RENTALS being taken for SUMMER 2023, WINTER SEASON 2023/4 and SUMMER 2024. Ideal for FAMILIES and COUPLES; separate bedrooms for parents/adults and children/teens/younger or older adults. SKI RESORT: pistes OPEN from mid-December to mid-April - excellent snow record with groomed pistes guaranteed. New snow cannon installed on the piste outside our chalet enable ski in/ski out from this apartment (snow conditions permitting) to the main ski lift in the town during High Winter Ski Season. An outstanding snow record in every ski season, recently, with St Gervais les Bains having its own micro-climate due to the proximity of Mont Blanc ensures a plentiful supply; snow on pistes is manicured, with the expectation of runs/pistes to be maintained all the ski season - as always (new snow cannon + new fast lifts = no queues). A feature of this self-catering apartment is the size of the accommodation, most suited for a family/couples holiday; the floor area of 57 sq.m. is considerably larger than most comparably priced. Ideally situated approximately 4 km from the A40 (Autoroute Blanche motorway)/TGV and 300 metres above the town's main gondola station; doorstep skiing in High Winter Ski Season enables easy access to this lift station. The chalet (with its own lift and plentiful free parking) is in an area (within easy walking distance of the main town) with magnificent views over the town and to Mont Blanc, and the surrounding mountains and valley. These views can be best appreciated when lounging around the main feature - the private, outdoor, heated swimming pool in Summer (very few chalets in this area boast the facility of a private pool), or skiing the Evasion ski area in Winter, which is reportedly France's THIRD largest ski area. The chalet offers very easy access to all the other Mont Blanc Evasion ski resorts: Megeve (has direct link to St Gervais), Chamonix (the home of mountaineering, and not-to-be-missed ski area), Les Houches (which can be accessed from St Gervais via the Mont-Blanc Tramway, the highest rack railway in France, and has its own Ski World Cup run, the Kandahar), Argentiere/Vallorcine (for higher altitude glacier skiing), Combloux (having some of the best views to Mont Blanc), Les Contamines Montjoie (which allows an extended ski season, because of its micro-climate due to its proximity to Mont Blanc), Praz sur Arly (a smaller, more intimate ski station); even Flaine and some Swiss and Italian ski resorts are all within one hour's drive. This traditional Alpine-style chalet has timber-clad walls, with wooden shingle roof tiles, that keeps the apartment cool in Summer, yet warm in Winter. Skiing in (and visiting) Switzerland is easily possible, too! The apartment is situated in a quiet, yet convenient, area and it is a short distance from the town centre, restaurants, cafes, bars, skibus and shops; all within a five minute drive, or a 10 to 15 minute walk. St. Gervais les Bains: St Gervais was traditionally a fashionable, quaint spa town - attracting tourists since 1806; it is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site's 'tentative' list! Today, after much regeneration in recent years (including a new bridge to bypass the town centre, alleviating traffic flow through the town and creating cleaner air in the town), but retaining a 'rural'/working town mix, it is popular with families; it must be said, though, that St Gervais is not for groups of young men/women looking for extensive nightlife/discos, etc. It retains much of its rural charm alongside modern facilities and very extensive skiing: St Gervais is part of the THIRD largest ski area in France, reputedly! With the summit of Mont Blanc rising within the commune of St Gervais, the village boasts the most extreme altitude difference in Europe: from 580m. to 4,810m. , the 'Top of Europe'! The presence of Mont Blanc presents a unique panorama; the magnificent views are best seen from the open air swimming pool on site, from the town, on the ski slopes facing the mountain, the drive into the town or, more spectacularly, on walks in the meadows above the ski station of Le Bettex, and, especially, the stunning vista from the top of Mont Joly at 2,500m. St. Gervais les Bains is an ideal base for your family to explore other areas within easy reach: the historic skiing and mountaineering town of Chamonix (the 'Home of Mountaineering' and the founder of the Winter Olympics); the pretty little town of Courmayeur in Italy (via the Mont Blanc tunnel or the cable car from the Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix, which takes you over the top of the Mont Blanc range); the beautiful, ancient lakeside town of Annecy and its markets/brocantes and lakeside activities; the exquisitely chic town of Megeve (the 'most stylish resort in the Alps'); Combloux, the 'Pearl of the Alps', as Victor Hugo wrote; the cosmopolitan, lakeside town of Geneva (with its Jet d'Eau spectacularly rising 100m into the sky); and the spa town of Evian les Bains on Lake Geneva, with its Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool and bathing area on the lake's side - all not to be missed! St Gervais les Bains boasts a recent renovation to its sports complex, with a newly refurbished heated indoor and outdoor swimming pool complex (including sauna, hammam, etc.), so you can enjoy mountain views while swimming in the depths of Winter with views of the snow-covered mountains! The recently refurbished ice rink regularly hosts National and International events: ice skating galas (regularly featuring French champions and International stars), and ice hockey matches that host the local team, HC Mont-Blanc, which plays to the highest standard in the French First Division (2019/2020 season). Winter: An extensive range of activities is available - skiing, snowboarding, walking, ice-skating, mountaineering, heli-skiing, snow-shoeing, you name it! The terrain is suitable for all abilities - children readily welcomed and catered for, including a creche. Ski school for skiing and boarding is available to the highest level from Le Bettex, with lessons (French and English are spoken extensively) and ski passes bookable at the Tourist Office in Saint Gervais town centre and main gondola lift station. The pistes are mainly reds and blues, but for experienced skiers there are challenging blacks, too. Beginners/Improvers are well-catered for with the two ski schools. The linked areas (Evasion Lift Pass combines St Gervais, Megeve, Les Contamines, Combloux, St Nicolas de Veroce) offer a total of 420 km. of groomed, uncrowded pistes served by 116 lifts on one pass. Snow cannon ensure the resort stays open all season. On the slopes above Le Bettex there is a 'Snowpark' with a half-pipe, jumps, etc.; other skiing includes: snowblading, cross-country, slalom, telemark, ski-touring. Skiing on the Mont Blanc side (at Les Houches) is served by the Mont Blanc Tramway (TMB) - the highest train in France, a funicular/cog wheel rail (starting in Le Fayet and passing through St. Gervais) rising to a col linking with Les Houches. Apres-ski can be enjoyed in the many bars/brasseries; there is also a good choice of Savoyard restaurants (serving the local dish, Tartiflette, amongst others), pizzerias, cafes, cake shops - even a late-night disco and casino in Le Fayet. Summer: Activities range from walking/hiking, mountain-biking, golf, tennis, swimming/water-sports - there are lakes and bathing 'beaches' locally in Sallanches (Les Lacs de Passy), Passy and Combloux (some fed by mountain water!), horse-riding, fishing, hot-air ballooning, rafting, parapenting (jumping off the side of a mountain with a parachute!), shopping, many 'accrobranche' (adventure parks using ropes or cables suspended between trees), via ferrata, etc. In fact, most summer activities are catered for locally. One of the most popular is taking the gondola lift from the town, walking in the fields above Le Bettex, taking in the breathtaking views towards Mont Blanc, while stopping off at one of the mountain restaurants that open in the summer. At the end of the day, there is also the prospect of cooling off in our chalet's open-air, heated swimming pool. The bathing lake at Combloux (5 min by car) is spectacular - a 'biotope' with water fed from a mountain stream, filtered naturally by plants and heated by the sun: it has unrivalled views of the permanently snow-capped Mont Blanc and the jagged peak of the Aiguille du Midi. Megeve has a fantastic, modernised sports' complex, which has undergone extensive improvements in recent years (10 to 15 minutes by car) with facilities including indoor swimming pools, an Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool with flumes, sauna and steam room (hammam), climbing wall, tennis courts, mini-golf, table tennis and an indoor ice-rink; there is an outdoor ice-rink in the centre of Megeve in Winter, too!