Chic Chalet Guide: Chalet Abode, St Martin de Belleville, Three Valleys, France

Chalet Abode
St Martin de Belleville,
Trois Vallées
Sleeps 8-10

From  £945 pp/week

Boutique chic meets
traditional Savoyard home

usp
Chalet Abode is a gorgeously, sensitively converted old farmer’s house that combines the ancient with the modern. It is the flagship chalet of St Martin de Belleville specialists The Alpine Club, run by Chris and Helen. Chris is, in fact, an architect, and he was the architect on this project.

location
The chalet is situated in a properly mountain location in the genuinely timeless Savoyard hamlet of Villarabout, just 800m from St Martin de Belleville. It is four minutes from the vast expanse of skiing that is the Trois Vallées, accessed via the St Martin lift. There is a taste of real France here, not the could-be-anywhere sense that pervades the more usual purpose-built French resorts. Villagers still smoke hams in the smoke house, collect water from the village pump and keep chickens and goats.

style
Savoyard farm house gone chic. Ancient meets super-slick modern. A feast of old wooden beams, exposed stone and wall to wall windows combined with ultra modern, contemporary fittings. The original timber roof and some stone walls are there, next to a super contemporary fire place and modern designer sofas in muted tones with lots of cow skin rugs. Sliding doors lead onto a balcony, from where you have quite stunning views all the way up the Belleville valley to Val Thorens and the Cime de Caron at a whopping 3,200m. It has wooden steamer chairs covered with wolf fur throws. Just to add further to the place’s authenticity, the vaulted basement is where the farmer used to keep his cheese, hams and vegetables, but it is now the boot room with heated boot warmers. ^

rooms
There are four en-suite rooms, with genuinely dreamy beds, good deep baths in the bathrooms and cool, designer fixtures and fittings. The best room is room 1, which is the family suite but can be booked as a king-sized room (but only outside of peak weeks). It is a lovely light room with a balcony that has views of the old chapel and mountains. The original 100-year-old wooden floorboards have been used to line one of the walls, making the room really cosy and warm, but there are useful modern additions like wall-mounted bendy hotel reading lights, designer furniture by La Fibule and super-comfy Hypnos beds. All the rooms are also done out in infinitely tasteful Kelly Hoppen-inspired taupes and neutrals, with colour splashes such as rusty orange cushions and fur throws. There has been such attention to detail here, too; there are English plug sockets above the chest of drawers so guests can easily recharge their mobiles without bending down. Unlike in so many chalet bedrooms, there are also big mirrors fitted in the wardrobes so you can see just how good you look in your Gucci ski clobber. All the bathrooms are designer and en-suite and have a window too, so they feel light and spacious, while the lotions and potions come from The White Company.^

food & drink
Professional chef Ben Woods will be cooking at Chalet Abode this winter. He was at another Alpine Club property last season when guests rated his food ‘worthy of a Michelin star’. He will cook for guests in the open plan kitchen and, having spent the summer in Cornwall, will be adding a taste of the sea to his usual Asian/European fusion cooking. ^

service
Friendly and personalised, with Chris and Helen who operate the chalet being commendably hands-on all the time. ^

spa facilities
There are no spa facilities at the chalet, but guests can use the excellent facilities of the nearby La Bouitte mountain spa. Try the hay bath, it’s an extraordinary experience – melts away aches and pains, if you can bear the itchiness. ^

children
Kids have a fab bunk bed room in which to hang out, fully fitted with its own TV and DVD player. But children are generally very welcome at Abode. The staff can take them to the slopes in the morning, serve them separate tea in the evening, and arrange English nannies, ski lessons and babysitters. For children aged 2½-6 years, the Club des Piou Piou in St Martin also offers a range of full and half day courses introducing toddlers to skiing. ^

extras
Wifi throughout, private minibus service to and from the village gondola from 8.30am to 5.30pm, Bose iPod docking station, espresso machine, 42” plasma screen TV, DVD and satellite channels.^

for skiers
The chalet uses English-speaking instructors from the International Ski School which was set up four years ago specifically for St Martin skiers. It also works closely with New Generation in Méribel, which offers private instructors and a range of clinics. ^

for non skiers
Chalet Abode is a fabulous place to hang out in during the day. There are DVDs to watch, board games to play and iPod docking stations to tune into, plus a fabulous log fire to relax beside. It really does embrace you and make you feel like being snuggled up in a cashmere wrap with a large mug of hot chocolate. But the chalet can also organise snow shoe walks and dog sleigh rides, as well as skidoo rides and parapenting. There are magical torch-lit tours of old St Martin by night, too, followed by tastings of local products. ^

best thing
The spectacular panoramic snowy mountain views from the roof-top living room. You just cannot tire of them. ^

worst thing
The lack of spa, but La Bouitte is such a treat that it is almost not worth worrying about. ^

getting there
St Martin de Belleville is at the beginning of the Val Thorens/Les Menuires valley in the Trois Vallées. Best to catch a flight to Chambéry if possible, or else Geneva, from where it is a two hour drive. La Ferme de Belleville doesn’t offer transfers but uses Trois Vallées specialist, Mountain Express, for all airport and train station transfers straight to the chalet. They will organise this on booking – cost is extra. The nearest train station is Moutiers, and pick-ups can be arranged from there too. ^

bottom line
Abode can be booked out exclusively or on an individual room basis. Prices start from £950pp per week. ^

bookings & enquiries
If you would like to make an enquiry or a booking, please email enquiries at chicchaletguide.co.uk. Remember, we have visited all the chalets we feature so can give you totally unbiased, independent advice on all of them. The prices we quote are also the list prices quoted by the chalets themselves, so there is no advantage in going to the chalets direct.

Scores out
of ten

Chalet - 9
Service - 8
Room - 8
Food & Drink - 9
Luxury - 8