FAQ

Every stay begins with an enquiry. Tell us your dates, the destination, who is travelling and how you like to be looked after, and we reply with a shortlist of two or three homes and the service levels that fit. Once you have chosen, we issue a booking confirmation; a 35% deposit secures the dates and the balance follows according to the schedule on the confirmation. Nothing is held until the deposit is received.

The balance is due eight weeks before arrival. A security deposit, set per home and stated on your booking confirmation, is taken before arrival and returned after departure once the house has been checked. Staffed stays also carry a service deposit, from which food, drink and extras bought on your behalf are settled; any unused balance is returned with the account.

The home for the week and the service level you choose, from self-catered Essential to fully staffed Gold. At every level the price includes daily housekeeping, the end-of-stay clean, nightly tourist taxes, champagne on arrival, flowers in the living area, Aesop toiletries and a pre-arrival booking assistant. In winter, lift passes are delivered and skis fitted in the chalet. Food and drink are never marked up: they are bought for you and billed at cost plus VAT, in arrears, with receipts on request.

More than eight weeks before arrival, the 35% deposit is forfeited. Eight weeks or less before arrival, the full booking price is due unless we manage to resell the dates, in which case any amount recovered is refunded. Payments cannot be moved to another home, because each one is managed for a different owner. We recommend travel insurance with cancellation cover for every guest. The full terms are on the Cancellation Policy page.

You can book directly with us or through the agency you already work with; the home, the service and the price are the same either way, and we work happily with both. A number of homes are kept off the site at their owners' request. If nothing on the site fits, tell us the party and the dates and we will say what else we can offer, in confidence.

Arrival is from 16:00 and departure by 10:00 on the changeover day. Most homes run Sunday to Sunday; Chalet Valentine in Méribel and The Prize of Pampelonne in Saint-Tropez run Saturday to Saturday. The minimum stay is seven nights. If your flights make an earlier arrival or later departure useful, tell us at the enquiry stage and we will see what the house and the team can do.

Five levels, from Essential to Gold. Essential is self-catered: the keys to a home kept immaculate, with our concierge a call away. Concierge adds a chalet manager. Famille adds a private chef for breakfasts and five dinners and a driver for limited hours. Silver adds afternoon tea, a sixth dinner, hosts at the table, turn-down and a driver on full hours. Gold is the whole house in service, led by a butler. Not every home sells every level; each property page says which.

The chef cooks breakfast every morning and dinner five or six evenings depending on the level, designing menus around your tastes and the children's. On the chef's evenings off, the driver takes you to and from the restaurant. Lunches can be added in the chalet at extra cost, subject to the team's availability. At Silver, hosts are present at breakfast and dinner; at Gold, at least one host is in the house from seven in the morning until one at night.

Every home states its capacity as adults plus children, for example six adults and four children, and the children's places are real beds in a bunk room, not sofas. The split is set by the house and by local rules, so tell us ages at the enquiry stage and we will confirm the configuration before you book. Cots and high chairs can be arranged on request.

Our homes do not take pets. They are private houses let on their owners' behalf, and the rule is the owners'. If a dog is part of the family, tell us at the enquiry stage and we will do our very best to see if an exception can be made.

Geneva is the airport for all three Alpine destinations: about two hours by road to Verbier, a little more to Méribel, around three to Val d'Isère. Lyon serves Méribel and Val d'Isère as well. We arrange the transfer with a driver, and your pre-arrival assistant confirms the details with you. Tell us the flight and the rest follows.

Yes. Sion is under an hour from Verbier, with Lausanne a little further. Courchevel Altiport is a short drive from Méribel, with Chambéry close by. Annecy and Chambéry serve Val d'Isère. For Saint-Tropez, La Môle is a few minutes from the villa; Nice and Toulon-Hyères take scheduled flights. We meet the aircraft and the driver takes it from there.

Chalet Makini in Verbier is ski-in, ski-out at Le Hameau. Every other chalet is a short walk or a few minutes' drive from a lift: two minutes on foot to Belvédère from Chalet Valentine, three minutes by car to Médran from Chalet Peter Pan, five to the Solaise Express from Étoile du Nord. From Famille upwards a driver is part of the house, and lift passes are delivered to the chalet with skis fitted in the boot room, so the day starts at the door.

Yes, in Verbier. Three terms exist: a school term of three months aligned to the International School's dates, the winter season from 15 December to 15 April, and a full year. Chalet La Vigne and Appartement Coprin are let by the term, Chalet Peter Pan and Chalet La Datcha by the season, La Datcha and Apartment Nadal by the year. Dates and rates are indicative and adjusted per booking; the Seasonal and yearly page has the current offer.

The home is yours for the term, arranged directly with us by the same team and to the same standard as a weekly stay. Service is set to your preferences, from weekly housekeeping to a full hospitality team, and billed separately from the rent. Bills are included on some homes and not others; each listing says which. Terms, deposits and the payment schedule are agreed privately around your dates.

That is what the school-term let was made for: a family can take a furnished home for one term, see how the school year and the village suit them, and decide about a longer move from inside it rather than from a distance. Tell us the school dates and the ages, and we will say which homes fit and introduce you to the people who can help with the rest.