Les Gets has always maintained a certain sleepy cache and exclusivity when compared to Morzine, its nearest, better known and immediate neighbour. Certainly the resort centre is a delightful mix of cobbled streets, piste side bars and traffic free retail therapy. A traditional dairy farming village at heart and a community that dates back to the 12th century, most buildings conform to the “chocolate box” vision of an Alpine ski resort.

Visitors to the resort are predominantly French which lends an authentic family atmosphere, but there are many animated bars hosting live music and showing all the big sports matches for a sociable apres ski drink or three. Attractions away from the slopes include an ice rink, a small cinema, an array of interesting food shops and, uniquely for a ski resort, a mechanical music museum. There is also a weekly market selling everything from alarmingly smelly cheeses to the latest fashion for mountain goat herders. Our property is situated 300 vertical metres above Les Gets in Les Chavannes, the major lift and piste crossroads and at the start of all the cross country ski tracks. From here you can take the bubble lift down to the resort until late in the day or select from a number of gentle pistes down to the lower nursery slopes. The lifts outside the door lead you to the challenging Point de Nyon, the untracked Chamoissiere off-piste or the gentle intermediate Les Gets bowl.

Just over the ridge is Morzine from where the variety of the Portes du Soleil is outstanding; the largest linked ski area in the world, a claim made by many certainly, but only here will you find 2 countries, 14 resorts, 209 lifts, 288 marked slopes, and over 650 kilometres of piste. Mountain restaurants are a real highlight; value-for-money traditional log cabins with open fires, local speciality dishes and ‘vin chaud’ on tap.

• Local Activities