Reconnect to nature and the elements this winter with a fun, energizing and inspiring retreat in a stunning alpine setting.
La Ferme du Soleil is the perfect environment to unwind and take a break from the
challenges of everyday life. The secluded chalet has been a family home for over 30
years and is full of warmth and life combined with magnificent Alpine views. Despite
the peace and tranquility of its location, Le Grand Bornard is easily accessible, just
over an hour from Geneva airport.
Each room in the chalet has been carefully decorated maintaining an authentic yet
luxurious style. Our home for the week really is the perfect hideaway. As the highest
inhabited house on the mountain, 100km of pistes can be accessed from our front
door making it super easy to take the holiday at your own pace and enjoy a cosy
morning in the chalet, a trip to the spa or a lazy afternoon with a book and a hot
chocolate in front of the fire.
Hardcore skiers & boarders have incredible off piste and can pop to La Clusaz, 10
minutes away, for another 150km of pistes. The Aravis region has a great snow record
due to an unusual weather system that catches a large amount of snow compared to
other areas of a similar altitude. The resort is great for all abilities, with gentle greens
for the beginners, some of the steepest blacks in France for the pros and a snow park
rated in the top five in the country. And if afternoons unwinding are your thing, the
chalet is famous for its vast main room with cosy log fires and wonderful views over
the valley in all directions. Sun beams into the chalet in the afternoons long after it
has set on the rest of the resort below.
Our experienced team have run the chalet for
years and will always go the extra mile to ensure
you have the perfect holiday with menus carefully
curated to suit your every need.
Your week will be fully-catered, with nutrition
packed breakfasts, indulgent afternoon teas and
delicious three course dinners with house wines
and beers all included. On Lou & Rob's night off
we have an awesome adventure planned to a
mountain restaurant by skidoo.
There will also be the opportunity to try night
skiing; the pistes are flood lit and full of fun one
evening each week.
THE YOGA
T H E Y O G A
Laura will guide you through morning and evening
yoga practices. Her teaching is intuitive, nurturing
and offers an opportunity to explore connection;
when we harmonise breath with movement, our
bodies access a state of flow, this space supports
a deeper connection to ourselves and to
everything around us.
Classes are playful, creative, delicately balancing
effort with ease and focused around an embodied
approach, gently awakening our true potential as
individuals. Elemental yoga explores nature’s
cycles and seasons and in turn our own. It
recognises that by harmonising with nature, we
can live more peacefully and find greater balance
in our own lives.
So, join us for an unforgettable snow experience.
You will leave feeling refreshed, with a stronger,
healthier, mind and body, improved focus and
renewed sense of purpose.
W H A T ' S I N C L U D E D
WHAT'SINCLUDED
— 7 nights luxury accommodation
— Healthy vegetarian breakfast, afternoon tea and 3 course evening meal
— 6 energizing morning yoga sessions including one meditation walk & outdoor practice
— 6 restorative evening yoga session including one sunset meditation circle
— Skidoo trip to mountain restaurant (cost of meal not included)
— Not included
– flights, ski rental & passes (6 day ski pass €180)
LOGISTICS
L O G I S T I C S
While La Ferme du Soleil is brilliantly situated for skiing and other sports in the resort,
being cut off by snow does raise some logistical considerations! The most important thing
to get right is that the flights to and from the resort are arranged at the right times. Please
book flights to arrive into Geneva no later than 12pm to meet our transfer.
T R A N S F E R T O R E S O R T F R O M G E N E V A
On arrival in Chinaillon at 'Ski Service' we will load luggage into the chalet black Land
Rover Discovery. All of your ski rental equipment is available at the shop and your ski pass
at the ticket office 50m down the road. In addition to the normal weekly ski pass, starting
the next day, you will also need to purchase a 'single trip' pass to come up to the chalet
(cost around 9 euros). You will need your ski's/board to go up the lift so remember to
pack your warm ski clothing on the top of your suitcases! Please see ski service website
below & let us know your requirements so we can reserve equipment ahead of arrival.
Lou and Rob, the chalet managers, will come down and meet you at 4pm and bring you up
to the chalet on the lift that starts right next to the ski shop and takes you 100m from the
front door!
For non skiers there is another option to be dropped off at 'Telecabine Rosay' in Le Grand
Bornand. Luggage will continue in the transfer to go up with the skiers/boarders. Rosay is a
pedestrian bubble lift. Go up in the lift and when you get to the top, it's about a 5-10
minute uphill walk to the chalet (anyone taking this option we will run through in further
detail).
Luggage will be brought up to the chalet by Lou or Rob, later, at around 5.30pm. We will
leave the chalet on the last day at around 8.30am. All the baggage will be taken down the
mountain in the morning by 9am.
We recommend return flights to be booked from midday on 29th March.
Ski & Wellbeing Week ~ French Alps | 22-29 March 2020
S K I L E S S O N S
There is a choice of two schools. If you wish to arrange lessons, please let us know as this needs to be booked and paid for in advance. A great ski guide can also be recommended.
ESF (Ecole de ski Francais)
http://www.ski-school-legrandbornand.co.uk
Le Grand-Bornand Village +33 (0)4 50 02 79 10,
Le Grand-Bornand Chinaillon +33 (0)4 50 27 01 83
email: contact@esf-grand-bo.com
ESI StarSki
http://www.esi-starski.net
Le Grand-Bornand Chinaillon +33 (0)4 50 80 60 50
email: info@esi-starski.net
Résidence le Montarquis, Chinaillon, Le Grand-Bornandn
A R E T H E R E A N Y N E A R B Y R E S T A U R A N T S ?
There are a number of alpine restaurants within walking distance (one just 70 yards away) and others within ski distance. We can help with bookings and directions when you arrive.
I S N O W B O A R D , W H A T I S I T L I K E ?
There is a wonderful snow park, all the usual pistes as well as unpisted runs from
red to very black which are fun for snow boarders as well as skiers.
W H Y I S I T C A L L E D L A F E R M E D U S O L E I L ?
It was originally a farm and as we are so high up we get a lot of sun, often with the clouds below us.
W H A T S K I S H O P D O Y O U R E C O M M E N D ?
'Ski Service' is very close and convenient and we recommend it to all of our guests. On arrival day you can get fitted out with all your equipment and catch the les Gettiers ski lift only meters away from the shop. This will take you to 50 meters from our front door.
H O W M U C H S N O W I S T H E R E ?
Generally there is plenty. It does not need much to be skiable as the mountain mostly
faces north and the skiing is over summer pastures rather than rocks. The area seems to have its own micro-climate as the valley to the west forces up the clouds over Mt Lachat and then it snows.
The area also has a huge artificial lake specifically built for the large network of snow cannons to help during the season.
W H A T I S T H E S K I A R E A L I K E ?
There are 117 pistes and 96 lifts in the Aravis ski area which includes La Clusaz, Le Grand-Bornand, Manigod and Saint-Jean de Sixt.
La Ferme du Soleil is above Chinaillon, a part of Le Grand Bornand area, around Mont Lachat (our mountainside). There are 360 hectares of 'domaine skiable' and 90 kilometres of downhill ski runs, serviced by 38 ski-lifts. This fully linked ski area of Le Grand Bornand is spread out between 1000 and 2100 metres of altitude, with 48 pistes north facing slopes which hold the snow and 56 km of ski de fond (cross country) pistes. It is such a beautiful and varied mountainside that many of the guests don't tend to use the other areas available with the Aravis ski pass.
This area has a history of good snow because of its micro-climate and geographical
situation at the edge of the Aravis mountain range and its north-facing slopes keeps the snow late into the season
