Résidence Les Hauts Bois ★★★★

I look around at the members of my family travelling along with us, my sister and her two kids, her husband and mine, all happily together for a journey to the lofty wonder of Europe; the Alps. Our cosy wooden apartment was found in an oversized lodge that stands tall and leans into the mountain; Résidence Premium Les Hauts Bois. Welcomed by the helpful staff we navigated ourselves to our fully-equipped apartment by the signs dotted around the complex.

Our apartment was small and cosy but we could fit all eight of us! The most important thing for us was being together and being in this great location right next to the mountains where we had planned to do an uncountable amount of activities. The apartment and the building itself shows off the use of Alpine woods, with a rustic, mountain finish that told us we were definitely here in Savoy.  Inside our three room apartment we had a comfortable living room with dining table, two bedrooms and a kitchenette. All around were smooth woods, smooth tables, cupboards, cabinets, all finished off with rustic Savoyard charm that planted us very strongly in the Alps. Otherwise the décor was comfortable and neutral with smooth floor tiles and lots of natural light coming through the French sliding doors.

We began to unpack, though the children were restless after catching a glimpse of the green that awaited outside and to tell you the truth the adults were also secretly restless too! The men had already grabbed hold of a brochure and folding the pages which interested them, mountain biking, white water rafting… Luckily we were able to check in early so we had some time to fit an activity before dinner.

On this, our first afternoon however, we decided that a light walk would be most wise, we could enjoy our environment before dinner and not completely exhaust ourselves for the next day. Our walk around also encompassed a tour of the facilities of the hotel, naturally, and we discovered the pool covered with characteristically low, wooden beams – what a charm! We adults also took note of the sauna and hammam, a welcome treat after an adventurous day’s antics! We took the chance here to order our bread for the next morning at the reception, ready to pick up any time after 7.30am, which means the kids won’t be complaining that they’re hungry in the morning, and we would have delicious and warm, freshly baked bread.

By the time we reached the top of the hill and rested to observe the spectacular view point, we had all worked up quite an appetite and so decided to head for some satisfying dinner before the sun rested behind the jagged peaks. After dinner, and once the kids were safely tucked up in bed, I slid out the bottle of wine that had been safely stowed away in the fridge. I got my phone ready to upload a smiley photo of the four of us toasting to the week ahead. We adults decided to look out over the balcony, glass of shimmering wine in hand celebrating the start of what would be a fun and memorable holiday – to the sun, to the mountains and…to us!