Val d’Isere: The Top France Winter Destination

I CALL IT “WINTER ON demand”. As a desert-dweller with a serious distaste for temperatures below 21 °C but a just-as-serious passion for winter sports, I enjoy brief flings in cooler climes – at my discretion. Jetting into the cold for a week each year works well, but with such a narrow time frame to enjoy the snow, the importance of selecting a destination where the most can be made of winter is paramount. As I exited Geneva’s airport, all cosy in my transport heading for the hills as fat snowflakes swirled down to earth, I had a good feeling about Val d’lsere.

A scenic three-hour drive through the mountains later, the car pulled up beside a quirky hang ten statue in the driveway of Chalet Husky – my not-so-humble abode for this excursion. Located a short walk from the buzzy centre of town in the quiet Le Petit Alaska hamlet, from the outside the Jean-Charles Covarel-designed chalet seems typical of the Alps’ many luxury stays. But step inside and the off-the-wall style is immediately apparent with a ceiling covered in intricately painted.

Arabesque floral patterns and a glass walkway under-lit with vibrant disco colours. Husky’s mix of traditional and eclectic, rustic touches alongside modish decor, continues throughout: retro pop art hangs on walls next to hand-carved chests and wardrobes; fringed lampshades bundled into playful chandeliers cast a glow on the rough wooden flooring; a sofa made from dozens of denim pillow’s sits tinder a glass roof with classic Alpine views. Somehow; it all mingles harmoniously in the large open-plan space.

The seven bedrooms – three of which are accessed from an indoor garden atrium – have en-suite bathrooms and are hooked up with Apple TV and iPad controls; quirky elements, like a sofa printed with The Beatles or a mirror framed with coloured pencils, give each its own personality. The master bedroom includes direct access to the spa, and all guests can take advantage of the hammam, steam room, Jacuzzi, gym, technicolour infinity pool with a waterfall, indoor archery and rifle shooting, and a climbing wall fashioned from the stone that naturally forms one of the chalet’s walls. A full roster of staff run the show; including chef Leo, who tailors meals to guests’ preferences and whims (with a sudden desire for greens one morning, I requested a rather vague “breakfast salad”, which he created off the cuff: crisp radicchio, sauteed asparagus, carrots, potato and mushrooms topped with a perfectly poached egg, which ended up being precisely what I wanted even though I hadn’t known it when I asked).

As tempting as it was to stay indoors with the endless array of entertainment options, Val d’lsere’s inviting mountain runs and lively apres scene beckoned. Once you grab your warm boots from their heated rack, it’s an eight- to 10-minute walk to the lifts and telepheriques that take skiers and snowboarders to the Solaise (2,560m) and Rocher de Bellevarde (2,827m) areas. Val d’lsere and neighbouring Tignes make up Espace Killy 0www.espacekilly.com) – named for the French World Cup alpine ski racer and triple Olympic champion, Jean-Claude Killy – one of Europe’s largest ski areas, with 300 kilometres of marked trails and no shortage of pristine off-piste opportunities.

It’s also one of the highest – Le Grande Motte reaches a quite literally breathtaking 3,456 metres – with a majority of the action taking place above 2,000 metres, a chilling height that allows Espace Killy to enjoy one of Europe’s longest ski seasons. It’s worth bearing in mind that the high altitude is easier on those more experienced with such oxygen-deprived heights, so it’s wise to pay careful attention to how your body is responding, particularly during the first day or two as you acclimatise.

Pit stops are part of the charm of these slopes. Tete de Solaise, perched at the edge of the Solaise area and accessible by piste or telepherique, is a tented gourmet restaurant with a bubbly bar and a sun terrace boasting panoramic views of the surrounding peaks. Order fresh seafood, like sesame-crusted seared tuna, raw marinated scallops and mussels, amid recently refurbished, retro-chic interiors that include cowhide table settings, tree root tables and shiny new electric fireplaces to warm up at. With plans for a hotel in the future, it’s a spot for dedicated skiers to keep an eye on.

Once you’ve got your ski legs back, take a ride on the Olympique telepherique and keep your eyes on the steep face below to plan your route back down on the black run, Face de Bellevarde. Originally created as a downhill course for the 1992 Winter Olympics, today the adrenaline-pumping trail is one of the resort’s showpiece pistes, putting those conquering it – or being conquered by it -plainly on display for anyone in the village to see. If you can make it down with finesse – and perhaps especially if you don’t – it conveniently ends near a cache of apres-ski bars in the heart of the village, the newest of which is Cocorico (0033-4-7924 6004, doudoimeclub.com) at Doudoune.

Follow the sounds of live music to the bar’s ski-in/ski-out terrace to experience a classic apres scene with a lively crowd socialising after a day out in the snow. Things are taken up a notch at La Folie Douce (at the top of Telecabine de la Dai He; 0033-4-7906 0717, lafoliedouce.com). A lounge and restaurant for much of the day (La Fruitiere sen es locally sourced traditional fare, and there’s a grape cellar with over 500 bottles to pair with cheeses from neighbouring farms), the terrace transforms mid-afternoon, unveiling a full-on club atmosphere with DJs, cabaret performances and table dancing until the pistes close for the day.

But it’s not all parties and pistes in Val d’Isere. The Old Town is filled with picturesque buildings and narrow, snowy lanes that hark back to its roots as a simple farming village. Popular in the Sixties, the harsh and unappealing cement apartment blocks of that era have now been largely removed or renovated in a return to the traditional Savoyarde style of stone- and wood-clad buildings. Avenue Olympique, the village’s main thoroughfare, is lined with upmarket boutiques for fashion on and off the slopes (find Marc Jacobs, Emilio Pucci and Isabel Marant at D6cal6s), contemporary art galleries (international artists are shown at Galerie Jane Griffiths), tantalising patisseries (after a day skiing there’s no guilt involved in treating yourself to Maison Chevallot’s goods) and fresh farm shops (try the Savoyarde cheeses from La Fermette de Claudine).

And since no trip to the .Alps is complete without dipping into a pot of melted cheese, work in a visit to La Grande Ourse, at the base of the nursery slopes. The white chalet restaurant launched in 1936 along with the resort’s first ski school, and remains one of the area’s finest dining spots. The fondue here is a bubbling brew of three cheeses served with fresh bread, cured pork and via tide des grisons (air-dried beef) for dipping, warming the mind and body.

After a long day out, it’s back down the rabbit hole to Chalet Husky’s wonderland. Muscles relax in the steam room, feet rejoice in the deep pile of the carpets and I slip into bed, awaiting the morning return of chalet host Steffi, who will kick-start a new day of powdery pistes, terrace socialising and .Alpine feasts by serving me a vanilla caffe latte in bed.