Apsley Travel · Bespoke Luxury Travel
A catered luxury chalet in Courchevel 1850, Val d'Isère or Zermatt runs roughly £30,000–250,000+ per week in peak season depending on size and service level; Apsley arranges the chalet, in-resort drivers, ski instructors, heli-skiing and private jet arrivals (including Courchevel Altiport) as one booking. We work with the leading chalet operators (Consensio, Firefly, Bramble Ski, Haute Montagne, VIP SKI's top tier) and negotiate directly with owner-managed properties in Verbier and Zermatt.
Chalet pricing is per week, catered (chef, host, driver, daily housekeeping, ski technician) unless noted. Peak weeks (Christmas, New Year, February half term) run 40–100% above the shoulder rate below.
| Resort tier | Chalet size | Shoulder week | Peak week (Xmas / Feb half term) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courchevel 1850 (top 20 chalets) | 6–10 beds | £60,000–150,000 | £120,000–350,000 |
| Val d'Isère prime (Le Coin, Legettaz) | 8–12 beds | £45,000–110,000 | £90,000–250,000 |
| Zermatt / Verbier ultra-luxury chalets | 8–12 beds | £50,000–120,000 | £100,000–280,000 |
| Méribel Belvedere / Rond-Point 4-bed penthouses | 4–6 beds | £25,000–55,000 | £45,000–110,000 |
| St Moritz / Klosters penthouses | 4–8 beds | £30,000–80,000 | £70,000–180,000 |
| Aspen / Deer Valley chalets & Auberge villas | 8–12 beds | £40,000–100,000 | £80,000–220,000 |
Courchevel 1850 is the benchmark for chalet finish, Michelin-starred restaurants (Le 1947 at Cheval Blanc, La Table de l'Ours, La Saulire) and the Altiport for private jet arrivals — Phenom 300s and Falcon 900s land 400m from the piste. Val d'Isère matches the skiing (Espace Killy is arguably the strongest single ski area in France) with a more understated village character. Méribel and Val Thorens offer strong chalet value in the same Three Valleys ski domain.
Zermatt: car-free, Matterhorn on your terrace, the Alps' most consistent snow — Cervo, The Omnia, ultra-luxury chalets and best snow-sure late season. Verbier is the freeride capital and the strongest single mountain in Switzerland for expert skiers; W Verbier, Chalet Truffe Blanche. St Moritz for the scene — Badrutt's Palace, Kulm, Suvretta House. Klosters for privacy.
Lech-Zürs is the polished Austrian option — Almhof Schneider, Aurelio Lech — with the Arlberg's superb intermediate terrain. Kitzbühel for old-world charm.
Aspen and Deer Valley for finish, service and dining; Whistler and Big Sky for scale of terrain and value against the Alps. Snow is generally more reliable in December than in the Alps.
Luxury ski suits UHNW/HNW families who take one or two ski weeks a year and want the chalet week to feel like a private house-party — chef, host, driver, instructor stack in place from day one — rather than a hotel stay with lift tickets. Multi-generational groups combining strong skiers, cautious intermediates and non-skiing grandparents work best in a large chalet with a good spa, in-resort drivers and a mix of on- and off-mountain activity (heli-ski, snowmobiling, cheese tastings). Where the family arrives by private jet, Courchevel Altiport or Sion (for Verbier and Zermatt) make the door-to-door figure genuinely competitive against a scheduled flight plus transfer.
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Courchevel 1850's top 20 chalets run £120,000–350,000 for Christmas or February half term, catered. Val d'Isère's prime chalets £90,000–250,000. Zermatt's ultra-luxury 8–12-bed chalets £100,000–280,000. Shoulder weeks (mid-January, mid-March) are typically 40–60% cheaper for identical properties.
Courchevel 1850 (Aquamotion spa, La Mangeoire nightclub, Michelin dining), Zermatt (car-free village, spa hotels, Sunnegga sun-terrace lunches), St Moritz (shopping, cricket-on-ice, White Turf), Val d'Isère and Megève for scale of village life. Verbier and Val Thorens are more skier-focused and offer less for non-skiers.
Yes, but with restrictions. The Altiport takes turboprops (King Air, Pilatus PC-12) and specific jets rated for the short uphill runway — Phenom 300, Citation CJ3+, and with the right crew and weather Falcon 900LX. Larger jets go to Chambéry (45 min drive) or Grenoble (90 min). Apsley coordinates the slot, transfer and ski-in arrival.
Verbier, Zermatt and Chamonix all offer heli-skiing (Zermatt in particular flies from the Monte Rosa hut and Alphubel), typically €400–1,200 per person per drop depending on peaks and party size. Iceland (Deplar Farm) and Alaska are the destination heli-ski trips — £15,000–35,000 pp for a week, fully guided. We book across all of them.
Catered is the norm at £30,000+ per week — a private chef cooking to your menu is a large part of the value. Self-catered / staffed penthouses (Le K2, Airelles residence) suit families who want restaurant flexibility every night. Apsley can also arrange a hybrid — chef in-house for breakfast and children's supper, adults out for dinner four nights.
The top 20 chalets in Courchevel 1850 for Christmas or February half term are typically fully booked 9–12 months out — many by returning clients who provisionally rebook on departure. For March or January shoulder, 3–5 months is usually enough. Late availability (2–8 weeks) exists but choice narrows sharply.
Yes — we work with established resort nanny agencies (Alpine Nannies, Ski Famille, Powder Rangers) and can place a qualified English-speaking nanny in-chalet for the week, plus ski school liaison so children go direct to lessons in the morning and back to the nanny after ski. Budget £1,200–2,200 per nanny per week.
In the high-altitude Alpine resorts — Val Thorens, Tignes, Zermatt, Cervinia — yes. Snow is still excellent, sun terrace lunches are the point of the trip, and chalet pricing drops 40–60% against February. Verbier and Courchevel wind down earlier. For guaranteed spring skiing in strong resorts at a fraction of peak-week cost, Apsley recommends April 6–20 in high-altitude resorts.