One of Switzerland’s best kept secrets, the Caprices music festival, is now into its 10th year. What started out in 2004 as a low-key local event has grown up into a fully fledged 9 day long festival attracting famous musicians and DJs from around the world. This year there’s something for everyone including techno DJ god Sven Väth, Bristol trip-hop band Portishead, Icelandic singer Björk, indie rock bad boy Pete Doherty and Las Vegas rockers The Killers. In addition to the big name acts there are loads of up and coming bands and DJs from Switzerland and further afield. This year the festival runs from 9 to 16 March and the organisers are expecting up to 75,000 people to attend.

Adding to the event’s appeal is its fantastic venue – the ski resort of Crans-Montana, which sits on a South-facing plateau above the Rhone Valley in the heart of the Swiss Alps and has the reputation of being the sunniest ski resort in Switzerland. The town has a relaxed and cosmopolitan atmosphere and the skiing is excellent with ample on and off-piste terrain to suit all levels.

If you love music and skiing then this is the perfect opportunity for a Winter break with a difference – see you on the slopes or on the dancefloor.

Getting There

Crans-Montana is just over 2 hours drive from Geneva airport and can be easily reached by train to Sierre (2 hours) followed by a 20-minute funicular ride up to the resort.

Where to Stay

As well as our chalets in Crans-Montana we have access to a number of accommodation/festival ticket/ski pass packages including a stay the decidedly chic Hotel Etrier.

Please contact us for further details or to discuss your specific requirements.

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Now that we’re into 2013 the next major ski week will be the February half term. There are still a few chalets left in top locations that have the family friendly vibe that you’ll be searching for.

The property pictured above is the ultra stylish Maison Blanche et Verte in Chatel which is available from 17th to 24th February at £21,000 for up to twelve guests on a fully catered basis.

We also have the stunning Chalet Five Roses in Verbier for up to eight guests, also on a catered basis for 25,000 CHF for the same week.

Why not give us a call on +44 (0)203 004 8750 to discuss these two properties and many others that could suit your February half term ski holiday.

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Chalet Spa Blanche is a sleek ski chalets in Verbier with dramatic views from what has to be one of the coolest terraces in the Valais. It’s the sister chalet of Chalet Spa and has incredibly high levels of service with delicious dining and an impeccable interior style.

We’re able to offer this fantastic chalet at a reduction of 40% for the week starting 16th December. The price is 33,000 CHF down from 60,000 CHF. If you want to ski the amazing amount of snow that has been piling down on the slopes of Verbier then this could be the perfect way to do it before Christmas.

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We haven’t seen this much snow in the mountains for quite some time and everyone is getting pretty excited for skiing. If you’re sitting at home wishing for some deep powder skiing then there are a few amazing chalets available this month, so pack your bags – you’re going skiing.

Chalet Joli Soleil in Verbier is a charming apartment with designer furnishings and has a central location a short stroll from the lifts. It’s available for a four night stay from December 19th for 8,995 CHF for up to eight people.

Chesa Falcun in Klosters is one of the most spectacular properties in the Alps and is available for the week commencing 15th December for just 37,000 CHF. The chalet can sleep up to twelve guests and has a service worthy of not five but seven stars.

Chalet Auriane in La Tzoumaz – this stylish property is available for a short stay from the 16th to 21st December for up to twelve guests with a catered service for £8,500.

Chalet La Bergerie in Val d’Isere is available to book by the room for the week of 15th December. It’s just £995 per person based on two sharing for guests to experience the high calibre service of this exclusive Val d’Isere chalet.

To book any of the offers mentioned above call us on +44 (0)203 004 8750 and we’ll help to have you skiing down the slopes in no time.

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Recently we’ve been hearing from a lot of people who want to take a short break to the mountains either in December before the Christmas and New Year rush or in mid to late January. Here are some great short stay offers for those looking for a stylish short ski break.

From the 4th to the 8th December you can stay at the highly regarded Chalet Mistral in Val d’Isere from £595 per person based on two sharing. The rates include all the usual services provided at Mistral from indulgent cuisine through to an in-resort driver service.

If you want to ski the vast pistes of the Portes du Soleil then Chalet Twenty26 is the place to stay. From the 20th to 24th January We’re able to offer you a four night stay from the 20th to 24th January for £499 per person based on two sharing. The chalet was launched for the 2012 / 13 winter ski season and the hands on owners will be around to ensure that your stay is memorable. Definitely one of the top boutique chalets in the Alps.

If reading the first two options has made you eager for an extra few days then we’re able to offer full week in Verbier’s Saggitaire complex on a room by room basis. The building consists of three traditional apartments with a total capacity for thirty one guests. The apartments: Les Esserts, Gentianes & Fontanet are usually only available to rent exclusively – for the week commencing 15th December you can enjoy the full bespoke service for 2,500 Swiss francs per person (based on two sharing a double room.)

For further details on any of these options or for more ideas on short chalet holidays call us on +44 (0)203 004 8750 and we’ll help you to find the right place to stay.

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With the ski season now only a couple of weeks away (Verbier have announced that they’ll open properly on December 1st) you’ll probably be dreaming up excuses to get onto the slopes. Fortunately we have a fantastic excuse for you.

Chalet Spa, one of the world’s finest ski chalets, is offering exclusive early winter rates for the December weeks:

1st December is reduced from 60,000 Swiss francs to 40,000 Swiss francs (or £27,000)
8th December is reduced from 80,000 Swiss francs to 50,000 Swiss francs (or £33,500)
15th December is reduced from 100,000 Swiss francs to 60,000 Swiss francs (£40,000)
22nd December is reduced from 140,000 Swiss francs to 98,000 Swiss francs (£65,500)

All of these rates are for seven nights exclusive use of the ski chalet based on ten guests sharing the five bedrooms. The rates include the services of a chalet manager, housekeeping, highly experienced chef who will provide breakfast daily and evening meals on six nights of every week, range of boutique waters, beers, spirits and soft drinks, a driver service for journeys in the ski resort and our full concierge service for any additional requirements you may have. Food, wines & Champagnes are charged as extras.

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It’s not too late to book a chalet for the New Year week in Verbier. The newly launched Chalet Annelies is available from December 22nd through until the 20th January 2013. There’s a minimum booking of two weeks although we’ll rent the property for one week over Christmas. The property is one of the most luxurious in the resort and sleeps ten guests in five bedrooms. Guide price from 4,800 CHF to 6,460 CHF per person for each of these weeks including exceptional levels of service from a private chef, driver and housekeeper.

Chalet Bouquetin is a wonderful property available for the Christmas and New Year weeks (22nd and 29th December respectively.) It’s located in the quiet Plan Pra area of Verbier and is just a short drive from the centre of town. Guide price from 6,750 CHF to 7,750 CHF per person per week based on ten sharing, again including a private chef, driver and housekeeper amongst other things.

Chalet Five Roses is a great option if you’re looking for a smaller free-standing chalet on a self-catered basis. It’s available for New Year from the 29th December and is also free for the Russian Christmas period from the 5th. Guide price from 1,745 CHF to 2,525 CHF per person based on eight sharing for each of these peak weeks.

Finally there’s Chalet La Cloche which is situated right in the centre of town just a few minutes from Place Centrale and a few seconds from the main lift station, Medran. This apartment sleeps up to six guests in three bedrooms and has a small south-facing balcony. Again this one is self-catered, there will be a welcome hamper on arrival with a bottle of Champagne to start your New Year holiday off in style. The price is £1,575 per person based on six sharing for the week commencing 30th December.

If you’re interested in any of these properties or would like to discuss other potential options then give us a call on +44 (0)203 004 8750 and we’ll do our best to help you find the right place to stay.

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The Valsian hamlet of Commeire is a small farming village perched on a mountain-side at 1,500 metres above the Grand St. Bernard valley. The entire village, which has just twenty full-time residents, is heritage listed,  with narrow winding streets, converted barns and farm stores and a baroque chapel which dates back to 1649 which has recently been restored to its former glory.

With such a small number of residents it’s easy to see how this place is extremely peaceful and makes a perfect retreat for those wanting ultimate calm and serenity.

You might assume that because Commeire is such a small, quiet and tranquil place that there wouldn’t be anywhere to stay. Not so. A couple of years ago a few renovated barns opened for business as exclusive high-calibre rental retreats for holidays and corporate sojourns.

Therapy treatments and massages can be arranged in the comfort of these barns and for those who want to get out and explore the hiking and trekking opportunities are endless. For the more adventurous visitor there are extreme sports like paragliding and canyoning available nearby. Others just prefer to laze on their balconies basking in the two hundred days of sunshine that this place receives annually, with a good book and a glass of one of the local wines that are produced just moments away.

Inside, the barns are sleek and contemporary in style, whilst the exteriors have been preserved virtually unchanged to blend in with the surroundings. The barns have kept their original dimensions with strengthened walls and floors and been carefully constructed to be energy efficient and eco-friendly.

Commeire is an enchanting hide-away where you can escape from the world and live life at your own pace. Definitely a place to go if you’re looking to recharge your batteries, detox and enjoy mountain wellness. Whilst the village itself may be quiet there’s plenty of action nearby with Verbier and other major ski centres under thirty minutes away. The journey by road from Geneva takes two hours, Lausanne is just over an hour away and you can be in the Italian town of Aosta within an hour via the Grand St. Bernard tunnel.

The barns sleep from four to ten guests in supreme style and with fully-flexible options for catering and service. There’s the charming La Maison Berard (sleeps four) for small families of four or couples, Chalet Le Six Blanc (sleeps six) for families and small groups, Chalet Le Rogneux (sleeps eight) for mid-sized groups and finally Chalet Le Barbey (sleeps ten) for larger groups. For corporates and events all the properties can be hired together.

To book call us on +44 (0)203 004 8750 and we’ll tailor something for your requirements.

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Skiing in Bulgaria has for some time been associated with low-cost holidays and is an unknown quantity to many travellers but now, as the FT How to Spend It magazine eloquently phrases it, “Bulgaria is a land of opportunities…travel tastemakers respond to its potential.”

This doesn’t just go for the mountainous regions – the whole country is brimming with cultural charms, beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Sites and medieval monasteries.

Bulgaria’s history is eventful starting with the settlement there of Thracian tribes in 500BC. Many consider the nations “golden age” to be circa AD890 when arts and creative movements flourished and the first Bulgarian Kingdom was formed. Over the centuries the nation has seen Byzantine leadership as well as being part of the Ottoman Empire and more recently communist rule.

Villa Gella is a magical escape in the historical village of Gela, believed by many to be the birthplace of the mythical musician Orpheus. The village sits at around fifteen hundred metres above sea level and is seventeen kilometres away from Bulgaria’s second largest ski resort, Pamporovo.

This mountain home is a sanctuary of peace and tranquility where guests can explore the surrounding countryside or learn about the ancient Thracian Kingdom. There’s plenty of adventure available as well, from hiking and horseback riding through to exploring the Devil’s Throat Cave where Orpheus entered the underworld. And of course let’s not forget the skiing – twenty-five kilometres of downhill ski slopes and thirty-eight kilometres of cross-country skiing at Pamporovo should be plenty to keep you entertained.

If you’re looking for a place not to be seen and you’re not one to wish for celeb-filled ski slopes then this is the ultimate hideaway.

The villa is unrivalled in central Europe and would compete with some of the most stunning ski chalets in the Alps. The style is different and this isn’t a show off property – it’s refined, tasteful and built to complement the unspoilt surrounding scenery.

This mountain home is expansive, spanning three thousand square metres with six en-suite bedrooms. The styling is cool and refreshing with neutral and earthy colour tones and raw, natural materials. The villa has also been designed to high sustainability standards and, to quote the FT again, it “blows the chorapi (socks) off anything built since the strongman Todor Zhivkov was ushered from power in 1989.”

The facilities include a ten metre indoor swimming pool, two jacuzzis, a wellness area with steam room and there’s a huge terrace with an outdoor fireplace that’s perfect for al fresco dining even on the colder days.

The high-calibre service is definitely a family affair with the owner’s mother and a sous-chef preparing fine local specialties such as patatnik (potatoes, cheese and eggs baked on a hot stone or in a frying pan) and lozovi sarmi (rice and minced meat wrapped in pickled cabbage leaves and steamed). Of course there are also international dishes available but we definitely suggest tucking into these dishes.

Lunches and Dinners can be accompanied by the exquisite wines of the Terra Tangra winery (also family owned) which produces Bulgaria’s most celebrated wines, many of which have received international awards and critical acclaim.

The manager of the property is the owner’s cousin and has worked in top international hotels. She knows everything you need to know and want to know about the local area.

A stay at Villa Gella for twelve guests has a guide price from £7,200 for exclusive use of the property (available year-round). The price includes meals and wines. The villa is located two and a half to four hours from Sofia depending on which route you take (we suggest the scenic one). The nearest airport is Plovdiv which is around one hour thirty minutes from the house. The villa can also be easily reached by car from Istanbul and Thessaloniki. To book call +44 (0)203 004 8750.

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As you can see from the above image (view from Chalet Abode in St Martin de Belleville) it’s been snowing around the Alps over the past few days. To celebrate the snowfall we’re offering a £100 reduction per person on the week commencing 6th January at Abode. That’ll take the price from £1,145 per person down to £1,045 per person

The price includes accommodation in a single, twin or double bedded room, breakfast & afternoon tea on seven days, dinner on six nights (the staff have one night off,) six pairs of carefully selected wines with dinner, Champagne reception on arrival, complimentary bar (mixers, soft drinks, beer & wine,) children’s supper on six days if required and an on demand 4×4 driver service to and from St Martin until ten at night.

If you’re interested in staying at Chalet Abode or any of our other properties then call us on +44 (0)203 004 8750 to discuss the options.

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