Rich and Tamsin were excellent hosts, thoughtful, friendly, fun and helpful. The food was of a high standard and they have kept the chalet in very good order.
The disappointment for us was in the standard of the chalet itself. The sitting room is small and dark with no view, the sofas ugly, uncomfortable and inadequate for nine let alone ten guests. The tiled floor is unwelcoming and the red cowhide rug is ghastly and tired. Refurbishment is vital. The fire is difficult to start and keep going and some decent kindling as a minimum is needed. In a chalet for ten, there should be at least two double bedrooms and having to push beds together isn't really on. Having the layout as such that you can't open a window in four out of five of the bedrooms isn't acceptable and in the other one, you can't leave the window open if you are not in there as a path runs just outside. The mattresses are old and everyone has found them uncomfortable.
Our sense is that VIP runs this chalet on a very tight budget, examples being the non replenishment of the toiletries and the size of the cooked breakfast which is insufficient prior to a full day's skiing, non alcoholic drinks and beer having to be paid for - especially at meal and canapé times, when there are almost always going to be children in the chalet, and only two logs left out for the fire each night. On the chalet hosts' day off, in previous holidays other companies give some cover, particularly in the morning to clear the previous night's dinner and breakfast. On the positive side, Laurent Perrier three times has been very welcome. This signals the standard that VIP is trying to maintain but all these other things undermine this. The location of the chalet is fantastic.