Résidence L'Etoile des Cimes ★★★★

Whoever says that children don’t get out enough these days has obviously never met my girls. Both outdoors obsessives, one spends her Sundays on a muddy football pitch with the local youth team, while the other lives for her weekly horse riding lesson. My husband and I, both being skiers, were relieved when the two of them took to the mountains like naturals at just five and seven years old, glad that we were going to be able to share this passion with them every winter. After two trips to the rowdy Les 2 Alpes and one to touristy Chamonix, we were looking for somewhere a little quieter and more traditional for this year’s holiday.

The village of Sainte Foy is nestled in the Tarentaise Valley, a lush green Savoie area in the summer, still featuring traditional farming, as well as some protected forests and hamlets. This part of the famous Alps skiing region prides itself on eco-friendly practices, banning skiing in some of the most precious forested areas, and even restoring an entire protected village – Le Monal – where 18th and 19th century farmhouses are there to be explored in pristine condition. The Résidence L’Etoile des Cimes is a proud eco-friendly resort, with each apartment boasting natural insulation techniques, as well as using organic paint and completely renewable energy.

From the moment our rental car pulled up to the apartment, we knew we had chosen well. The location was perfect, in the centre of the pretty Sainte Foy village, just a stroll from the nearest restaurants, shops and small supermarkets. The pretty wooden chalet-esque building nestles into a vast snowy slope and allows you to ski right to the door, perfect for families like ours who don’t like to waste time getting to and from the pistes!

Inside, the spacious apartment is what you would expect from a traditional Savoie chalet design – all natural pine wood, with vast windows exposing a large balcony with a beautiful view of the mountains. Unlike some ski resort self-catering options, however, this was true four-star quality, with a fully equipped kitchen and even all the beds made up for us!

Once we had unpacked, and the girls had fought over the beds and checked out the chic tile and wood bathroom complete with a bathtub, we were ready to try out what had first tempted us with this particular hotel: its heated indoor swimming pool. As we came through the doors, we could see the website photos were no fakes: you really can swim, or relax in a sun lounger, with the backdrop of the white craggy mountains filling the floor-to-ceiling windows – a great way to motivate you for the next day’s skiing!

After a swim, we wrapped up our day with a warm dinner out in the village, partly to get our bearings, partly to just indulge in some hearty Savoie fare! That evening, after dinner, the girls were tucked up in bed and my husband and I took a bottle of Chablis out onto our balcony into the chilled air. The next day, we would spend the morning on the slopes with the girls, before taking them to the children’s club for some fun activities, leaving us free to try one of the many excursions on offer. For now, though, we were relishing in the excitement of having our own perfect little base here in the French Alps. The Résidence L’Etoile des Cimes truly was the ideal blend of traditional family comfort and luxury four-star accommodation!