“Just returned from a fantastic stay at The iGloo, which is probably one of the best of its kind in France if not the Alps!! Could not recommend highly enough – the chalet is beautiful with a no-expense-spared relaxed feel and the food was simply outstanding. Puts all other ‘luxury’ chalets to shame. Go Book…You will not regret or forget!!”
A ski chalet with genuine wow factor
Low season: from £9,950 whole chalet; Mid: from £11,950; Peak: from £12,950
Morzine, Portes du Soleil
Sleeps: 10
The Igloo has real WOW factor. It is owned by a French lady who works in fashion and the interiors are suitably contemporary and dazzling, with heaps of light and space, fabulous views, designer pieces including a hand-painted Morzine table and eclectic modern art.
The iGloo’s interiors are properly knock-out, making it one of the coolest luxury ski chalets in the Portes du Soleil. It was designed by a local architect and there are fabulous touches throughout, from the bespoke Morzine dining table hand painted in the resort’s own colours by the owner herself to a giant black polar bear cabinet for glasses and a vast 200-year-old quilt from New Mexico hanging on the wall. There is also a dramatic, back-lit giant photo of a mountain scene that lines the stair well, as well as fantastic art throughout.
The owner is a passionate art collector and also an artist herself, and many of the pieces are bespoke for the chalet, others are by local artists, while the rest are taken from her collection of artwork from around the world. The chalet also has huge expanses of glazing and a double height living area with vast views.
The iGloo has giant bedrooms — possibly the biggest chalet rooms I have ever slept in. Each is themed a different dramatic colour, from purple to scarlet to bright yellow on a feature wall, and each is decorated with breath-taking pieces of art, from paintings to sculptures.
There are four large suites, all of which could qualify as masters, with super king-size beds, plus a fun and spacious children’s bunk room with three bunks. The en-suite bathrooms all have showers and baths, and are equipped with luxury Parisian bathroom products. All the suites easily also have space for an additional single bed or cot, and two rooms can be configured as twins or super-kings.
Egyptian cotton bed linen, impossibly fluffy white towels, robes and slippers are all supplied, to ensure that the rooms are a proper sanctuary to retreat to after an energetic day on the mountain.
This fully catered chalet has a passion for delicious food, fine wine and, most importantly, leisurely, sociable meals in the company of great friends. Its professional chef liaises with guests to design a bespoke menu and it sources quality ingredients locally whenever possible.
A cooked breakfast is served each morning, alongside a delicious continental buffet. Home-baked tea-time treats are waiting in the chalet in the afternoon and on six out of seven evenings the chef prepares a four-course gourmet meal. For family groups, a children’s supper can be served a little earlier, and the chalet can cater for guests’ various dietary requirements.
The iGloo also takes great pleasure in selecting the very best wines to accompany the food and their house selection is among the finest I have seen on offer in the Alps. It includes six wines as well as a champagne, chosen to suit a variety of tastes and to complement the chef’s delicious food. The chalet also features an impressive wine cellar with a wide range of à la carte wines from the Old and New World as well as the local region. The list is extensive but fairly priced, with guests only having to pay the difference between the house wine and the fine wine so they can easily indulge in a few premium bottles during their stay.
The iGloo has a large gym equipped with treadmill, X-trainer, a DVD player and an Italian rain shower, perfect for anyone wanting an extra burst of exercise. It also has a huge indoor sauna beside the gym. Excellent in-chalet massages or beauty treatments can also be arranged through local firm Indulge — I tried the hot stone massage and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. An outdoor hot tub is being installed for winter 2015/16.
Children would adore The iGloo. They have their own cute bunk room, sledging is possible on the nearby ski slope, early adult-free teas can be organised, plus the chalet has endless children’s DVD’s, traditional board games (remember Mousetrap?) and a Playstation in the cinema room. It can also source wooden cots for the rooms as well as all the usual baby paraphernalia.
The wow factor interior design – this luxury ski chalet really blows your socks off.
If you don’t like cutting edge interior design, and prefer the traditional, inside-of-a-cuckoo-clock look, this chalet is not for you.
LOCATION
This Morzine chalet is perfectly located in a quiet area only a stone’s throw from the pistes and the centre of town, which lies at the heart of the mighty Portes du Soleil ski area. It sits just off the Pleney slope, in the exclusive hamlet of Les Nantes, and guests can ski in and out with just a few metres’ walk.
GETTING THERE
Geneva airport is only a 1 hour 15 minute drive away. The chalet can arrange shared, private or VIP airport transfers at additional cost with their partner company.
AT A GLANCE
- Bedrooms: 5 (inc 1 children’s bunk room)
- Bathrooms: 4
- Available Summer and Winter
- Location: 1 minute chauffeured drive to resort centre, 2 min chauffeured drive to Pleney cable car, 5 min walk to resort centre
- Jacuzzi hot-tub
- Wifi
- Bootwarmers
- Log Fire
- Parking
- Sunday changeover (can be flexible outside of peak weeks); Saturday changeover for Christmas/New Year if dates dictate
EXTRAS
The iGloo has extras galore. It has a fabulous cinema room complete with 12 original cinema seats, a bar, a giant 3-D screen, PS3, Apple TV and surround sound. Each extremely spacious bedroom has a flat screen LCD TV, there is wifi throughout and there is also a table football on the lower ground floor next to the cinema, plus a wine cellar.
The chalet has its own chauffeur who is available in the morning and afternoon to shuttle guests to and from any of the ski lifts within Morzine so they can explore the whole of the Portes du Soleil.
The iGloo also offers a comprehensive personal concierge service. They are happy to arrange every last detail of guests’ chalet holidays, from in-chalet childcare, lift passes and restaurant reservations to parapenting experiences or off-piste guiding. They work closely with The Edge, an English ski instructor company that can offer a private instruction package for the whole group, for their whole holiday. The instructor will meet guests at the chalet each morning to plan the day’s itinerary – whether this be a series of 1:1 tuition with video analysis or an off-piste adventure.
MY TOP TIP
The chalet offers a cocktail special each evening, including margaritas, bellinis, and its very own iGloo cocktail — a lethal but delicious combo of white chocolate liqueur and a shot of espresso. Don’t miss!
GUESTBOOK
“What a superb chalet, with absolutely breath-taking scenery! We will be back!”
“What a fantastic holiday! We couldn’t have asked for more. A big thank you to you all for being so attentive and making it a great week! 10/10!”
ENQUIRIES
If you would like to make an enquiry or a booking of this luxury ski chalet, please telephone – +44 (0)7772 853996 or click here to send me a message.
Remember, I have visited all the chalets we feature so can give you totally unbiased, independent advice on all of them. The prices I quote are also the list prices quoted by the chalets themselves, so there is no advantage in going to the chalets direct.
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