Home from Home in the Alps

November 1st 2013  by Dan Harrison

Home from home in the mountains. Skiers and boarders the world over are going for the ultimate recession-buster – their own home in the mountains.

Whether it’s renting or buying there’s a boom in resort property and it is still buoyant despite the worldwide financial crisis. British skiers and boarders have made chalet holidays in France not just an art form but an industry and now come the middle of December til after Easter there are huge convoys of Brits (and indeed Dutch and French) clogging the autoroutes down to the mountains.

The big attraction for chalet holidays is the fact that you can pack in the car everything bar the kitchen sink

And at the Good Ski Guide we even take our own duck down duvets. But we never like to take our own food or drinks as that’s a stop-over treat as we always break the journey in Beaune, which is the capital of Burgundy and home of the world’s greatest wine.

Another great plus point in the chalet holiday is that you can take a big chalet and have a group of your own fiends and if you’re rich enough have your mansion cleaned every day and have your own chef in situ, so that you can come home every afternoon to fresh baguettes and a piping hot five course dinner.

France is the leading chalet destination as every resort has an abundance of property. The good news for skiers is that you can rent a chalet, either self-catered or half board for around £500pp a week. Other countries big on chalets include the Swiss (though they prefer you to buy the chalet) and also Northern Italy.

Austria, because of the dominance of family hotels, has been very slow to get in on the chalet boom but is catching up very fast.

For a great selection of chalets to rent visit www.chaletfinder.com