France is unique in having the Residence de Tourisme concept - this is self catered chalets and apartments yet with hotel/chalet services optionally being available on site - such as breakfast, someone for help and advise, etc.
Many of us are now choosing self catering accommodation in these times when we are all trying to reduce our costs. Many also prefer self catering for groups and families, as you have your own personal space. However, there are also many disadvantages of self catered accommodation:- you usually collect your keys from an estate agents office and you are on your own for the week, no one is on hand to help with advice about the local area, if there are power or water cuts (which do happen quite often in mountain villages) there is no one on hand to help, and if you find at 8.00 in the evening - that you don't have enough dishes for everyone at the dinner table - you just have to manage. A Residence de Tourisme addresses the down sides of self catering accommodation, whilst retaining the benefits of both having your own personal space and lower cost than a hotel or fully catered chalet.
When going on a family ski holiday, you often want to have help from someone who knows the local area well or help with various aspects of your holiday, for example: collecting ski passes, arranging ski/boot fitting, arranging lifts to ski school, advice on mountain restaurants, help with organising child care, etc, this help is often available at a Residence de Tourisme - whereas in self catering you would be on your own.
The French created the Residence de Tourisme category to provide good holiday accommodation yet with all the services you would normally only get in a hotel. The cost is usually a little more than basic self catering, but the benefits are considerable. The French government encourage this by giving tax relief to people buying chalets and apartments under this scheme - this effectively saves them almost 20% of purchase price, the accommodation has to be operated by a management company and there is a requirement for the accommodation to be marketed for holiday use and it is not allowed to be used as a permanent dwelling.
The French regulations require that, as a minimum, three of four of the following services must be provided by the operator: at least one person available on site 24 hours a day, a breakfast service, linen and the option for cleaning more than once a week. The large operations will comply with these requirements by having a massive apartment block and minimal staff. The smaller Residence de Tourisme operations, by their nature will typically provide many other additional services, for example: lifts to ski school, grocery/shopping service, ski/boot fitting services, chef services, etc. They will also provide a high level of personal service that you normally only get from a private chalet holiday.
By choosing the right residence de Tourisme for your ski holiday, you can have the benefits of a private chalet yet at a much lower cost - paying only for those services which are really important to you.
So how do you find a Residence de Tourisme - the large ones are easy to find, however, the small ones not so easy - also - as the English don't generally understand the benefits, they often don's market these benefits in the UK - this means that searching using Google may well not produce the results you are looking for - unfortunately. The best way is to ask at the tourist bureau of the resort you are planning to stay at - they usually actively support the Residence de Tourisme's - as the French understand the benefits. There is usually a section on the resort web site for Residence de Tourisme accommodation.
Many of us are now choosing self catering accommodation in these times when we are all trying to reduce our costs. Many also prefer self catering for groups and families, as you have your own personal space. However, there are also many disadvantages of self catered accommodation:- you usually collect your keys from an estate agents office and you are on your own for the week, no one is on hand to help with advice about the local area, if there are power or water cuts (which do happen quite often in mountain villages) there is no one on hand to help, and if you find at 8.00 in the evening - that you don't have enough dishes for everyone at the dinner table - you just have to manage. A Residence de Tourisme addresses the down sides of self catering accommodation, whilst retaining the benefits of both having your own personal space and lower cost than a hotel or fully catered chalet.
When going on a family ski holiday, you often want to have help from someone who knows the local area well or help with various aspects of your holiday, for example: collecting ski passes, arranging ski/boot fitting, arranging lifts to ski school, advice on mountain restaurants, help with organising child care, etc, this help is often available at a Residence de Tourisme - whereas in self catering you would be on your own.
The French created the Residence de Tourisme category to provide good holiday accommodation yet with all the services you would normally only get in a hotel. The cost is usually a little more than basic self catering, but the benefits are considerable. The French government encourage this by giving tax relief to people buying chalets and apartments under this scheme - this effectively saves them almost 20% of purchase price, the accommodation has to be operated by a management company and there is a requirement for the accommodation to be marketed for holiday use and it is not allowed to be used as a permanent dwelling.
The French regulations require that, as a minimum, three of four of the following services must be provided by the operator: at least one person available on site 24 hours a day, a breakfast service, linen and the option for cleaning more than once a week. The large operations will comply with these requirements by having a massive apartment block and minimal staff. The smaller Residence de Tourisme operations, by their nature will typically provide many other additional services, for example: lifts to ski school, grocery/shopping service, ski/boot fitting services, chef services, etc. They will also provide a high level of personal service that you normally only get from a private chalet holiday.
By choosing the right residence de Tourisme for your ski holiday, you can have the benefits of a private chalet yet at a much lower cost - paying only for those services which are really important to you.
So how do you find a Residence de Tourisme - the large ones are easy to find, however, the small ones not so easy - also - as the English don't generally understand the benefits, they often don's market these benefits in the UK - this means that searching using Google may well not produce the results you are looking for - unfortunately. The best way is to ask at the tourist bureau of the resort you are planning to stay at - they usually actively support the Residence de Tourisme's - as the French understand the benefits. There is usually a section on the resort web site for Residence de Tourisme accommodation.
Andy Williams is a freelance writer who recommends using Chalets1066 when looking to book your ski accommodation in Les Gets. Chalets1066 offer a fantastic range of catered and self catered Chalets Les Gets.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_Williams
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