed, dining out in top resorts tends to be expensive - it can often cost more than your hotel accommodation!
In a reasonably large chalet you normally have two chalet staff to look after you. Most are young, but usually in the better chalets at least one is a qualified chef or has formal catering experience and qualification. The big attraction for chalet staff is that this is their opportunity to gain real catering experience and have a great time skiing. The food in the best chalets is exceptionally good, however, in the worst it's like school dinners! - You tend to get what you pay for!!
What you don't get in a chalet holiday - Limited or no choice of menu. However, in most chalets you can pre book a vegetarian option and make clear what you don't like. Room service is not normally provided in a chalet. Indeed traditionally, chalet guests tend to help keeping the chalet tidy just like you would as a guest in someone's home.
Some big questions to ask your catered chalet provider
Do I have a private/en-suite bathroom?
How far is the chalet from the skiing?
How many bedrooms are in the chalet and what is the maximum number of guests?
How many staff are resident in the chalet?
And perhaps ask for sample dinner menu!
Other...
Is it non smoking?
Does the chalet have TV, DVD, Video, etc.
Does it have a Hot Tub or Pool?
Does the operator own or lease the chalet? (We believe this is most important as owner operators tend to have better quality chalets).
Some chalets offered by the larger operators are packaged to include flights and transfer from airport to chalet. Independent Chalet operators usually don't offer flights but do offer transfers (transport) from the local airport.
We at Ski wildfire cater for the independent skier who prefers to make their own travel arrangements. However, you may see Ski Wildfire Chalets and Lodges in some operators brochures as we have several associates who include our chalets in their package programme
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