Building your dream chalet

INTERVIEW WITH A LUXURY CHALET OWNER

Choosing the perfect ski chalet for a holiday in the mountains can be tricky. Finding one that suits your needs, tastes and budget requires working closely with a great travel operator that knows its properties and resorts well.

However, some people like to take things a step further – such as the owner of Chalet Bacchus, one of the hottest new chalets in Courchevel. He created his very own dream chalet to use all year round.

We got in touch with him to find out what’s involved with building your perfect chalet from the ground up:

What was the most important thing for you when previously choosing a ski chalet to rent? We ski every year with the same group of friends and so the biggest challenge was finding a chalet large enough to take us! After that, the most important criteria were facilities and location, with ski-in ski-out particularly important to us. I hate messing around and so the ability to ski to and from your ski room door is great.

Why did you choose to build a new chalet rather than renovating one already built? A new build meant we could get everything we wanted. We worked with the developer to completely change the originally planned size and layout to provide seven spacious en-suite bedrooms, a large spa, a cinema and a huge lounge, bar and dining room.

With a renovation, not only are you more limited on size and layout, but often you are faced with the difficult decision to leave some of the existing finishes, which,

while not what you would have chosen, are still perfectly serviceable. Building from scratch enabled us to specify the finishes we wanted without compromise.

What made you choose Courchevel Moriond? We love Courchevel Moriond. It’s less flashy than 1850 yet within a short drive for a change of scenery. Equally, Courchevel Le Praz is a similar distance in the opposite direction and is a lovely authentic Alpine village.

Moriond has a lovely family feel with some great bars and restaurants at much more reasonable prices than 1850. The slopes there tend to be a lot quieter than in other areas, with a good mix of difficulty and plenty of provision for beginners.

Of course, the rest of Les Trois Vallées is seamlessly connected and we really enjoy skiing all the way over to the far end at Orelle and back in a day.

How long did it take you to find the ideal project? Years! My wife and I wanted ski-in ski-out and our children wanted to be close to nightlife. We couldn’t find a chalet location that offered both until we came across this plot in Courchevel Moriond. It’s right on the piste, yet only a short stroll from town. It’s practically front de neige!

Can you tell us about the process behind your design decision-making? The layout was much easier than the interior design. We knew that we wanted the bedrooms and common areas to feel spacious (which can’t be said of all chalets), and we knew which facilities we wanted.

Then it was simply a case of working with the architect to get all of this into the footprint while designing a building that looked beautiful externally.

The interior design was much harder and far more timeconsuming, and we probably underestimated what would be required. It wasn’t just a matter of the colour of the wallpaper and wood. Every detail had to be drawn and specified – architraves, thresholds, doors, cabinetry, ironmongery, sanitaryware, tiling layouts… I could go on and on. All in all, the final specification stretched to 330 pages.

Fortunately, we had a terrific interior design company helping us. They have designed numerous chalets, including well-known chalets such as Richard Branson’s ‘The Lodge’ in Verbier, and so were able to guide us through all the decisions that we needed to make.

We hope you will agree that the results are stunning!

What advice would you give to someone thinking about building a new ski property? A couple of things – first, make sure that you include a detailed specification in the contract. This will help to ensure

that there are no misunderstandings about your expectations from the start, and can help protect you in the event of any disagreements.

We had our designer produce a 20-page ‘look and feel’ document, and we also included a mechanical and electrical specification that ran to about 10 pages. While our notaire said that he had never seen anything as detailed, we now know it wasn’t detailed enough and, if we had our time again, we would go into even more depth!

Secondly, make sure you assemble a great team to support you. We didn’t speak much French, and so a French-speaking project manager was incredibly important for us.

We were introduced to Simon Tinley (husband of Consensio co-founder Ceri Tinley) who was a massive help. A good notaire and accountant are also very important, and, as I have said, an interior designer that understands chalets and the ways of building in the mountains. What is the real ‘wow factor’ in the chalet? The location and views are very special, but, facilities aside, we hope guests are wowed by the quality of the finishes and the attention to detail. So much thought and care has gone into the design and we hope that this shines through to everyone who stays.

Which is your favourite room? That’s a tough one. I think my wife would say the spa, and I suspect my kids might go for the cinema. For me, though, it’s the bar!

Ultimate Catered Chalet Bacchus comes complete with a large team of staff, including a private chef and chauffeur, and is exclusively operated by Consensio Chalets. Book Chalet Bacchus online for your next luxury ski holiday at: www.consensiochalets.co.uk