We’ve just come back from our first (of many I hope) stay at Chalet Lampistiere, arriving for the penultimate week of the ski season when the snow starts icy and finishes slushy and the window for skiing is about two and a half hours a day. Had there been no snow it wouldn’t have mattered, Chalet Lampistiere is the place to be, so cosy and comfortable that it’s almost an effort to leave – who cares about skiing, let’s light the fire, pull out the Mega Monopoly and battle it out with cups of hot chocolate and sounds of the smart phone streamed through Bluetooth to the Barry White quality speakers.

Christoph and Sarah have taken the trouble to think through every comfort both practically and aesthetically, and that’s what gives Lampistiere it’s magic. From the Le Cruset saucepans to the baubles on the tweed curtain ties, I defy you not to feel coddled and heartily welcome. We did manage to drag our selves out, however, to be shown a wealth of ski options in breath-taking locations by our excellent and lovely ski guide, Jess. We all benefited from her kind and discrete tips for improving our form and as a result the more challenging conditions were no longer so challenging.

Chalet Lampistiere is in a charming village away from the hurely burley of Chamonix but near enough for us to use the vast swimming pool with it’s helter-skelter slide and wave machines and eat delicious belini platters at Le Jardin du Gouter in the Hotel L’Oustalet in the north-eastern part of town. Be warned – Le Jardin also doubles as a mouth-watering cake shop. If a good holiday (rather like an essay) is a meld of form and content held together by the ever important detail then we award CL an A Star (higher if there exists such a grade). We loved every single minute of our stay, all thanks to the detail laid on by Christoph and Sarah.