travel facts - Premiere Neige

36
www.edinburghnews.com
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2014
EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS
TRAVEL Gill Martin meets Edinburgh businesswoman Fiona Harvey who swapped the rat race
YOU CAN LIVE THE
DREAM IN SAINTE FOY
COTTISH chalet girl meets
English pilot in the French Alps.
They fall in love - with each
other and a pretty mountain village
called Sainte Foy.
Fast forward a few years and they
are married, with two sons, running a
thriving chalet business based in Edinburgh that brings skiers to the same
village that won their hearts.
One week it’s wealthy Russian oligarchs who drink their cellars dry, the
next it’s a scrum of rugby players, and
then a high-flying couple de-stressing
from work pressure to find family time
in the snow and sunshine.
“We are living the dream,” says
Fiona Harvey, founding director of
Premiere Neige, which is now in its
twelfth year.
Fiona, 39, and her husband Alistair,
47, have settled happily in Sainte Foy,
in the Tarentaise Valley of the Savoy
region, with their sons Sam, six and
five-year-old Oscar.
“We love it. It is really home now
especially with our boys who go to
local school and ski club,’ she says. “It
opens up a whole new world. The winter brought us here but the summer is
what keeps us here as it is so beautiful,
there is so much to do and you have
more time to catch up and breath in
the mountain air.
“I discovered Sainte Foy whilst
working in nearby Val d’Isere as a
chalet girl. It was so tiny then, just the
main bar and a few small apartments
“At an Overseas Home Exhibition in
Edinburgh I found that constructors
were starting to build beautiful chalets
in Ste. Foy and decided it was the time
to take the plunge before any big operators got in there. I’d always wanted
to start my own business.
“Friends and family thought I was
mad - I gave up a good job as a marketing and events manager in Edin-
S
TRAVEL FACTS
GILL MARTIN was a guest of Premiere Neige (0131510 2525; www.premiere-neige.com) and stayed
in Sainte Foy at La Marquise which sleeps 16 in six
double/twin rooms and one four-bed bunk room.
It is priced from £905pp fully catered (air fares
and transfers not included). Other Premiere Neige
catered chalets are priced from £745pp per week.
Premiere Neige has a crèche and kids club for
newborns to 10-year-olds run by experienced, first
aid-trained nannies and open to
guests every day from 8.30am
to 5pm.
La Marquise offers a host of
relaxing Elemis spa treatments
and therapies in the comfort of
a separate private treatment
room. These range from
massages and wraps to facials
and manicures.
La Maison à Colonnes - william.
[email protected] call +33 4
79 06 94 80
Chez Merie chezmerie@
hotmail.fr call +33 4 79 06 90 16
Les Brevettes - difficult to find but worth the effort
for simple fare
Rental Republic www.rentalrepublic.co.uk online ski
and snowboard hire with free delivery and in-chalet
fitting
TRAVEL BY AIR:
Edinburgh to Chambery with Jet2 www.jet2.com
(1hr 45mins transfer)
Edinburgh to Geneva with
Easyjet (2hrs 30 transfer)
TRAVEL BY TRAIN:
Direct train from London,
to Bourg-Saint-Maurice by
Eurostar Direct Ski www.
eurostar.com/ski which runs
between 20 December 2013 and
12 April 2014. (20mins transfer).
Ste Foy tourist office www.
saintefoy-tarentaise.com/
english/
burgh, with pension and company car
and sold my flat.
“We started that first year with two
chalets and now run six luxury catered
chalets and look after 30 self- catered
chalets and apartments.
“It became clear after the first year
that to grow the business I needed to
be in the resort year round to contract
new chalets, meet with owners, get to
know and be trusted by locals and be
able to sell the dream.
“Like all hospitality it is hard work,
long hours and anything can happen at any minute: chefs breaking
their arms on New Year week, pipes
burst, oven fails mid-Christmas dinner, the dishwasher dies at midnight,
fireworks up the chimney, Russians
drinking génépi for breakfast, faddy
eaters. But the scenery, surroundings
and the ability to go for a ski when it’s
all too much is amazing.”
Her guests agree. One of the selling
points of a Sainte Foy chalet holiday
is experiencing leisurely life in a real
French village, rather than the frenetic
pace of nearby Val D’Isere.
There is no extreme shopping for
diamonds, designer outfits and caviar.
Instead you can enjoy extreme skiing
and extremely yummy cuisine at less
extreme prices.
The ski pass this season costs
156.50 euros for six days, 5.5 euros for
a beer and most hearty lunch dishes
around 15 euros.
Another draw is the sumptuous
chalet of La Marquise - all rustic timber, sheepskin, white leather chairs
and a stylish floating fireplace with
crackling logs. Comfort collides with
style. Squishy sofas meet statement
light fittings. Swish bathrooms with
a sauna and steam room in the basement. There’s wi-fi or board games.
On the veranda, as the mercury
dips to below freezing, we indulge in
the ultimate luxury: sipping bubbly
in a foaming hot-tub with a view of
the brooding mountains in the dusk.
Muscles relax, snow falls softly, all is
well with the world.
There’s cold and colder running
champagne with the canapés - duck
and soft cheese, sweet chilli dip, before
gourmet dinners of coconut, coriander and ginger soup, succulent duck
breasts, mushroom risotto, lemon posset with fruit compote, local wines and
gooey cheeses.
After coffee, petit fours, a digestif
of génépi - a herbal liquer produced
by steeping aromatic flower heads
in strong alcohol - how can you drag
yourself off to the bar when there’s
a game of Articulate to be played in
front of a flickering fire?
To wake to a sweeping view of the
peaks, obliterated by mist and cloud
for the first two days before revealing
itself with a burst of brilliant sunshine
and blue skies, was enough to have
you bounding from the duvet.
A power-packed breakfast - anything from fresh fruits, pain au chocolat and croissants to Scottish porridge
oats and a full ‘English’ fry-up - keeps
the keenest powder hound in carbs
till lunch up the mountain at Maison
EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2014
www.edinburghnews.com
for a life in the French Alps running Premiere Neige
LATE DEALS
CANADA FLIGHTS: Air
Transat is offering up to
£30 per person off return
flights from Glasgow to
Canada when booked
by 9pm on March 3 for
travel until 31t October
31. The airline operates
year round flights from
Glasgow to Toronto, and
from May 1 also offers
services from Glasgow to
Vancouver and Calgary
as part of its summer
schedule. Economy Class
return flights, including
the £30 per person saving,
start from £398. For
reservations, call 020- 7616
9187 or visit www.airtransat.
co.uk.
MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX:
Premier Holidays is offering
a five-day B&B package for
£1399pp, with five nights
in the four-star ParkRoyal
hotel, Kuala Lumpur
including three-day pass
to the Formula 1 Grand
Prix and daily transfers to
and from the circuit; return
flights from Heathrow
with Malaysia Airlines and
access to a choice of free
concerts, based on two
adults sharing and valid for
departures on March 26.
Visit www.premierholidays.
co.uk or call 08444-927
542.
CAPTION: In here
à Colonnes or Les Brevettes, where locals are still talking about ex-England
rugby player/Strictly Come dancing
contestant Austin Healey practising
his body surfing from the rafters.
After a full day’s skiing afternoon
tea is the most welcome touch - especially when an Irish member of our
group announces her birthday.
Chef Louise magics up an iced carrot cake in the shape of a shamrock,
candles and all. No wonder the ski and
boot experts who bring our equipment
coordinate their visits with teatime to
share our confections of coffee and
walnut or lemon drizzle.
There seems no end to the comforts
provided at Chalet Marquise. A knickers fairy rescued my washed undies
from the bathroom radiator to fold
them ever so neatly on my bed.
And when my aching body was
THE
GOOD
LIFE:
Fiona
HarveyJordan at
chalet La
Marquise
enjoys the
winter ski
season,
but
finds the
delights of
the Savoy
region in
summer
just as
rewarding
mascrying out for TLC Lauren the mas
seuse provided a soothing massage
with hot stones, easing knots in neck,
shoulders, back, thighs and calves
so that I was fit to ski another day on
un-crowded north-west facing slopes
where the snow was well-groomed.
On chalet chef’s night off we forced
ourselves to explore the area - and
discovered Chez Merie, in the nearby
hamlet of Le Miroir, a charming restaurant run by two doughty sisters
who set up business decades ago
when skiers marooned by an avalanche needed feeding.
A huge shoulder of lamb and a hefty
cut of beef were cooking on the fire.
This was not a place for vegetarians,
although the winter vegetables were
a treat and the mountain of chocolate
dessert a challenge we embraced.
Skiing throws up its own challenges - ski treeing. One of the appeals of Sainte Foy - a high, snow-sure
resort at 1550m, rising to 2620m - is
tree skiing. The art of skiing off-piste
through the trees is seeing the spaces.
Unfortunately I see only the trunks, so
kept to safer routes.
Pretty descents along tracks lined
with towering larches, their boughs
frosted and bowed with snow, were a
delight. While I stuck to steepish red
runs and wide, gentle blues, other
braver souls hit the most challenging
black runs and a bowl of off-piste and
ungroomed runs. Wherever we went
there were none of the elbow-jabbing
queues that plague larger, busier resorts.
Our two beginner/novices made
good progress under the tender tutelage of instructors and guides. (My
instructor suggested I straighten my
stance to imitate a man peeing but not
wanting to wet his boots.)
The novice was confident enough to
tackle a long descent of blue runs but
not quite up to a nocturnal treat - skiing down the mountain by flaming
torchlight, whooping in the darkness,
our path lit by flickering lights and the
powerful beams of a following snow
vehicle, shadowing us to make sure we
all arrived safely.
Joining in the fun was Konrad Bartelski, the first and only British male
downhill racer to stand on a World
Cup podium.
The veteran skiing guru is in love
with Sainte Foye. “This is how skiing
should be and not as it is,” he says.
Skiers and boarders who have discovered Sainte Foye implore: ‘Don’t
tell people about this hidden gem or it
won’t be hidden anymore.’
Sorry, folks, your secret is out.
The Evening
News reader
holiday service
offers a range of
holidays to suit
all tastes and budgets. For
a brochure call:
YOUR
GUIDE
0131-620 8400
37
ALICANTE: Jet2holidays
has a three-night B&B
break at the three-star, Tryp
Ciudad De Alicante, from
Edinburgh on February 27
for £300 per person based
on two adults sharing.
BENIDORM: Or try the
Costa Blanca’s two-star, La
Era Park Apartments, for
seven nights self-catering
on February 23 for £361pp.
FUENGIROLA: Seven
nights on the Costa Del Sol
at the three-star plus,
Fuengirola Beach,
self-catering
from Edinburgh
on March 7
costs £428
per person.
Visit www.
jet2holidays.
com,
freephone
0800-408
5594.
CYPRUS IS
BEST: Last-minute
bargain hunters
looking to escape rainy
days in Scotland on a half
term break should head
for Cyprus, according to
Post Office Travel Money.
In its latest survey of winter
sun family destinations
offering flights from
Scottish airports, they
found a seven-night holiday
including meals and drinks
costs 44 per cent less than
Malta. A one-week holiday
package in Paphos, with
flights from Edinburgh,
was easily the cheapest of
eight destinations surveyed,
while resort prices for meals
and drinks were also lowest
there. When these were
added together, a oneweek holiday for a family of
four in Paphos cost £1216.
FLORIDA: Virgin Holidays
has seven nights in Florida
from £819pp at Lake Buena
Vista, including flights
with Virgin Atlantic from
Glasgow direct to Orlando,
room only accommodation
at the 3V Clarion Inn Lake
Buena Vista andcar hire.
Price is per person based
on two adults travelling
on 25 April. Visit www.
virginholidays.co.uk or call
0844-557 3870. ]
MALTA: Seven nights allinclusive at the four-star
Seabank Resort & Spa with
Malta Direct costs from
£489 per person with direct
flights from Edinburgh,
based on two adults
sharing on 25 February.
Visit www.maltadirect.com
or call 0845-604 0035.
INDONESIA CRUISE: Cruise
Nation has a ten-night
Asian adventure cruise and
city break from £1199pp,
flying fromGlasgow.
Book by 8 February 28
for a full- board sevennight Indonesia cruise
and receive three nights
in Singapore, room only,
for free, departing on
November 18 on the
Costa Victoria.Call 0800408 0758 or visit www.
cruisenation.com.
SKI FRANCE: Inghams has
some late season deals,
for seven nights in catered
accommodation flying from
Edinburgh, including Les
Deux Alpes, from £385pp
at the Chalet Bouton d’Or
departing March 23.
LES ARCS: The 4.5 Chalet
Marcel costs from £369pp,
on March 22.
SERRE CHEVALIER: Chalet
Amandier costs from £373
per person on March 29.
LA PLAGNE: Chalet
Almach costs from
£379 on March
22. Visit www.
inghams.uk or
contact 01483
791 114.
CARIBBEAN:
Sandals are
knocking
£100 off
the cost of
seven-night
stays at their
resorts, booked by
midnight on Tuesday,
including Jamaica from
£1239 pp at Sandals Carlyle
all-inclusive, with flights
and resort transfers based
on departures between
April 25 and June 13; Saint
Lucia prices from £1399pp
at Sandals Halcyon Beach
between September 1 and
October 17; Antigua from
£1565pp at Sandals Grande
Antigua Spa & Beach
Resort; Grenada from
£1579pp at the new Sandals
LaSource Grenada Resort
& Spa between September
24 and October 15; and The
Bahamas from £1589pp at
Sandals Royal Bahamian
Spa between September 1
and October 15. Visit www.
sandals.co.uk or call 0800597 0002.