Luxury ski chalets: The Chic Chalet Guide to Chalet Alice, Nendaz, Verbier, France

Chalet Alice
Nendaz
Sleeps - 8

From £555 pp/week

Bright, airy, modern chalet
in Verbier back-door resort

usp
Chalet Alice is one of four excellent value chalets in Nendaz, a resort which is fully linked in to the Verbier Four Vallées ski area. Unlike its sister chalets, which are traditionally furnished, Alice is a stylish, modern property -- all clean lines, giant sheet glass windows and blonde wood.

location
The chalet is tucked up a cul-de-sac just five minutes walk from the main Nendaz lift. It is around 200m from the village centre – far enough to be lovely and quiet, yet near enough to the action. And it has genuinely spectacular views down across the Rhone valley.

style
Modern mountain chic. Contemporary minimalism, even. There are chocolate leather sofas, skins on the floors, a designer wood burner in the corner and stainless steel open plan kitchen. The huge windows make the most of the splendid views down to and across the Rhone valley, flooding the chalet with light and majestic mountain scenery. ^

rooms
There are three twins (which can be converted to doubles) and one double, all with underfloor heating and individual room thermostats. Not all have their own bathrooms (two are en-suite, the remaining two sharing a family bathroom), but they are all cosy, stylish, and nicely presented. Good, thick White Company bathrobes are provided, together with slippers and Arran Aromatics toiletries, and there are plasma TVs in each room. ^

food & drink
Chalet Alice and its sister chalets provide an excellent, fine dining experience that almost outshines the chalets themselves. Chefs are all restaurant professionals, and the standard is fantastic. Evening canapés were ambitious, while the main courses used fancy ingredients like scallops, foie gras and quails’ eggs coupled with succulent cuts of lamb, beef and duck.
House wines are typically sourced from France and Switzerland (Nendaz lies at the heart of Switzerland’s largest wine-growing region), while a few à la carte wines are also available for guests to purchase if they wish. ^

service
Perfect. Nothing was too much trouble, from making sure there were supplies of peppermint tea to locating a tooth brush mug for our bathroom at short notice. Bags were carried, boots cleaned and children chaperoned at the drop of a hat. ^

spa facilities
Chalet Alice has an outdoor hot tub on the terrace, offering miles of uninterrupted valley views. The chalet also has a small sauna on the ground floor. You can book treatments such as a Swedish massage, aromatherapy massage, manicures, pedicures and even facials, but these have to take place in your own bedroom. ^

children
The chalet is perfectly children-friendly and welcomes children from 4 months upwards. It can provide a private nanny service for the week (charged additionally), and ad hoc evening babysitting is also available. Chalet Alice is also equipped with travel cots, three-wheel buggies, high chairs and car seats, plus bottle sterilising facilities for infants. Bulky nappies can also be pre-purchased by the staff locally, in order to help guests with their holiday packing, and evening meals can be tailored for children and served earlier if desired.
The village also has three excellent ski schools, and the chalet can advise and pre-book lessons for everyone concerned. Also in the village is a toboggan slope (toboggans provided by the chalet), ice rink and trampoline for children of all ages. ^

extras
There is wifi throughout for guests’ computers and a large single garage for parking. TVs in every bedroom, plus DVD player and Sony Playstation with games and an MP3 dock for guests’ music players. The large widescreen TV also shows Sky Freeview, providing all five terrestrial UK channels and a selection of other entertainment channels. ^

for skiers
Nendaz is a delightful, quieter alternative to Verbier, but the lift system is rather antiquated with lots of buttons and drags, and there tend to be nasty queues at peak weeks. Nevertheless, it offers much to distract the intermediate skier and of course the chance to hook up into the whole Verbier ski paradise. Just beware the last lifts back, or you may get stuck in one of the other valleys.
Thoughtfully, the chalet provides guests with free ski lockers beside the lift station (so there’s no need to clomp about the village carrying one’s skis in the evening). Chalet Alice also has heated boot warmers for guests’ use, should you wish to take your boots back to the chalet.
The staff will return your ski equipment for you at the end of your stay too, which is handy, while the chalet also has a close relationship with the village’s most exclusive British-run private ski clinic and can arrange lessons and workshops for guests, often at very short notice. ^

for non skiers
Nendaz itself is surprisingly large – as large, in fact, as Verbier – and there is great shopping to be done, as well as an interesting array of restaurants and bars to visit. Check out the funky Tekoe tea shop, or visit the Diesel or Benetton shops. There is also a skating rink and climbing tower for the more intrepid, plus a variety of walks and cross-country tracks around the village. The chalet can organise snow-shoe excursions too, should people want to venture off the beaten track on foot.
Nendaz also has a small toboggan slope suitable for children of all ages, whilst in Super-Nendaz (Siviez) there is a 1km long toboggan run that can challenge even the most hardened of sledge enthusiasts. The chalet offers weekly toboggan excursions to Siviez – toboggans included. ^

best thing
The food and service. Oh, and the ‘wow’ view from the living room. ^

worst thing
Not all the rooms are en-suite, and you might be dropped off at the end of the lane if the chalet’s minibus can’t make it up because of snow. ^

getting there
The best way to get to Nendaz is either to fly into Sion, which is just a 25 minute drive away (the chalet will pick you up for free), or fly into Geneva and get the direct train to Sion, which takes around 1hr 40 minutes. ^

bottom line
Chalet Alice costs from £525 per person per week, as do its three sister chalets – Chalet Maretse, Chalet Merri, and Chalet Petit Nid. ^

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 - 7
Service - 9
Room - 8
Food & Drink - 9
Luxury - 7

Chic Chalet Guide tip

Take your own Sky card with you, if you have one at home. This will enable you to gain access to your normal UK subscription so you won’t miss out on your sport or movies.

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• Best Thing
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• Bottom Line
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• Other chalets in Nendaz