Chalet Sous Les Bois has been featured in The Telegraph as one of the best 12 chalets for gastronomes in the alps: http://tgr.ph/nWqmLY.
Pretty chuffed to feature and the chalet is now priced the same as Schuss on a per person basis and can be booked on a per room basis as well.
Chalet Sous Les Bois has made it though to the shortlist of The UK & International Property Design Awards 2011. The awards are hosted by leading interior design magazine design et al, and reward the best in interior design from around the globe.
The voting is open to the public so please head to The Design Awards and vote, it will only take a minute and would be a great help. Thank you…
Buying a vehicle for a chalet company is a nightmare. You’re limited by the fact that they have to seat 8 guests plus a driver. So that leaves you with a choice between minibuses or Landrover Defenders. Just what is the best vehicle for your Chamonix accommodation?
Now Landrover Defenders are nothing if not design classics. I honestly think they look great and are fantastic off road. We couldn’t have a better vehicle for the snowy drive at Chalet Schuss. BUT they drink fuel, and their design, although classic, hasn’t been updated in 40 years – and they are soon to be out of production as they don’t quite meet EU safety regulations (if you’re in them you’re fine, it’s whatever they hit that isn’t).
That leaves us with minibuses. Renault traffics are terrible. There, I’ve said it. Never buy a French manufactured car. The fuel economy is good, the luggage space great, but that’s about it. They’re plasticky, and just fall apart to the touch. So they’re a no no.
That leaves the Mercedes Vito, more expensive, German and made in Spain – so I’ll have to give that a miss. Or the VW Transporter, more expensive, German and, well you get the idea.
However, my problem may have been solved by the Geneva Motor Show. Why limit myself to Defenders and minibuses. So I’ve come up with three possible solutions, now I just need to trade in the Traffics and start saving.
For The Farmhouse I’ve opted for a Brabus iBusiness Mercedes Viano. Yes it’s a minibus, but it has been adapted by Brabus to suit the needs of the traveling skier. It is a veritable multimedia lounge on wheels, complete with gadgets such as the iPad, MacMini, iPhone and iPod with a 3.0-liter V6 CDI Brabus engine and a top speed of 155 mph.
For Sous Les Bois I’ve chosen a slightly more refined option. Less gimmicky than the Brabus, but equally as comfortable with many additional features and a snip at €492,602
“The Maybach 62 includes many luxury features such as fully-reclining rear seats, Maybach 4 zone climate control, tinted-windows, infrared-reflecting laminated glass all round, AirMATIC dual control air suspension, display instruments in rear roof liner (showing speed, time and outside temperature), folding rear tables (left and right), BOSE Surround Everywhere sound system and a refrigerator compartment.” Wikipedia.
For Chalet Schuss I think we’ll stick with the ever reliable Landrover Defender – with a few modifications of course…
The Farmhouse has recently been featured in Images Magazine. Probably not a title too widely read outside of the Alps. It’s about Alpine interior design and is in Italian and French, so a fairly niche market about aline accommodation.
Nevertheless The Farmhouse did make it.
It’s been a while, I know. In my defense my last post appears to have disappeared into the ether, so I’ll try again.
We finally finished Sous Les Bois this summer with the final floor knocked off. This means the chalet now sleeps 10, and the entire top floor is a 100 m2 living room complete with surround sound, bar and pool table. I am evidently biased but it does rock. Check out the photos here.
Other than that we finally got married in Chamonix in the spring, during a very brief hiatus in volcanic ash.
And what next?
Hopefully we’ll be building a leisure suite at Sous Les Bois this summer complete with sauna and massage room. But other than that it’s just a case of consolidating the accommodation that we already have.
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