Oct 9 to Oct 13, 2024
At this time of year, nature reflects to us a bit of everything – abundant resources, colourful celebration, loss, decay and transformation, daylight retreating, temperatures dropping. It is surely the time when we get to feel it all – gratitude, nostalgia, quiet contemplation and joyful steps into the unknown. ​
Autumn in the Alps does not disappoint. The cows descend the mountains, ringing in this time to ready ourselves for winter; the food gets richer and comforts us deeply after a day out in fresh air; and the colours are breathtaking.
WHAT DO OUR RETREATS INVOLVE
Our 4-night wellness and mindfulness retreats are designed to help foster connection with yourself, others and nature. Located in Morzine in the French Alps, you can expect stunning scenery; delicious, locally sourced, gourmet food; and movement that grounds and challenges in equal measure, from yoga and meditation to exhilarating mountain hikes and wild swimming.
Step away from daily life and give yourself a chance to focus on what’s important; allow yourself to spend a few precious days in nature practising mindfulness and set clear intentions for how to improve your wellness in the long term.
But these are no ordinary retreats…..
ELEVATED OUTLOOK RETREATS
A new type of retreat.
Here’s where our experiences differ from your run-of-the-mill wellness retreat — you’ll be guided through the entire process by a professional life and leadership coach. This facilitator will work with you to ensure you return to your daily life with a clear path forward and a framework to achieve it.
This isn’t just a holiday.
It’s a carefully crafted and guided experience to help you align with both your inner purpose and the outer world — enabling you to move forward with intention.
Before you arrive
We start the experience with self-reflection exercises and a 2-hour pre-retreat coaching session with Caitlin where you’ll delve into the values and experiences that make you feel fully alive. You’ll set clear, personal intentions for your Summer Flourishing and prepare to bring your full self to the retreat.
What's Included:
Sample menu for our Autumn Retreat
Canape & cocktail : Foraged raspberry jelly ear mushrooms; miso aubergine croquettes served with homegrown plums – served with a bay and wild blackberry virgin bramble.
Starter : Baby carrot and local goat’s cheese salad, served with foraged elderberry balsamic, crispy quinoa and foraged wild flowers.
Main : Wild mushroom arancini scotch egg, served with pan-fried wild mushrooms, wild foraged greens, wild garlic pesto and a butternut squash and truffle puree.
Dessert : Baked homegrown- apples served with a wild blackberry coulis, burnt apple puree, spent grain crumb, homemade malt ice cream, homegrown marigolds and foraged wild flowers.
An inspired and supported way forwards
All too often, the holiday-glow fades moments after we return to life as usual. Our Back to Nature retreats don’t end when you pack your bags and leave the chalet. ​
With integration homework, useful tools to deepen your outdoor reflection practice, an in-depth post-retreat coaching session and discounted ongoing offers, we continue to support you as you take your path forwards.​
We are a luxury chalet company based in Morzine, France in the heart of the Alps. We offer holidays in our self catered and catered chalets for skiers in the winter and in the summer, we offer self catered holidays for people wanting to enjoy a wide variety of mountain activities or just enjoy the views. Sustainability is at the heart of absolutely everything we do.
There are very few chalets with stair gates as we have found it very hard to find ones that fit. Often the staircases are too wide or the interiors are such that we cannot fix permanent stairgates in place. Our experience is that most of our guests have managed well without them
We do not have an in-house nanny service but we do have partnerships with a number of local childcare providers.
These days, there are loads of options for non-skiiers from Spas to Snowshoeing to swimming to watching Wild bird displays!
Yes, we provide tea and coffee in all our chalets. For our catered chalets, it’s provided all week. For our self catered chalets, we provide enough for at least the first couple of days, giving you time to go and buy more. In our self catered chalets, we also provide Basic kitchen items (oil, salt, pepper, etc..)
Wifi is reasonably good in most chalets and allows for normal usage, i.e. one or two devices streaming video content. When Morzine gets busy during peak weeks, then the internet does slow down everywhere. Our team are on hand to fix any Wifi issues
Ski Mobile will be in contact with you on your arrival day and will aim to get to your chalet shortly after you arrive. They will bring the kit you ordered with them but if it’s not right, they will arrange different options for you
L’etale restaurant, in the centre of Morzine, is a good bet and we highly recommend you book in advance.
Yes, there is a hairdryer in every room in every chalet
On staff nights off, our private chauffeur service runs until 6pm in our Classic catered chalets and Refined catered chalets and until 10pm in our Indulgence catered chalets. You can arrange this with your hosts once you arrive in the chalet
Most of our guests buy 6 day Portes du Soleil passes which for Winter 22-23 were €295.50 for an adult and €222.40 for a child.
Store your ski equipment at one of these conveniently located ski lockers in Morzine
If you are looking for a place to store your skis overnight, then there are Ski Lockers at the bottom of the Pleney telecabine in central Morzine. Access is in the main hall opposite the cash desks which is the level below the gondola. One locker can store 5 sets of skis
Booking online is easy and can be done here: https://www.ski-morzine.com/Se...
However, to book you will need a ski pass. Our concierge team can allocate you a ski pass to facilitate your booking and then bring that ski pass to you on arrival.
Contact the team to request a pass allocation.
We have REN hand-wash, hand-cream and body-wash in each room in our self catered chalets, plus shampoo and conditioner in our catered.
The list of summer mountain pursuits is endless: explore the mountain trails on foot or horseback; paddle-board on Montriond’s stunning lake; hit the downhill bike tracks or raft the white-water. Alternatively kick-back on the terrace, sunbathe by the lake and enjoy warm summer evenings by the BBQ. Read our guide of summer activities here
Most of our chalets are available on a self-catering basis during the summer. Please find information in our summer section.
Whilst we recommend you bring enough clothes for the week, we understand things can get messy with children and in the great outdoors. We have a washing machine and tumble dryer which is working hard most of the time but, if you talk to your hosts, we should be able to squeeze in a wash or two for you.
Yes we do, so your toes should start the day nice and toasty.
We have radiators in every bathroom that you will find handy for gloves and under garments. If you require a tumble dryer please ask your chalet host.
Yes we have plenty in each chalet.
We have British TV in some of our chalets and we have Netflix available in all of them.
For early arrivals and late departures we’ll do our best to provide a changing area wherever possible and store your bags while you ski on the first/last day. For your arrival day you can arrange for your skis to be fitted on the morning you arrive at the chalet with our ski hire partner, ski mobile. Note if you are departing late on your final day we may need to arrange an alternative collection location for your transfer back to the airport.
In our catered chalets yes, just let us know on which day you’d like it and what the birthday boy or girl’s favourite type of cake is. We have now paused our cake making service for our self catered chalets.
If you’d like to spend some family time away from the slopes, or there are members of your group who will not be skiing or boarding; rest assured that there is plenty to do in Morzine. Read our activity guide for non-skiiers here
For those seeking less energetic entertainment, options include catching a thrilling ice hockey game; cinema shows in English; watching the pistes light up for night skiing; exploring Morzine’s selection of food, sports, homeware and souvenir shops, or checking into one of the resorts fabulous spas. For an added touch of luxury we can also arrange a number of indulgent in-chalet spa treatments.
Our catered chalets all have an alcohol license that only allows alcohol which has been purchased on the premises to be consumed within it, so please don’t buy any from duty free on your way through the airport.
Fear not though! We do run a reasonably priced, well stocked honesty bar which is available to you 24/7 during your stay with us.
All our wines are good quality bottled wines and you can drink as much as you like! We have carefully chosen some wonderful white and red wines which will work well for general consumption and will also compliment the menu. The wine we provide is not limited to meal times and is available whenever you like.
For those of you who are particularly interested in wine we also offer an additional selection of French wines from the surrounding regions for a supplementary cost (well below restaurant prices).
We can provide a menu of child-friendly dishes for children’s mealtime. Please advise of any fussy eaters or food preferences and we’ll make sure your little ones are well-fed.
Almost certainly, yes! We adapt our standard menu to accommodate vegetarians, vegans and those on restricted diets, and do our best to ensure that everyone has a fantastic meal every night. Just let us know of your requirements in advance and we’ll plan our food shop and adapt the menu accordingly. Read about our food here.
We want you to have peace of mind that your kids are in safe hands while you’re on the slopes. We can put you in touch with a wide choice of dependable kids clubs, crèches and private nannying services, so you can work out a childcare programme that works for you. See our childcare page for full details.
We do our best to keep our chalet’s as safe as possible for little explorers, but please do get in touch if you have any particular concerns or needs.
Our catered chalets have a wide selection of popular child-appropriate DVD’s and Nintendo Wii games. We also have children’s toys for younger kids, although we recommend you remember to bring that special cuddly toy for bedtime.
On request, we can provide travel cots, sterilizers, changing mats, potties, bed guards, toilet steps, toilet seats, high chairs and stair gates. Ask us in advance and we will make sure you have what you need when you arrive.
Absolutely! We welcome families with children of all ages.
To be safe, we think it is essential that you bring snow chains in your car, which you can pull over and put on should you need to. If you are hiring a car remember to request one with winter tyres if possible and make sure chains are included. For more info on driving in snow, read our guide here.
In summer you don’t need snow chains or winter tyres.
If you have enjoyed the service provided by your chalet host, then most of our guests choose to tip their chalet hosts. In general, anywhere between €100-200 per host is considered a good week for tips.
Yes, private parking is available at all our chalets. See the floor plan of each chalet to determine the number of spaces.
Yes, many of your guests drive from the UK (around 10 hrs from Calais) or hire a car at Geneva airport (about 1.5hrs to the chalet).
Morzine has excellent food options. Whether you’re looking for a cosy chalet-style restaurant for two or a modern family-friendly restaurant for a large group, find inspiration in our list of recommended restaurants here. We advise booking in advance, especially during school holidays. We can do this for you; just let us know where you’d like to go.
Chalet hosts in our catered chalets will have 2 nights off each week: Monday & Thursday nights.
All our catered chalets are located in the Montriond area of Morzine:
However, the most important thing you need to know about the location of our catered chalets is that you won’t have to walk anywhere unless you want to! Our private chauffeur service will take you anywhere you want to go in and around Morzine between 8am and 10pm!
For our catered chalets, the private chauffeur service can take you (see above for details). From Chalet d l’Ange, you can also walk (it’s around 20 minutes) and for all our catered chalets, we can arrange a taxi to pick you up after a night out.
For our catered chalets, we run a private chauffeur service in resort from 8am to 10pm. Between between 10.30am – 4pm, your driver will need up to 1 hour’s notice to come and get you and this service is not available after 6pm on chalet night off (Thursday).
The transfer generally takes between 1hr 15min and 1hr 45mins depending on snow, traffic and whether or not the driver has to do other drop offs on the way to our chalet. If you’d like to avoid travelling with other guests with different drop offs you can select a private transfer service.
When you arrive at the airport, you will be met by your driver in the arrivals area who will be holding a board with your name on it (or your group leader’s name if you are a large group).
We can help you organise airport transfers that take you straight from Geneva airport to our chalets in Morzine . We have a long standing partnership with the fantastic and ever-reliable Skiidy Gonzales and you can book your transfers here: https://www.skiidygonzales.com/
When you arrive at Geneva Airport, you will be met by your driver, who will bring you to the chalet. Your driver will either be waiting right outside the gate with your name on a board. The transfer generally takes between 1hr 15min and 1hr 45mins depending on snow, traffic and whether or not the driver has to do other drop offs on the way to our chalet.
On the day of your journey, they will meet you in the arrivals hall with your name on a board. The transfer generally takes between 1hr 15min and 1hr 45mins depending on snow, traffic and whether or not the driver has to do other drop offs on the way to our chalet.
From beginner group lessons to private ski touring sessions, the ski and snowboard schools in Morzine Avoriaz offer first class tuition to suit all needs. We advise organizing lessons well in advance, particularly if you are coming during school holidays as they do tend to get booked up. Our top 3 recommendations are Reach Your Peak, Freedom2Ski & Billski but you can find a full list of ski and snowboard schools here.
For anyone other than absolute beginners, we recommend the full Portes du Soleil ski pass which is fantastic value for money. Our chalets are ideally located to ski in all the key resorts in the Portes du Soleil: Morzine, Les Gets, Avoriaz, Chatel as well as all the Swiss resorts
For absolute beginners, it is worth getting a Morzine/Les Gets pass or an Avoriaz pass
Find a full list of pass prices here.
We can help you arrange your ski passes. You just need to tell us which passes you would like and we will then arrange to deliver them to you shortly after you arrive in resort, ready for you to hit the slopes without having to go near a long queue for the cash desk!
We recommend the fantastic Ski Mobile, that come straight to the chalet when you arrive and fit you out with all the kit you need so that you don’t have to lug boots and skis around town. To take advantage of this service, add your details into their simple online booking system.
The private chauffeur service goes anywhere in the Morzine resort. The closest lifts are the Ardent gondola, which is just 6 minutes from the chalet and takes you right into the middle of the Avoriaz ski area and the Pleney gondola, which gives you access to the Morzine/Les Gets ski area. We can do lifts to the Prodains gondola as well but it is a much longer journey from the chalet so it is only advisable to use this lift if you are an absolute beginner and you have a lesson meeting at the top of the Prodains gondola.
Please note, the chauffeur service does not go up to Avoriaz by road.
Probably, yes! We just ask that you ask us first. Please see our dog page here.