How To Find the Perfect Ski Chalet

Ski chalets are the perfect place to stay for your winter ski vacation - you get hassle-free skiing for all the family: your personal chef shops, cooks and serves your meals; the chalet hosts clean you rooms and the chalet plus have all the local knowledge you could ever need. They'll organize your lift passes, ski school and ski hire for you too. When you're planning the perfect ski vacation, you should make sure to find the perfect chalet:

1. Choose your ski resort wisely. Not all resorts offer European-style catered ski chalets - there are more and more each year in Colorado, particularly in the larger resorts, which offer a greater choice of accommodations. Winter Park, Vail, Beaver Creek and Breckenridge all have these types of chalets and are also great resorts to ski in.
2. Decide how many people are going. Different chalets can hold different size groups. Chalet Bluebell for example in Winter Park holds 8-9 people, but others take more. If you have a group of 8 people you would be able to book the whole chalet and have "sole occupancy" so your group can take over the whole house and have it to yourselves.
3. Look for group discounts. Some companies offer group discounts for groups of 6 or more. If 2 families are travelling together you'll really want to take advantage of these deals.
4. Location. Check out exactly where the chalet is. Is it in the middle of town, near the shops, bars, restaurants and kids playgrounds or in the middle of nowhere so you can't walk to local amenities? Does it have easy access to the ski slopes? Is there a free ski bus? If so, does it stop near the ski chalet or do you have to walk miles lugging your skis? And do the buses go frequently? If the chalet is on the main street there should be buses going past every few minutes. As with everything, location is key.
5. Who are the owners? Find out whether the chalet is independently run or part of a big chain. Generally speaking the owner / independently run chalets care a great deal about customer service and have clients returning year after year. The owners often live in the ski town, know the locals and really have a great deal of local knowledge. The staff tends to be more mature, have significant cooking experience and will really look after your every need!
6. Amenities. Compare amenities at different chalets. Go for ensuite / private bathrooms. See if they have hairdryers, humidifiers, fans and toiletries provided for you. Look at the living areas - do they have a couple of living rooms - one where you can relax in front of the fire and one where the kids can disappear to and watch TV? What about videos, DVD, stereos, an Xbox? All great entertainment for the little ones. Hot tubs are fantastic on a skiing holiday to really relax and strectch those aching limbs. After a tough day on the slopes, what's better than that? And the kids love to play in them. Check for internet access, not that you'll want to be in touch with the office on this vacation, but it may come in handy!

So there it is - check out these 6 points, choose your chalet carefully and sit back, relax and enjoy your ski chalet vacation!