The cabin is non
smoking and features 3 double bedrooms and 1 twin bedroom;
on the main floor upstairs there is bedroom 1 with an oak
king size bed and an en-suite bathroom with
bath/shower/toilet, downstairs there are bedroom 2 and 3
again with oak king size beds , and bedroom 4 is a family
room with 2 single beds. Also downstairs there is a
wetroom/toilet and a separate WC with hand basin and
shaving point, a utility room with a washing machine +
tumble drier and a drying boot rack (supplied by
www.wellyracks.com), under the
balcony there is a ski locker. On the main floor there
is a spectacular open plan kitchen, dining, seating area
with a superb central walk around log fire, a large oak
dining table that seats 8 comfortably, an entertainment
centre that has a TV, DVD, MPEG/USB playback, surround
sound and Broadband/ADSL (3 times faster than UK!) is
also available. Skype contact with owner in the event of
problems is encouraged. There is a fully fitted kitchen
with granite worktops, all new appliances including a
dual fuel range cooker, microwave, dishwasher,
fridge/freezer, oak cabinets and to set it all off
there’s a spiral staircase down to the lower level
sleeping area. Most of the artworks are original oil
paintings done by Vicky, more of which can be seen
at www.clandonart.com.
Other
features include tiles throughout with thermostatic
underfloor heating, combined English and French plug
sockets, contemporary lighting, and a back up convector
radiator if all else fails. For flexibility upstairs has
hot water provided by a new gas on demand boiler that
doesn’t need electric to fire it, and downstairs uses
a standard electric heated tank system so there should
always be hot water. There are heated towel rails in every
bedroom and Egyptian cotton sheets and Christy towels are
included. The cabin also stands in it’s own 1000m of
grounds and has parking for 2 cars.
There are stunning
views of the mountains from all windows, including Mont
Joly to it’s west and Tre-la-Tete, a snow capped
glacier mountain, to it’s East that shows snow on
it’s peaks all the year round. About 30m below is the
white water of Torrent Le Bon Nant, that provides a lovely
background noise whilst you sun yourselves on the south
facing balcony.The local ski bus picks up 2 mins down the
road in the winter but a car is preferable so you can
choose the resort to ski in whilst you’re there to
get the best weather on the day. There are the resorts of
Les Contamines Hauteluce (quite the best, with lovely wide
open slopes and well manicured snow), St Nicolas de Veroce,
St Gervais, Megève, Combloux and La Giettaz. The Evasion
Mont Blanc ski pass will give you access to all these
resorts, but if you prefer the more expensive Chamonix ski
areas they’re only 30 mins away, and Flaignes is
about 40 mins. By negotiation a 4 wheel drive, 4 door, Ford
Ranger XLT Thunder double cab pickup can also be made
available.
Don’t just
choose the winter though, we first fell in love with the
place in the summer, it’s breathtaking. Take the ski
lift from The Gorge up to the wild flowered slopes at Les
Contamines Hauteluce and swim in the freshwater mountain
lake by the restaurant, go hiking or biking, climb
mountains, use the adventure park and free tennis courts
opposite The Gorge lift, go horse riding, fishing, white
water rafting, parascending or just breath the mountain
air!
Provisioning is easy
and good value for the region in Les Contamines, but if
they’re closed or don’t have what you want,
enjoy the experience of wandering around St Gervais, one of
the loveliest French towns ever visited, which has loads of
restaurants, café’s, and boulangeries as well as at
least one minimarket that will be open on most days, but
also it has incredible views of Mont Blanc, a vintage
Carousel that operates all year, and the Tramway du Mont
Blanc that’s open all year too and will take you
2372m up to the Nid d'Aigle on a trip that you’ll
always remember.
