Chalet Le Kilimanjaro – it’s all part of the service.
The elegant and luxurious Chalet Le Kilimanjaro, nestled in the Legettaz area of Val d’Isere very kindly offered to accommodate me during my recent work trip to the French resort.
Chalet Le Kilimanjaro offers the crème de la crème for luxury and service and not once throughout my 4 night stay did it waiver. From the minute I was picked up from Geneva airport in the brand new private VW transporter transfer, to waving me goodbye from the front door step, I was treated like a V.VIP for the entirety of my stay.
The night before my departure I was sat on my parents sofa ready for the very early start to ensure I was at Heathrow to catch my 08:20 flight to Geneva, when I received a text. The text was from the Chalet Manager of Le Kilimanjaro advising me that my driver Liam, would be waiting for me at Geneva airport at a specific place/time and should there be any problems to call his French mobile number. This was a whole new level of customer service to me!
With the first cork popped on the private transfer, we made our way from Geneva to Val d’Isere, a 3 hour transfer, made far more enjoyable with champagne!
Upon arrival in Val d’Isere I was greeted by a team of professional chalet staff all lined up outside the front door of Chalet Le Kilimanjaro ready to welcome me. I was shown through the chalet to the main living room for an official champagne welcome. Sarah, the chalet manger then proceeded with a tour of the chalet.
As you enter the chalet you are immediately greeted by the boot room, equipped with heated boot warmers, ski storage, a bench and a snack/water bar. It’s then up the stairs to the first floor, where the hot tub terrace and the sauna are located. Three of the five bedrooms are also located on this floor along with the TV room. Each of these bedrooms have direct access onto the terrace and to the hot tub. All of the bedrooms in the chalet have their own en-suite bathroom and are equipped with a TV – not that mine was ever switched on.
On the second floor you are welcomed by the most inviting dining area and lounge with the biggest windows I have ever seen! The views out onto the mountains are breath taking. The kitchen, where all the fabulous meals are prepared by Jose the chef, is adjacent to the dining room. The bedroom I was staying in is also located on this floor -also offering spectacular views, lucky me!
The final floor and it’s up a private staircase to the master bedroom! Tastefully decorated and immaculately presented this bedroom really does have the wow factor and with a spectacularly spacious bathroom to match.
Tour finished with, it was time to sample some of the food. Le Chalet Kilimanjaro offers its guests a 6 course evening banquet every evening except for the chef’s night off. The 6 course banquet consists of miniature canapés, divine starters, exquisite main courses, mouth watering desserts, phenomenal cheese boards and my favourite… luxurious petit fours! The food in the chalet was to die for and every course had a perfectly paired wine to accompany it! The service from Sarah and the Chalet Host Louis was faultless, you would not even know they were there! As if by magic, plates were cleared and wine was topped up without me barely noticing. A sure sign of good service!
Every morning guests are given the option to be woken up by either Sarah or Louis with a beverage of your choice. There really is nothing quite like being woken up with fresh ground coffee and your curtains being opened so that you can enjoy the phenomenal view, officially the best possible start to any day!
Along with a wake up call and a hot drink in bed first thing in the morning, the chalet also offers a turn down service in the evenings. Amidst clearing plates, serving food and pouring wine at dinner, the hosts find the time to go into each of the 5 bedrooms, tidy up, close the curtains, turn down the duvet and even lay your pyjamas on the bed. At this stage I was starting to think there were extra little elves helping Sarah and Louis!
One of the main services I took advantage of during my stay was the driver service. I was dashing about here, there any everywhere and with so many chalets to see, getting from A to B was not always as simple as it seemed! Chalet Le Kilimanjaro’s driver service to the rescue! One simple phone call was all it took to have one of the 7 drivers appear at my location within 10 minutes, ready to whisk me away to wherever I desired within Val d’Isere. This was not just a day time service! They operated from 8 am until 2 am every day of the week. I may have taken advantage of this service after midnight on a couple of occasions… All of the drivers were professional, and so well mannered and they all knew the resort like the back of their hand.
All the staff were always willing to help and nothing was ever too much for them! Even when I managed to get a little lost walking back to the chalet from a near by chalet! I spotted one of the drivers and asked for directions, hop on in he said… not even 50 metres and we stopped! I was outside the front door and a slight shade of red. Gethin the driver didn’t even bat an eyelid ‘It’s all part of the service’ and this sums up exactly how helpful and professional all the staff were.
On my final day, I had to leave rather early. Breakfast was normally served at 08:30, however all the staff made the effort to get our of bed earlier themselves and have a full breakfast spread laid out for me at 07:30!
As my transport arrived to take me to the airport, my bags had already been taken from my room and were ready to load into the van. The chalet manager came to see me off, and waved me goodbye.
I cannot rate this chalet highly enough for its exceptional level of service, professionalism and of course all in the spectacular surroundings of Chalet Le Kilimanjaro.
For more information about the chalet please get in touch with the Ultimate Luxury Chalets team, either by email or by calling +44 (0)1202 203653.
