Chalet Lucaval

This is a beautiful, brand new seven-bedroom chalet in a perfect position, just seconds from the pistes.

Chalet Lucaval already existed, but over summer 2019 it was entirely rebuilt. Almost nothing remains of the old chalet, which was already very comfortable. The new chalet is bigger and smarter. The people who did the work are the company responsible for most of Val d’Isère’s high-end developments in recent years, such as our chalets Ptarmigan, Perdrix and Pic Noir, and it is very special indeed.

All that hasn’t changed is its position. Part of the very exclusive La Légettaz area above the Club Med, Lucaval is precisely 20 seconds’ walk from the edge of the skiing (we timed it). At the start of the day you make the easy glide across the M piste to the Solaise or Olympique bubbles, the Rogoney charlift or the Légettaz poma, or our favourite, the Bellevarde Express chair. And at the end of the day, you ski from Solaise to 50m from the chalet. If it doesn’t suit you to finish up on Solaise, the Rogoney chair is always the last lift to close, making it possible to traverse home from every direction, the free Train Bleu bus stops just by the chalet, and from 17.30 until 20.00 our own Land Rover shuttle runs from the Tourist Office to the door.

For après-skiers, Lucaval is six minutes’ walk from the very smart Étincelle restaurant, or ten from the slightly less smart Cocorico après-ski club. (We never trust these “just a few seconds…” sales pitches, but it certainly won’t take you longer. It was paced out by a pensioner in heavy snowboots. OK, he wasn’t pushing a double buggy through a foot of powder with a leg in plaster, but he’s not Usain Bolt either…)

Lucaval has five gorgeous bedrooms in the main part of the chalet, each with its own bath or shower and separate wc, except Bedroom 4, which has a really nice free-standing bath and separate loo. Bedroom 4 and 5 each have an extra single child’s bed available at 75% of the normal price (with a minimum of £450).

Bedrooms 6 and 7 are in an annex attached to the back of the main building and a minute’s walk around it from the front door. It has two bedrooms and a single shower room with loo. Bedroom 6 has a double bed, bedroom 7 a single, and these rooms can accommodate a maximum of two people using the rooms either as two singles, or one double room (when used as a double, the single room is then just a convenient dressing room). We love the annex. And the option of two single beds or one double bed is perfect for people who sleep together and people who don’t, people who think they might or swear they won’t… Room 7 has a discount of £150 when rooms 6 and 7 are booked individually.

Chalet Lucaval can be booked for 12 people and the organiser will receive 50% off one holiday. However the chalet can be booked for 10 people with no empty bed supplement and the annex will be excluded.

Features of Chalet Lucaval, Val d'Isere

• WiFi
• Virtually ski-in and ski-out (only 25m walk)
• Excellent detached chalet
• Ski down to main Solaise ski-lifts
• All bedrooms with en suite facilities except bedrooms 6 & 7 which share a shower & wc
• Half price places available (please call for details)
• Smart TV with internet access to Netflix
• Evening Land Rover shuttle from village centre
• Ski room with boot warmers
• Comfortable living area with fireplace and balcony
• Single room
• Childcare (please call for details)
• Chalet can be booked for 12 using rooms 6 & 7 (& receiving 50% off one holiday) or for 10 excluding rooms 6 & 7

Accommodation in Chalet Lucaval, Val d'Isere

Bedroom 1 - Twin / double (14’9″ x 9’6″) on ground floor. Shower and separate wc.

Bedroom 2 - Twin / double (13’10” x 9’6″) on ground floor with shower and separate wc.

Bedroom 3 - Twin / double (14′ x 9’4″) on ground floor with shower and separate wc.

Bedroom 4 - Double (20′ x 10′ in the widest part of the room) L-shaped room on ground floor with a double bed and an extra single bed suitable only for a child. Large bathroom with bath and separate wc.

Bedroom 5 - Twin / double (16′ x 9’10”) on ground floor with an extra single bed suitable only for a child. Shower and wc.

Bedrooms 6 & 7 - These rooms are in the first floor annex (with separate outside entrance). Bedroom 6 is a double (10’6″ x 9′) and Bedroom 7 is a single (13′ x 8’6″), and they share a shower and wc. Together they can be used by a maximum of two people – ie. as two singles or one double (room 6 with room 7 empty). When booked individually, room 7 has a £150 discount.

Sitting / Dining Room:

(21′ x 28′ excluding open-plan kitchen) on first floor. Huge picture windows onto west-facing balcony. Log fire. WiFi.

Extra Beds:

Extra beds are available when one party books the whole chalet. There is a single bed in each of Bedrooms 4 and 5 suitable for one or two children, The cost for these extra beds is 75% of the quoted Lucaval price – subject to a minimum price of £450.

Please Note - Chef and an assistant who live out

Please Note - There is a damage deposit for this chalet (please call for details).

Meals in Chalet Lucaval, Val d'Isere

Eating and drinking may not be the most important things on your ski holiday. Good snow, fine weather, comfy boots – these are what will make or break the trip.

But food is an obsession with us. It is the one thing we control totally. Most guests wouldn’t blame us if it snowed every day, they got sunburn or their spouse eloped with a ski instructor, but if dinner wasn’t the perfect end to a good day, or antidote to a bad one, they wouldn’t come again.

Breakfast :

We start with a proper breakfast. Fruit juice, porridge, cereals from Rude Health, bacon, eggs, baguettes straight from the famous local bakery, yoghurt, tea and fresh coffee from Nespresso machines (with instant or infusions for those who prefer them). If that’s not what you consider a proper breakfast, please see our Serious Breakfast Optional Extra. On one morning breakfast will be self-service with fresh croissants and pains au chocolat delivered to your chalet.

Afternoon Tea:

You return from the slopes to find bread and jam, a freshly-baked cake (except on staff days off), tea and coffee left out for you. If you would like hot chocolate, please inform your chalet staff (and tell them how you like it!).

Evening Meal:

Dinner is where we pull out all the stops on five nights of your holiday. Our policy on food is straightforward. We start with the best cuts of meat and the best fresh fruit and vegetables, not really counting the cost. Everything we need is available in Val d’Isère. Most people are very happy with our normal formula of canapés followed by a three-course, fixed-menu, dinner-party-style meal. The cuisine is largely French, though with a fusion of other influences – what Londoners call Modern British. (Foreign, in other words.)

But if there is a consensus in the chalet that lighter food, smaller portions or simpler meals would go down well, we’re very happy to adapt. If you want more or less, or hotter or colder, or earlier or later, just tell us.

Dietary Requirements:

A small proportion of our guests now needs or wishes to eat different food from the rest of their party. If you request a different diet, we will be able to offer one alternative meal so that the normal meal or this alternative will be suitable for vegetarians, dairy free, no red meat or no onions / no garlic (see the Different Diets page to see the full list). Please note that we can supply a vegan diet but charge a supplement of £50 for this.

Or you could tailor-make a menu for your party for the week and ask us to cook, say, two fish meals, one chicken, one red meat (when vegetarians can simply not have the meat) and one vegetarian meal – or whatever combination suits your group. This way everyone enjoys the same meals all together and, dare we say it, eats a little more healthily.

If a diet is more complicated than those mentioned above, we may have to make a charge for special ingredients but we will let you know in advance. If you want us to buy in special non-dairy milks and yogurts there will be a charge in the resort, much the same way as the alternative wines mentioned below.

There are some diets we cannot cater for. We regret that we do not have the separate fridges, etc., required for Kosher diets, we do not have access to Halal meats, and we cannot guarantee that our chalets will be nut-free.

Staff training:

Our pre-season in situ training course gives the cooks three to four weeks of hands-on cooking practice – more than they’d do in a year at cooking school. This is indispensable even for experienced chefs at 6,000 feet, where nothing cooks the same as at sea level.

Wine:

With dinner, we serve free unlimited quantities of a selection of very drinkable French AOC wine and vin de pays. This is, unfortunately, only with dinner, not breakfast, and we stop serving the wine when the coffee appears.

We also have a wine list from which you can buy everything from slightly smarter wine to Châteaux Lafite-Rothschild or d’Yquem. We sell these wines at less than they cost because you are not drinking the house wine. The more you consume the more you save. Drink enough and you’ll pay for the holiday!

And if you prefer Krug Grande Cuvée to Dom Pérignon, just give the girls the dosh. They’ll be happy to get some in for you.

• If you would like a sample menus please give us a call