So after making a sneaky getaway from Lucas (thanks Grandma and Grandad), we picked them up from their apartment, with Eddie fresh from bed and still in his jimjams!

Just the other side of the Mont Blanc tunnel lies the little town of Pre St Didier, nestled between mountains with fantastic views of Mont Blanc. The sleepy little town is easy to miss (in fact, we drove straight past it the first time!), but its renowned Roman Spa makes it a must for anyone driving past with a little time on their hands and a willingness to let life stand still for a few hours.

We spent an indulgent 4 hours in the countless saunas, some with lavender ice baths – Emma’s favourite), jaccuzzis – some with music (Jim’s favourite) some super hot with awesome views (Cat’s favourite), warm outdoor pools, massaging waterfalls (Josh’s favourite), foot & leg spas and chill out areas!!

Happily, our staff were thrilled with the treat, though Jim was less impressed with the lack of mayo or indeed any dipping sauce for the breadsticks, carrots and celery in the all-day buffet!

Emma, Eddie, Josh and Dan even dared to roll in the snow then jump back into the hot jaccuzzi, though after a few minutes poor Eddie still felt his skin burning!!!

Back in resort, we’d apparently missed an amazing day skiing – there had been another dump of snow the night before and the skies had been clear for much of the day. We were so relaxed though, that we really didn’t mind.

The meal that night was a full Christmas dinner with crackers and canapés and had the added highlight of pyrotechnics with the pud! It was all planned right down to removing the battery from the fire alarm for a short period.

Since then New Year’s Eve saw a fresh influx of guests and full pomp and ceremony. Fireworks in the village, fizz and canapés in the chalets, with sparklers in the poached pears as a finale. We know how to do things properly, or more to the point Cat and Jim know what to tell us to do!!

The snow is still falling in Les Gets and we’ve still got spaces in the chalet, mainly in March. We’re still offering short breaks too but spaces are filling up quickly.

See you in the snow!
Clare (Resort Manager)

We really hope that your pressies were delivered this morning – Lucas collared Rudolph at the chimney last night, and was on the lookout for Santa…!

All the best,

Jim, Cat, Lucas and all the Team in snowy Les Gets

Clare’s News
We’ve been having fun and games as the whole team gets to know one another and learn the ropes in order to have a brilliant winter ski season.

I’m pleased to say that we can now all find our way to the airport in the minibus. We drove to collect Cat and Lucas who had sensibly flown over from the UK instead of driving all the way from Swindon like the rest of us. The long journey from home was good fun, although we did decide the music choice was somewhat random (Cat’s old tape collection bundled into a carrier bag and thrown in the van at the last minute!!)

Back in the chalet, our chalet hosts Dan, Emma and Josh whipped up a storm in the kitchen.

Jim couldn’t resist an opportunity to get back amongst the pots and pans. Well to be accurate he wanted to make sure his recipes were created properly.

Meanwhile, Cat was refining our cleaning skills – you’d never believe how much effort goes into the cleanliness of the bathrooms and kitchens, well maybe you would if you came to stay…!

After all our hard work cleaning the bathrooms, it seemed only fair that we should test the cooking skills of our hosts, and they definitely pass the test – everything was absolutely yummy!

Time out saw everyone on the slopes, even Emma having her first lesson where natural talent shone forth. Dan was on his board, with Ed, Josh and I preferring to ski. A brilliant first few days – watch this space for the next installment.

Short breaks are a great way to escape to the slopes without breaking the bank, and some of our short breaks in January cost as little as £245pp for 4 nights.

Generally the short skiing holidays run from Sunday-Thursday (for a 4-night break) and from Thursday-Sunday (a 3-night break). Transfers are included in the price, plus your breakfast, afternoon tea and 3-course (Chalet Bruyeres) or 4-course (Chalet Elise) evening meal. Dinner includes wine, and there is one day ski hosting during you stay – a great way to help you to get familiar with the slopes.

You can choose between 2 great chalets for your short skiing break. Here’s a quick overview of them both:

Chalet Bruyeres has a fantastic outdoor hot tub, 5 ensuite bedrooms, is located 5 minutes walk from the piste, 2 minutes to the town centre and is simply unbeatable on price. As only communal areas are cleaned during your stay, and dinner is served in large dishes directly on the table, we can pass the savings we make on to you!

Chalet Elise is a real ‘chocolate box’ chalet, and is run with our Gold Service. As our premier chalet, it will be run by a trained chef who will provide delightfully indulgent meals for you during your stay.

The chalet is 2 minutes from the piste, 2 mins from the town centre and is comprised of 5 fully-ensuite and individually decorated bedrooms.

So why not beat those January blues and book a short ski break!

More info on short skiing breaks.

The complex boasts 2 lakes, one of which you can swim in, a driving range where you can smack golf balls into the water, pitch and putt, a big playground, trampolines, ping-pong ball tables, tennis courts, basketball courts, sailing, a proper outdoor swimming pool with a big slide and 3 pools (baby, family and proper swimmers), an adventure park, lovely walks around the lake and paragliding. There’s a cafe selling more flavours of icecream than we’re able to sample over the entire summer and the parking is free. Awesome!

We always take a yummy picnic, and either sit by the lake in the shade or go to the swimming pool and eat it on the grassy bank there – with little Lucas we’re a bit less about chilling by the side of the lake and playing golf, and rather more likely to be found in the baby pool or at the playground!

The town of Samoens, just a short walk from the facilities, is a super-pretty little village, and the scenery surrounding it is just stunning. We always return to Les Gets feeling content and relaxed, tired from being outdoors and in the sun, and the smell of suncream in our hair.

A beautiful day and a good picnic are essential for a trip to Annecy. So after devouring the picnic within minutes of parking up, we swam in the lovely cool waters of Lake Annecy to prepare ourselves for the watery afternoon ahead of us.

Jim was the only soul brave enough to try the new wake surfing now on offer (I stuck to what I know I don’t know and had 20 minutes of water skiing/bobbing about trying to locate my skis). Jim has wakeboarded a lot before, and they say that the wake surfing is similar as the stance is pretty much the same.

How to do it:
So you lie on your back with your feet up on the surf board that’s floating in front of you. Then, with luck and a prayer when the boat starts you pop up onto the board, turn it around and away you go! Now the idea is a rather clever one I think – with wake boarding and water skiing you’re on a longer rope which you have to hold on to all the time, and if you’re adventurous you cross the wake made by the boat and maybe do a few tricks using the wake. With wake surfing you’re on a much shorter rope, so that you are actually on top of the wake. Once you’re there, if you get your surfboard in the right position you can actually let go of the rope, and surf along on the waves created by the boat!

So, here’s a short video of Jim’s third attempt at it (if you’re hoping to see him drink a good glug of Lake Annecy, you’ll be as disappointed as I was).

The little fella was very excited, and was particularly taken with the automatic doors!

Our walk took us along a track on the side of the mountain, through some forest and then onto the quiet road near Lasalle Farm. It was a good job we had an ‘off road’ pram as the forest path was quite steep and rooty!

We stopped for a bite to eat and a cup of tea and managed to acquire a canine friend, much to Lucas’ delight.

With beautiful views all the way down to the village, grazing cattle and Alpine meadows to our left and right we really enjoyed our relaxing decent.

In the pretty village of Les Gets which is looking very summery with so many flowering borders, we took the petit train up to the lake and playground on the other side of the valley.

A certain somebody had a whale of a time playing in the gravel!

Thankfully, when this ceases to amuse him there’s the children’s playground, climbing walls and paddling pool, the lake, nature walk and the adventure park for when he’s a bit older!

We then walked back to the village via the ‘piste’… somehow it’s much steeper when you walk it instead of going down on skis!

1. It’s beautiful (check out our video for a taster of what summer’s like in les Gets).

2. Get in shape – chuck in the gym membership and walk up a few mountains! (Read our blog on walking in the Alps).

3. Relax – soak up the atmosphere of a sleepy French village in the mountains…oh, and we’ll do all the cooking.

4. Great for children – there’s loads of activities you can do to exhaust the little angels.

5. Be adventurous – why not try paragliding, whitewater rafting or canyoning!

6. Swim in a mountain lake – Cat’s favourite thing to do.

7. Smack golf balls into a lake (but not the one Cat’s swimming in!) – Jim’s favourite thing to do.

8. Have a day mountain biking – it’s the best place in Europe for it as there are so many lifts that take you up hill, and so many great tracks that go downhill!

9. A wonderful climate – Summer is really warm, but that gentle Alpine breeze means you stay feeling refreshed.

10. We’re offering 20% off any remaining bookings for the summer!

Hope to see you out here folks.
Jim and Cat

Summer prices and booking
Blogs about the summer in Les Gets

So to all those who have already booked, we really look forward to meeting you soon, and to all those who haven’t, have a look at the video below to see what you’re missing!

We’re extending our early bird offer of 15% off summer holidays to the end of April, and offer special rates for groups of 6 or more with free transfers too. This year you can even take the whole chalet and get 30% off the per person rate.

Roll on summer!
Jim and Cat

Summer prices and booking