It’s been just two minutes since we walked through the wooden doors of Chalet Iona, and we’re devouring glasses of Taittinger champagne and oysters with garlic butter sauce while overlooking the snow-topped mountains through floor-to-ceiling windows.
A suspended fire crackles and pops beside us while our lift passes wait in our bedrooms, and our pre-ordered ski equipment is being warmed in the boot room ready for our first day on the mountain.
We feel like royalty. And so we should.
While King Charles has considered the Swiss ski resort of Klosters as his winter home-from-home for the past 45 years, the younger royals are switching things up and placing the Meribel and Courchevel resorts at the top of their lists.
Iona, perched in a village near Meribel, is owned and run by high-end chalet operator Purple Ski, rumoured to have hosted royalty in recent years – but their lips are sealed.
If you’re thinking of a €2 warm wine and stodgy bolognese cooked by Matilda from Manchester who’s still drunk from the night before, think again.
One of the chefs cooked for Prince Harry (as well as the Earl of Derby and Kenny Dalglish), while our chef, Brad, served up some of the best food we’ve ever tasted.
Truffle and goat’s cheese mousse, sea bass and celeriac and roast lamb, all paired with a £50 bottle of wine and followed by desserts that we promise we can’t fit in – but one taste and they’re gone in minutes.
While King Charles has considered the Swiss ski resort of Klosters as his winter home-from-home for the past 45 years, the younger royals are switching things up and placing the Meribel and Courchevel (pictured) resorts at the top of their lists
Iona, perched in a village near Meribel, is owned and run by high-end chalet operator Purple Ski, rumoured to have hosted royalty in recent years – but their lips are sealed (Pictured: Courchevel)
Courchevel was chosen by the Prince and Princess of Wales for their first family ski holiday in 2016 (pictured), while Pippa had her hen do in Meribel, presumably picked by maid of honour Kate
No wonder our blue-blooded aristos are hooked.
The Three Valleys is a 400-mile piste playground offering some of the best and most extensive skiing.
It’s made up of purpose-built Val Thorens, middlebrow Meribel and bougie Courchevel with its constellation of five-star hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants and influencers in knee-length fur coats and £1,000 ‘ski heels’.
Courchevel was chosen by the Prince and Princess of Wales for their first family ski holiday in 2016, while Pippa had her hen do in Meribel, presumably picked by maid of honour Kate.
And in January this year, Kate & co. were spotted on the slopes of Courchevel and Meribel yet again. Brother James even brought his spaniels along and posted pictures of them on social media.
I’m here with my husband, Dan, his twin sisters and his father, Meirion, who turns 60 on the final day of our trip.
Big birthdays call for big celebrations and once-in-a-lifetime holidays – and I knew from Purple Ski’s world-leading reputation that we were in for a treat.
On our first morning, we make the ten-minute drive to the slopes (we have a chauffeur on hand at all times).
Head of Travel Harriet Sime arrives at Iona, Meribel (pictured) with her husband, Dan, his twin sisters and his father, Meirion, who turns 60 on the final day of our trip
The Three Valleys is made up of purpose-built Val Thorens, middlebrow Meribel and bougie Courchevel (pictured) with its constellation of five-star hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants and influencers in knee-length fur coats and £1,000 ‘ski heels’
On their first morning, Harriet and Co head to the slopes, where they glide past trees heavy with snow and rosy-cheeked toddlers racing down the mountains
We’re met by instructor Patrick from Oxygene Ski School, whose leathery skin, shiny eyes and salt-and-pepper beard tell of a life in the Alpine sunshine.
We glide past trees heavy with snow and rosy-cheeked toddlers racing down the mountains.
‘One of my colleagues taught the royals how to ski,’ Patrick tells us while skiing backwards. ‘He had no idea until a few weeks after when he saw pictures of them in the papers.’
We head to Courchevel in search of La Cave des Creux restaurant, frequented by the royals on their last trip.
But we’re stumped. Only red slopes lead to it and my terrible abilities mean I’m left red-faced thinking of seven-year-old Prince Louis and ten-year-old Princess Charlotte whizzing past me to refuel on €40 burgers and chips.
Each afternoon, we head back to Iona for croissants, cakes and platters of figs, cured meats and cheese. Even the butter is posh, served in gold, twisted wrappers.
Then it’s to the sauna, followed by cold showers and unlimited Rose Veuve Clicquot champagne in the hot tub, watching the sunshine slip behind the mountains.
There are four staff members: our host Belle, her boyfriend Brad (who spent time in Michelin-starred London restaurants) and two assistants-cum-drivers.
Each afternoon, Harriet heads back to Iona for croissants, cakes and platters of figs, cured meats and cheese. Even the butter is posh, served in gold, twisted wrappers
Harriet, her husband and his family leave Iona feeling like kings and queen after experiencing what must be the ultimate ski holiday the Alps has to offer
They pick us up from the airport, book the best restaurants, clean our rooms, collect takeaway pizzas on Brad’s night off and bring cocktails at 6.30pm alongside appetisers that wouldn’t look out of place in one of Brad’s previous restaurants.
It makes for what must be the ultimate ski holiday the Alps has to offer and we leave feeling like kings and queens.
But reality comes crashing back when we say goodbye to the comfort of the Purple Ski team at the departure gates of a packed Geneva Airport… where our easyJet flight is delayed an hour.
Travel Facts
SEVEN-night stay at Purple Ski’s Chalet Iona, sleeps 15, starts from £24,208 or £1,614pp, on a catered basis (purpleski.com).
Ski rental and ski lessons provided by Oxygene Ski and Snowboard School (oxygene.ski).
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