thetravellingwilbennetts

Now I would love to claim that I found this little gem, but I would be telling a big fat pork pie. It was my lovely friends Jules, whose birthday we were going to celebrate on the slopes along with our families and another of her friends and kiddiewinks.

It was our first experience of skiing as a family, my husbands and little girls first time on the slopes and my first-time skiing. (I had done a snowboarding holiday about 15 years before when I was fitter and had less fear inside me).

This was going to be altogether a bit of a classier affair. Firstly, we wanted somewhere we were happy spending the night, it was not about the Après-Ski this time around and secondly it was a celebration. That said we also wanted good value for money.

Jules did her research and sent over tons of options, but we settled on Chalet Beziere one of the Chalets operated by Treeline Chalets in Morzine. I will go in to more detail below but suffice to say it was so good The Wilbennett’s booked to go back the following year.

Chalet Beziere

It is located about a 15-minute walk from the town of Morzine and is a typical Savoyade chalet. With lots of wood and high ceilings – just what we had pictured when deciding to opt for this type of accommodation. We did however, arrive at the beginning of April where the temperatures were soaring so there was no snow atop the building, in-fact we walked into town in shorts and flip-flops.

The chalet had tons of character and plenty of space for our group of 12. There are 5 bedrooms and bathrooms with varying number of beds in each. Four of the smaller children all wanted to share but the upstairs bedroom was at the top of some steep stairs and we worried about them if they woke in the night so we threw a couple of mattresses in one of the rooms and it was like a giant sleepover for them and they loved it. Alternating between sleeping on the bed or on the mattress on the floor. The Chalet hosts, Emma and Joe didn’t mind this as they just wanted us to have a good time.

There is a large living room with enough squashy leather sofas for all and a large dining table in the same room. There is a place to have a log fire but certainly not required.

The chalet also has a hot-tub and small garden out the back and I think our experience was quite different to those visiting in peak season. The sun was shining, and it was more like a pool to cool down in and the small ones loved it (until we kicked them out so the grown ups could enjoy a cold one whilst soothing those achy limbs).

Booking

Booking with Treeline Chalets is very easy – whilst you cannot book on line they will email you a confirmation link to put all your details on and pay your deposit. You can at this point request extras or add them later on yourself.

Additional Services

Treelines website recommends and has links through to several different ski/snowboard schools

They also offer a transfer service either private or shared which is very efficient and went without a hitch.

They recommend Ski-Mobile to sort your equipment out and the company comes to the villa to drop off and pick up which makes this part hassle free. The only thing to consider is whether you want to hire a locker or hiring from a store closer to the lifts so you don’t have to lug them back to the chalet if you are coming back earlier in the day (which can be the case with smaller children) or if you just fancy stopping for a bit of après-ski and don’t want to be in your ski-boots.

They will also go and collect your ski lift passes (and advise of any offers) in advance so that you don’t have to queue up on the first day of skiing. This is a great time-saver and you can just pay them when you arrive.

As most Chalet hosts in the resort have a Wednesday night off it can get very busy in the resort so the hotel recommends that you decide where to eat as early as possible and they will make recommendations and book this for you. Again, taking away any additional work.

The chalet hosts will also drop off and pick up at the lifts, however, if it is before 4pm then they will ask you make your way back independently as they will be out. The only exception to this again is a Wednesday.

A nice touch as well is that we had a visit from the resort manager on our first day to introduce herself and just let us know that she is around if we need anything.

Food and Drink

Now this is where Treeline really excel. Every meal we had was excellent. Every morning they had a continental breakfast set up with warm croissants, pain-au-chocolat and fresh bread plus they offered a hot option – be that pancakes, French toast, Omlette etc.

Returning to the chalet each day we were greeted by a delicious home-made cake/freshly baked cookies – just what was needed after a day on the slopes.

Then the evening meals were something to really write home about.

Children’s Meals – they serve the children earlier so that we have enough time to get them sorted, settled and mostly into bed before we could sit down and enjoy some adult time. The food was really good, freshly cooked and all the children thought it delicious.

Adult Meals – the evening meal for the adults consisted of a 3-course meal with wine, followed by a cheese of the day and port. Emma was an amazing cook and she told us that the training is really intense, and a lot of emphasis placed on delivering quality and it showed. Not only was the food presented brilliantly but it tasted as good as it looked.

One night, Joe, offered us a little additional tipple he had made – a butterscotch vodka. He said to shoot it back before he told us how he made it and after obeying him, he advised it was a bottle of vodka with Werther’s Originals and then put in the Dishwasher to mix up. Genius and really good.

Chalet Hosts

Well I don’t know if they just got luck with Joe and Emma or that Treeline really scrutinise their intake, but we found them to be the perfect hosts. They were attentive, fun, went out of their way to make our holiday brilliant, they were great with the kids, excellent cooks and downright good eggs. I am hoping that it is all down to Treeline as we will definitely be back.

Summary

Traditional Alpine accommodation, fantastic hosts, amazing food, superb service. I don’t have enough superlatives to continue.   But would I recommend them ………. I am kind of torn. If I do, then we risk not getting availability in the future…… but it would be rude not to.

If you are heading to Morzine and looking for Chalet-style accommodation, then you must must must check out Treeline Chalets and for the more traditional style accommodation and for a big group Chalet Beziere is perfect.

You can read all about the rest of the holiday in my blog Morzine 2017