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Luxury for less in the

By Rob Freeman, TravelMail

Last updated at 10:47 19 December 2008

As the helicopter hopped over jagged ridges and skirted towering rock faces, skiers on their last homeward runs of the day appeared to be almost in touching distance below.

The 640-horsepower five-person Ecureuil helicopter clattered along just above the wispy clouds that occasionally masked our view of the slopes below, with pilot Nicolas Siane keeping up a running commentary.

The little resort of Le Grand Bornand was the first to be identified. La Clusaz soon followed, its runs laid out beneath us like a 3-D piste map.

The transfer from Geneva Airport to any of the resorts of the Tarentaise is usually about a three-hour affair in a bus, or two and a half in a car. We were on schedule to make it in 25 minutes in our aerial taxi.

Quickly loaded into the chopper, and buckled up, we could anticipate being at our chalet near Val d'Isere, sipping a beer (make that a kir royale), before our fellow plane passengers had cleared the environs of Geneva.

It was all part of the Chalet Merlo experience – the sort of luxury establishment that is redefining the concept of a chalet holiday.

Chalet Merlo is not actually at a resort – it is within easy striking distance of a clutch of world-class ski areas, with a 4x4 and driver on hand to take you wherever you want to ski each day and collect you from wherever you happen to fetch up. Which may be at the bottom of a remote off-piste run or in a cosy bar – in the Tarentaise this could be one and the same thing.

The helicopter landed in a lay-by a few hundred yards from the chalet. The 4x4 was there to take us that last little stretch.

Chalet Merlo is located above the Tarentaise Valley, on the opposite side from the main ski resorts, although the tree skiing of Sainte Foy is pretty much on the the doorstep, in the ancient village of Le Miroir. The views are advertised as http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/holidaytypeshub/article-616619/Luxury-French-Alps.html?printingPage=true

breath-taking, correctly.

Its remoteness from the lifts has been manipulated, successfully and with merit, into a selling point.

While world-class skiing is 20 minutes or so away, the chalet has the air of a hedonistic retreat where regeneration of body and soul is possible in the most luxurious of surroundings – away from what, from our lofty and elite perch, can be regarded as the somewhat less-refined drinking dens and discos of the main villages.

And the prices are surprisingly unshocking and compare favourably with those of a four or five-star hotel, at around £1,350 per person per week in peak season, not including air fare.

So, what do you get for your money? Merlo has a two-floor fitness centre featuring the latest in devices to make you sweaty and breathless, a purpose-built massage chalet, a home cinema with two 50-inch plasma screens and a movie library of more than 1,000 DVD titles. Naturally there is wireless broadband with computer, printer and fax access. Oh, and an extensive wine cellar. And Ralph Lauren cushions.

The next few hours were busy – sorting out ski gear with the visiting Ski Grizzly mobile rental service (no having to traipse to a hire shop), whose Martin Harold has built up a healthy business among the private chalets of the Tarentaise; lazing in the Jacuzzi on the deck, with sublime views, while receiving bottles of champagne lowered by rope from the kitchen; and enjoying a multi-course dinner that was also part wine-tasting.

Snow sure about life in the French Alps: Chris Harrop and family

The next day was busy too – enjoying the best off-piste day of the winter so far, under the guidance of local expert Chris Harrop. He wasn't always a local of course but has become so over the decades, with an intimate knowledge of the slopes of Val d'Isere, , , et al.

When he isn't making new tracks on the most secret of slopes, he's building chalets from local timber to be sold as second homes and holiday investments – Chalet Merlo being one of them. As well as new-builds, he specialises in saving old farmhouses from decay and preserving some of the traditional architecture of the Isere Valley. Map data ©2012 Google - Help

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Chris first went to the Alps as a ski-mad 22-year-old, funding his passion by working as a dishwasher, ski guide and builder. He returned to England at one point to take City and Guilds examinations in carpentry before returning to the Alps to gather together his own team of craftsmen. Many years later, only the first of his fund-raising ploys has been ditched.

That day he found fabulous runs for us, deep in wonderful snow, in and around Tignes. After a modest chalet breakfast at Merlo – involving porridge, eggs, smoked salmon and bucks fizz as well as the usual staples – we started from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/holidaytypeshub/article-616619/Luxury-French-Alps.html?printingPage=true

Tignes les Brevieres and via the Sache telecabine and Marais chairlift made our way up to L'Aiguille Percee, beyond which the Vallon de la Sache was laid out, beneath a cloudless sky, in all its off-piste glory.

Bliss. Steep bits, powdery bits, all in perfect shape and all affording heavenly views. Interesting last stretch too just above Les Brevieres, where it was advisable to pick a line away from an overhanging cliff sporting huge and deadly- looking icicles the size of stalactites ready to unattach and spear the unwary.

Hop, skip and ski: Chalet Merlo is just minutes from the slopes...

Lunch was at the superb Le Ferme des 3 Capucines, a still-operating fromagerie – and one of the highest still-working farms in the area – that is sufficiently tucked away in Tignes-le-Lac to attract the more discerning skier rather than any old passing piste hacker. With our Chalet Merlo credentials we naturally placed ourselves in the former category.

Mr Harrop had some work to do to match the afternoon's skiing to that of the morning. He succeeded, taking us first up Les Lanches chairlift to access the delightful Couloir de Telegraph, a variation off La Petite Balme descent. Couloir de Telegraph is protected by towering and scenic multi-layered rock walls which protect the snow superbly – making for great skiing and great pictures.

At the end of the day our transport back to Merlo was waiting, oh, about five yards or so from where we stepped out of our skis. The kir royales were waiting, nicely chilled, at the chalet.

Comfort and style: bed down in a room with an Alpine view http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/holidaytypeshub/article-616619/Luxury-French-Alps.html?printingPage=true

Our second day in Chris's care saw us on the North Face of Bellecote, at La Plagne, one of the Tarentaise's classic descents – reached by taking the Bellecote telecabine to the top and then the Traversee lift. From here there is a further traverse to the ridge above the North Face. There is a choice of couloirs – and we (Chris that is) chose Couloir du Cairns.

The entrance was a bit of a sharp drop from the ridge – but the snow down the steep and narrow couloir was in great shape. This couloir ends in cliffs, so a left-hand turn and traverse to the foot of the neighbouring Couloir du Canadiens is required. So far so good – and still with little stashes of powder here and there as we continued our descent.

However, the little couloir down which we had planned to exit the North Face had a sting in the tail. The very last section, over the ice of the foot of a waterfall, had been blown clear of snow. A slip could have meant a topple into the icy pool over the little cliff – with disastrous consequences.

There was nothing for it but a long climb back up the couloir, skis on shoulders with Chris kicking footholds in the snow, to find a different route down. But there was one plus to such an energetic end to the day – the beer at the first bar we could find open once we'd reached the village of Nancroix never tasted so good. And appetites for the culinary delights of our haven of Chalet Merlo, when the telling of our exploits on the North Face reached epic proportions, had also reached new heights.

If only the weather had cooperated the following day and our return to Geneva had been in the style to which we'd become accustomed, in the chopper. As it was, low cloud level grounded the machine. And it was back to mundane road transport. Surprising how quickly one can get used to unadulterated luxury. And Ralph Lauren cushions.

Travel facts

Prices for booking the whole chalet, with six double rooms, start from £8,480 through to £16,400 a week during the winter based on 12 people sharing.

That includes half board with all drinks, airport transfers (this price is by road) and daily resort transfers. Weekend breaks cost from £6,300 to £9,800, based on 12 people sharing. Helicopter transfers from Geneva or Grenoble start at £200 per person each way.

There is a 12 per cent discount if booked before 15th Jan 2009.

For further information and bookings visit www.chaletmerlo.eu or call +44(0) 845 324 3521 (UK), and 33(0) 687 471919 () for in-resort enquiries.

Book your travel CALL 0808 230 1002

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