Grande Sassiere has the most amazing sitting-dining room in Val dIsere. The room itself is large and lovely with acres of parquet and panelling, and massive roof beams, and the views from it are simply extraordinary. The south wall is solid glass, and the only view as spectacular as the moon on the mountains at dinner is the sun on Solaise at breakfast.

Have another look at the breakfast scene in our photos. That's exactly how it looks. There has been no computer jiggery-pokery. The table may look as if its out on the balcony but it certainly isnt our guests dont eat breakfast at -15o.

There are six excellent bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. Four have the same view south, one looks west, and one has to make do with small windows looking up a mere square mile or so of mountain.

Then there's the seven-person hot tub on the large first-floor terrace to the side of the chalet. It's the real McCoy - massaging jets, underwater lighting, waterfall! More importantly, it has 24/7 filtering, and ozone purification as well as the usual chemical disinfection, so its water is as pure as a mountain spring. There are Crocs and fluffy white robes to help you get from your bedroom to the hot tub. The only thing more fun than sitting with a few friends in warm bubbles while drinking in the view of a quintillion stars and a glass of wine might be doing it as snow falls...