Villars: The Swiss ski resort that provides the perfect short break on the slopes - just watch out for the donkeys!

Enjoying the high life: Becky and her husband, Tom, make the most of the sunshine in Villars


As any working mother with three young children knows well, there is no such thing as time to yourself or time with your husband.

Life is about working, or other ‘work’ (cooking, shopping, cleaning, nappy changing, school pick-ups, school drop-offs, paying bills and all the other elements of a draining family routine, which is repeated each week).

So a three-day trip to the beautiful ski resort of Villars, far away from London but wonderfully close to Geneva airport felt nothing short of miraculous.

Villars is not Verbier, Meribel or Klosters – and thank goodness for that. The high-street is not filled with fur-lined Russians who do not ski, or boutique shops that sell haute couture but no ski goggles.

Celebrity visitors have included the French actor Gerard Depardieu, several members of Europe’s royal families and Herge, the inventor of Tintin, but it is the sort of low-key resort that hides its star skiers rather than boasts about them.

Unlike its more famous neighbours in Switzerland and France, Villars is about families who want to ski with their children, and couples, like my husband and I, who want to escape the family on Friday morning but be home by Sunday night.


Quick getaway: Villars, with short transfer times, makes a weekend on the mountain easily accessible


The journey is incredibly easy, which is the key to making a ski weekend a pleasure rather than an expensive nightmare that drains money from your bank account and does not boost your spirits.

The train journey from Geneva airport to Aigle takes just one hour and 29 minutes and always run on time, like any Swiss train. From Aigle, it is a short taxi journey up the hairpin bends to Villars, although there is also a train that goes direct from Aigle to Villars.


Man of many talents: Top ski guide Guido Guidetti takes Becky on a ski-tour


We left home on Friday morning, and were racing down the piste in sunshine before teatime, feeling an uplifting sense of freedom and relief that it is still possible to do a parallel turn after not setting foot on a mountain for four years.

By 7pm – a time usually reserved for work or the other work of putting children to bed - we were lying in a sauna in our hotel, made of beautiful pine wood with a large bucket of freezing cold water to drench ourselves in when it got too hot.

The following night at exactly the same time, we were catching a small train up the mountain to eat a cheese and meat fondue at the Restaurant du Col de Bretaye, followed by the adventure of skiing down the mountain in a torch-lit, snow-ploughing snake with other fondue fans who had drunk too much.

The skiing in Villars is divided into two halves – the pistes around Villars or the other resort of Les Diablerets, which has a glacier at over 3000 metres. Ski passes – which are currently free for children under the age of nine – cover both areas.


Punctual: The train journey from Geneva airport to Aigle takes just one hour and 29 minutes and the trains are, predictably, entirely punctual


We stayed at the Hotel du Golf, a four-star hotel which has been run by six generations of the Angelini family. Our bedroom was fabulous with a balcony overlooking the mountains, a large, walk-in wardrobe and a bathroom that was about the same size as a studio flat in London. It is a typically Swiss hotel with everything possible made of wood and pretty engravings, such as Christmas trees, on the railings by our bed.

Breakfast – the usual mix of muesli, croissants and hot chocolate – was included in the price. It also has a good spa in the basement, with a sauna, a steam room, a Jacuzzi and treatment rooms, if you fancy a massage.

My only complaint? The snow was poor – large patches of brown grass, the odd rock and certainly no powder – but that was not the fault of Villars, but rather a problem across the Alps on that particular weekend.

And when we left Geneva, it was pouring with rain, which, I hope for the good people of Villars means a large dumping of snow is on the way. If not, there is always the sauna and the cocktail bar.

Travel facts
W&O Travel Ski Dream offers a weekend ski break at Hotel du Golf, Villars, Switzerland from £559 per person, based on two people sharing a standard double room for travel from 11th - 13th February 2011. The package includes flights from London Gatwick and rail transfers.

To book, visit www.WandOtravel.com/ski. For Europe enquiries call 0845 277 3325 and for the rest of the world call 0845 277 3553.

To book one of Guido Guidetti's ski tours visit www.villars-experience.ch

For ski hire contact Datwyler Sports on 0041 24 495 2645 or visit www.daetwyler-sports-villars.ch

To find out more about L’Etable restaurant, visit www.etable-gryon.ch or call 0041 24 498 4006 to book.

To find out more about Refuge de Solalex, visit www.refuge-solalex.ch or call 0041 24 498 2709 to book.

For more information on visiting Villars resort, visit www.villars.ch

source: dailymail