Thoughts turning to Winter

With the Summer Holidays in Morzine drawing to an end our thoughts are now turning to this coming winter season and snow, snow and more snow! What better time than now to update you all with the accommodation in Morzine that we have available for the winter season 2010/2011.

If you are looking for a catered holiday then look no further than our Farmhouse la Desmeuniere and our Alpine Refuge.
The Desmeuniere is a beautifully restored 18th century farmhouse with 8 ensuite bedrooms (sleeping 16 to 22 people) each with flat screen tv and dvd player. This luxury catered ski chalet boasts a spacious lounge and dining area with log fire and vaulted ceilings, balconies with superb views, a second mezzanine lounge with media facilities, wi-fi internet access, a heated and and boot room, a sauna, plus a sunken outdoor hot tub set in the stunning grounds.
The Alpine Refuge is located just 8 minutes walk from the SuperMorzine lift and the center of resort. Built in 2004, this chocolate box chalet has 5 bedrooms each with ensuite shower/bath and washbasin, 4 separate wcs, an extra bunkbed room, an open plan lounge and dining area with log fire and spectacular views, a second mezzanine lounge with media facilities, wi-fi internet access, plus a hot tub and sauna.
Your catered stay with The Great Escape includes your half board stay (breakfast, afternoon tea and cakes, early tea for any children in your group if desired, plus 4 course evening meal with unlimited wine for 6 of your 7 night stay). As a complimentary service we also offer 2 days ski hosting.

On a self catered basis we can offer you a choice of 4 self catered apartments located in the Slalom Complex right in the center of Morzine. Just 50 meters walk from the SuperMorzine lift and 100 meters walk from the Pleney slopes you could not be more central. Built in 2008, each apartment has an open plan lounge and dining area with flat screen tv and dvd player, a fully equipped modern kitchen, a terrace overlooking the slopes, plus ski lockers and underground parking. The apartments that we have on offer have 2 to 4 bedrooms.

As ever we aim to provide a personal service and are on hand during the course of your booking and your stay in Morzine to answer any questions. For more information then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Our very best regards,

Sam & Darren Woodley

Fireworks

On Saturday 7th August 2010 everyone will be heading up to Lake Montriond to see the amazing Fireworks display organised by the local Pompiers (Fire Service).
This is an annual event and is hugely popular with both locals and tourists. Most people leave their chalets late afternoon and take a picnic or barbecue up to the lake, spread out their blankets and enjoy the entertainment and the views. One of the most spectacular displays is the one organised by the local Morzine paragliding schools. Running from the cliff tips, these adventurous men and women come paragliding down, demonstrating their skills. Some even collapse their shoots and then re-open them in mid air! They then descend towards the lake and 'hopefully' land at the waters edge - although some do miss their landing stations and get very wet!
As dusk descends, little lights appear on the water and the fireworks display begins. The dramatic setting of the cliffs, lakes, music and fireworks whilst enjoying the company of friends and a few glasses of wine, makes for a most memorable evening.

The Great Escape Charity Week

In April 2010 The Great Escape were pleased to welcome the charity Link Leisure to our Farmhouse la Desmeuniere in Morzine, France.
Link Leisure is a charity which actively supports people with learning disabilities. It had always been one of our aims to be able to invite a group of people, who would not normally have the opportunity to go on a ski holiday , to come and stay with us and experience an adventure in the French Alps. We then met Lesley Burn - the Managing Director - and put forward our proposal to her. So to cut a long story short on the 17th April 2010, 10 Link Leisure members and 4 of their helpers arrived at our catered ski chalet. And we had an amazing last week of the season. Our Link Leisure guests learnt to ski for 4 days, enjoyed a days snow shoe walking in the mountains, went sledging and ventured into the bars of Morzine for a game of pool and a bit of apres ski. It was simply a pleasure to have them stay with us. The week ended with a great barbecue at the chalet where our Link Leisure guests were awarded certificates for their achievements throughout the week.
We are most grateful to our friends and colleagues out here in Morzine who gave us tuition, equipment and their time for free.
With many thanks to:
Our staff - Kim, Sophie and Jo - for working a full week free of charge at the end of a long season!
All Mountain Rental - provided free ski hire for the week
Luke Wouters associated with Freedom2Ski - provided free ski tuition
Andy Cavert - provided free ski tuition
Endless Trails - run by Gareth Jeffries - provided free snow shoe guiding
Jacquie Cutler - professional photographer
And to our many friends who helped us and the Link Leisure gang on the mountain and off.

Tour de France

This Summer we are glad to report that the Tour de France will not only be coming through Morzine but will be here for 3 days! We are perfectly situated to watch Stage 8 Les Rousses to Morzine Avoriaz and Stage 9 Morzine Avoriaz to St Jean de Maurienne. Morzine will also be hosting the Tour de France riders rest day. So why not come and stay in our beautiful catered Farmhouse la Desmeuniere in Morzine. This stunning 18th century farmhouse has 7 ensuite bedrooms plus a sunken outdoor hot tub set in the grounds. Perfect for a relaxing summer holiday whilst enjoying the events of the Tour de France 2010. Why not take advantage of your holiday in the French Alps and partake in some of the multi-activity adventures that Morzine has to offer. Whether you wish to stay for a week as part of a family activity holiday, a long weekend or short break then please just contact us for some great special offers for a summer holiday in France.

Snow Snow and more Snow

Dear All,

Well it is now looking very wintery and we can feel that the season is already starting to kick in. Avoriaz is opening up tomorrow for the weekend as is Chatel and the Grand Terche ski areas. The resort is already starting to get busy with shops and restaurants starting to open and all the Christmas trees and decorations are being put in place ready for another magical Christmas time in Morzine.
Our staff all turn up this week so we thought that we would introduce you to them:
Kim - Chef at the Desmeuniere - Australian - mad about everything to do with food and skiing. Has lived in Tuscany for the past 6 months and this influences her cuisine. She has a quiet confidence about her.
Sophs - Chalet host at the Desmeuniere - British - Sophs worked for us cleaning a few seasons back and is a great girl. Lots of get up and go and lots of chat. She has a nothing is too much trouble attitude.
Sophie PB - Chef at the Alpine Refuge - British - Sophie speaks fluent french having spent the last 6 months as an au pair in southern France. She loves cooking, skiing and is looking forward to the work and play!
Joanna - Chalet host at the Alpine Refuge - British - Joanna has worked in Morzine during the winter and summer and has come highly recommended having both hospitality management and silver service experience. She knows the area extremely well both on the mountain and off.
So that is the main team for this season. They and us are all looking forward to those guests who will be joining us this winter.
Just for the record we still have catered availability in the Desmeuniere and the Alpine Refuge for Christmas week so please ask us for special offers in these chalets.

More snow forecast for this weekend and we are going to take our son Jack who is 4 out for his first ski of the season. Not sure how much time we will spend standing up but should be fun.

See you all soon.

Sam

Christmas in Morzine

Fed up with spending your christmas holiday in the kitchen - cooking, cleaning and then cooking again! Then why not take advantage of our special offer in our luxury catered ski chalet la Desmeuniere. For just 600 Euros per adult and further discounts for children and those with 3 to a room then you could have someone do all the slaving away in the kitchen for you. The price includes your half board stay plus a lavish Christmas Day spread consisting of a champagne breakfast, christmas cake, mince pies, mulled wine and a 5 course evening meal with all the trimmings.
The Chalet la Desmeuniere is a beautifully restored 18th century farmhouse with 7 en-suite bedrooms each with flat screen tv and dvd player, spacious lounge with log fire, sauna and sunken outdoor hot tub.
Morzine is a superb resort to spend your Christmas break. It is a working french town, not a purpose built resort, so there are plenty of activities for all the family. The French celebrate Christmas in style and Christmas eve in the resort is just superb with fireworks, vin chaud and pastries galore, christmas trees all lit up lining the streets, plus of course the parade of elves, reindeer and the Big Man himself.
So please take a look at our choice of accommodation in Morzine and join us for a Christmas holiday to remember.

All the best,

Sam and Darren

New to our portfolio of Ski Chalets

We would like to introduce to you our flagship catered ski chalet, the Chalet la Desmeuniere in Morzine. This lovingly restored 18th Century farmhouse, with 7 en-suite bedrooms, sunken outdoor hot tub and sauna, combines a wealth of traditional features with modern luxury. The spacious dining area and lounge with log fire, are open to the roof and leads on to the covered balcony with spectacular panoramic views of the mountains. There is also a second mezzanine lounge with media facilities plus wi-fi internet access.

We are offering a 10% discount for all bookings in the Chalet la Desmeuniere made before 1st September 2009 so please book early to avoid disappointment. We still have Christmas and New Year availability.

So drop us a line to find out more.

All the best,

Sam Woodley