Travel: Villars, Switzerland

It may be a bolthole for the rich and famous like David Coulthard, Mick Jagger and Richard Branson but Villars in Switzerland wears its celebrity status lightly. Scots racing driver Coulthard and fellow former Formula One cronies Damon Hill and Jack Villeneuve have chalets in this beautiful spot and it attracts many other famous visitors, including the actor Roger Moore, but the picturesque town is barely on the map compared with the more exclusive ski resorts of St Moritz and Klosters.

Yet it has many attractions and the local people are extremely welcoming, which gives rise to the suspicion that those who do know about it have kept quiet in order to keep it to themselves.

There is much here that is tempting for the British skier, such as the short transfer from Geneva airport, lovely local wines, great restaurants, superb scenery and last, but by no means least, surprisingly good skiing for a resort that is relatively low (the town sits at 1,300 metres above the Rhone valley).

Its wonderful location has made it a base for not just one, but five, famous international schools where fees are as high as £75,000 a year.

One of the many advantages of this resort is that skiers can travel to it by train from Geneva airport and, being Swiss, the trains are reliable and punctual. The journey, along the shores of Lake Geneva, is stunningly beautiful, but when we arrived in the town of Bex to catch the connecting mountain train we were shocked at the lack of snow. As we waited in the warm sunshine, with the town thermometer registering 20 degrees centigrade, we wondered if there would be any snow at all by the time the little cog train wound slowly up the mountain. Even when we arrived in the pretty little town and admired the views across the valley, the outlook for skiing did not look promising.

Our four-star hotel, the Eurotel Victoria, was lovely and we were treated to a fantastic four-course meal on arrival, but our hearts sank when the staff told us it had not snowed since New Year, nearly six weeks previously.

Later we stood on the balcony attached to our spacious room watching the lights twinkle in the valley below and decided, rather miserably, that we could always go hiking instead of skiing if conditions were poor on the slopes.

Next day was a revelation. We took the nearby gondola up the mountain and emerged into warm sunshine, but were surrounded by snow. We headed down the first slope on guard for bare patches but there weren’t any – the snow was amazing and we stared at each other in disbelief. We skied on and while a few runs were shut and one connecting run was a bit bare in places, the pistes were in remarkably good condition.

We later found out that there were three main reasons for this: a hefty investment in snow cannons; extremely skilled grooming of the existing snow; and the fact that the slopes in summer revert to Alpine meadows. It may seem odd but it means that Villars, although lower than some of the more famous resorts, actually keeps its snow better in years of low snowfall as there is a grass base rather than a rocky foundation, so less snow is needed for coverage.

The result being that the skiing for us was, in the main, delightful. For experts, the skiing is limited and there are a lot of drag lifts but the scenery is so beautiful, the runs so much fun and the people so friendly and helpful that I did not miss being challenged one little bit.

I’ve never skied in such a peaceful place. The slopes were incredibly quiet for the second week in February and we never needed to queue for lifts.

The ski pass covers a large area and it is possible to ring the changes every day, perhaps by skiing to the Glacier 3,000 above Les Diablerets which always offers excellent snow, a variety of mostly blue runs, a couple of good long reds and a black, or by skiing at Isenau, which again was practically deserted when we were there, or at Gryon which also boasts a fabulous new mountain restaurant, L’etable.

This is a beautiful barn conversion which houses its diners in one section and farm animals, which can be seen through a large viewing window, in another. The food and wine are fantastic and mostly locally sourced and used in regional specialities.

The wine was so good we asked why we don’t hear much about it in Britain, and were told that it is because the Swiss like to keep it to themselves. Hardly any is exported and it is easy to see why.

Despite the quality of food on offer in L’etable and other restaurants, we found it hard to find room for it as we were so well fed at the hotel. As well as the four-course dinners which were, without exception, excellent, we were offered a sumptuous buffet breakfast every morning. Fortunately there was also a pool and well-equipped gym to work off any excess calories, as well as two saunas.

Villars itself caters well for non- skiers, with plenty of hiking trails, snow shoeing, a 7.2km sledge run, indoor swimming pool, bowling and two ice rinks, as well as good restaurants, bars and a nightclub.

It is also just one of three resorts in French-speaking Switzerland to have the Families Welcome label, which is awarded by the rigorous Swiss Tourism Federation. One of the reasons Villars won the award is because all children under the age of nine ski free in the entire ski area – a tremendous bonus for families. It also means that children are served first in restaurants, while they are helped with their skis at the gondolas. There are also pushchair walks for mums and babies on groomed snow and a free beginners’ area with a mini-ski lift in the centre of Villars.

There are two ski schools here and I can vouch for the standard of lessons at the Swiss Ski School. After a two-hour private lesson with Christophe Simeon I was skiing much faster, with much more style and, more importantly, enjoyment. I’m looking forward to a return visit to practise my new-found skills.

THE FACTS

Seven nights half-board at the Hotel Eurotel Victoria starts from £808 per person, including return flights from Edinburgh to Geneva and return resort transfers. Ski pack items can be pre-booked: six-day adult ski/snowboard and boot hire starts from £132. Three-day adult ski/snowboard school (3hrs/day) starts from £61.

A whole area adult ski pass starts from £175 (covers Villars, Gryon, Les Diablerets, Leysin, les Mosses) for six days and £114 for children.

Inghams Ski Reservations: 0208 780 4447 or book online at www.inghams.co.uk

The Swiss Travel System provides a dedicated range of travel passes on the Swiss transport network, visit www.swisstravelsystem.co.uk

For more information on Switzerland, visit myswitzerland.com