Catered chalet in Verbier, four ways to be looked after

The word catered covers a surprising range of arrangements. In one house it means the bar is open and every dinner is already accounted for; in another it means a chef cooks for you while the shopping is billed back at the end of the week. Before choosing a catered chalet in Verbier, it helps to know which model you are looking at, because the difference shapes both the rhythm of the stay and the final account.

Our Verbier collection has four chalets, and each approaches hospitality in its own way. Chalet Orizon is run on a fully inclusive basis, Chalet Ambre pairs a private chef with a chalet manager and a host, Chalet Astral can be taken with its full team or without service, and Chalet Auron keeps a chef, a butler and hosts in the house from early morning until late in the evening. All four sit on the hillsides of a village at 1,500 m, the central resort of Les 4 Vallées.

This page sets the four side by side: who cooks, which meals are served, what the rental covers and what is charged on top. Prices are always on request, but the structure of each stay is something we can describe precisely, because our team has visited every one of these houses before it joined the collection.

Chalet Orizon, a private estate high in the Sonalon area above the bowl of Verbier, is the most inclusive of the four. A chef, a guest relations manager and a host look after the house. Breakfast is served every day, afternoon tea six days a week and dinner on five evenings, each dinner preceded by an aperitif and canapés. An open bar of wines, beers, spirits and champagne is included, daily housekeeping and all local taxes are covered, and an earlier dinner can be prepared for children.

Chalet Ambre, in a private enclave above the village, works with a chalet manager, a host and a private chef, with housekeeping every day. Breakfast and afternoon tea are served daily and dinner six evenings a week, while meals and drinks are charged separately from the rental. Guests are welcomed with champagne, fresh flowers and firewood are supplied throughout the stay, and on fine days the terrace barbecue with its rotisserie makes a change from the dining room.

Chalet Astral, an estate of two houses in Les Esserts, is the one chalet where you choose the model. With its full service, a chef, a chalet manager, hosts and housekeepers run the estate, serving breakfast and afternoon tea daily and dinner six evenings a week, with meals and drinks charged at cost. The estate can also be taken without that service, for groups who prefer to organise their own table, and a private chef can then be engaged through our concierge for chosen evenings.

Chalet Auron, in the Hameau area overlooking a small mountain lake, has a resident team of private chef, butler, hosts and chauffeur, present from early morning until late in the evening. Breakfast and afternoon tea are daily, the chef cooks dinner six nights a week, and meals and drinks are charged at cost. With two kitchens, a long banquet table and a second, more intimate dining room, it lends itself to groups who sometimes want to eat together and sometimes apart.