Chalet Grand Motte

Chalet Grand Motte opens with a pair of carved antique doors, and that sets the tone. This is old timber and deep snow outside, and inside a collector's mix of Indian carving, Moroccan lamps, crystal chandeliers and pop art. From the balcony you look straight across the rooftops of Val d'Isère to the church tower and the peaks.

The living room is built around a fire that burns on a great slab of boulder, with navy sofas and a coffee table stacked with books. Off it are a bar with fur-covered seats and a dining room for fourteen. There's also a second dining room, walled in stone and lined with lit wine racks. For a luxury chalet rental in Val d'Isère with real personality, few places are this memorable.

Chalet Grand Motte sleeps fourteen guests in six bedrooms, each with a king bed, and six bathrooms. Bedrooms are warm and dim, with fur throws and carved mirrors, and one has its own timber stair up to a mezzanine.

Downstairs, the spa takes you somewhere else entirely, with Buddha statues and carved arches leading to an indoor pool, a hot tub, a mosaic hammam, a relaxation room, a treatment room and a gym. Le Châtelard is part of the resort itself, close to Val d'Isère's shops and restaurants and to everything the French Alps do best in winter. It's ideal for a large family or a group of friends who want a ski week with a sense of theatre.