Spacious Penthouse - Portes du Soleil, French Alps

Les Iris has 3 bed-rooms and a low-roofed cubby hole and can host up to 10 people with great views. Based in a rural village in the French Alps and on the edge of the Portes du Soleil, one of the largest ski area’s in the world, it is ideally located for outdoor holidays all year round. We will release your booking free of charge when you are a French resident and COVID restrictions forbid travel to the Haute Savoie at the time of your holiday. Self-catering penthouse apartment Les Iris, is very large and fully equipped for up to 10 people and has great views. With 3 bedrooms and a cubby hole, it has a combination of various sleeping arrangements. Prices and availability: Rental period is usually Saturday-Saturday (7 nights). Please note that the hire of bed linen and towels is not included in the price and can be booked separately. Depending on the season the apartment is also available for shorter lets (minimum of 3 nights) such as weekend and midweek. Penthouse Les Iris: The main living area is a large ‘L’ shaped room (floor area 40 m2) with a vaulted ceiling over the kitchen and dining area. Kitchen area - fully equipped with fridge, freezer, microwave, electric hob with 4 rings , full sized electric oven/grill, dishwasher, washing machine, clothes airers, toaster, kettle, Nespresso machine and coffee machine, pots, pans, cutlery etc. Everything is provided for a convenient stay. Dining area - table, 6 chairs & bench, normally seats 8, but can be extended to seat 12 (3 child high chairs available). Living area – sofa bed, sofa, benches, TV & DVD player (region 2), Netflix, coffee table and assorted stools and large pillows, access to large balcony. The sleeping arrangements are very flexible: Bedroom 1 – family sized room (floor area 18.5 m2) with 1.9 meter long double bed (can be split into 2 single beds) & 2 additional single beds, wardrobe, cupboards and sink, access to balcony. This room also has a screen and DVD player that can be used. Bathroom - bath with shower, wash basin, w.c. Bedroom 2 - family sized room (floor area 13.5 m2) with 2 meter double bed (can be split into 2 single beds) & a bunk bed, fitted wardrobe and sink. Bedroom 3 - (floor area 7.6 m2) double bed and cupboard. Shower room - shower, wash basin, w.c. Cubby Hole - cosy low roofed area with large Velux window, fitted with futon type beds (2 beds of 1.90m x 0.80m), ideal for youngster or adventurous adult. This room has no area to stand up. Living area - double sofa bed. Extra’s for the little one: Two baby travel cots, 3 high chairs, change mat, microwave sterilizer and nappy bin are available on request, no extra charge (no linen provided). Pillows, duvets & bed linen: There are pillows and duvets provided. Guests are responsible for providing their own bed linen, kitchen linen and towels (sheets, duvet covers, pillow cases and towels). There are local arrangements for hiring linen and towels for €14 per person per set (please ask for more details). Cleaning: The key holder will provide a full clean of the apartment after your rental period. Clients are asked to leave Penthouse apartment Les Iris sweep clean at the end of the rental period. Shopping: You can send your shopping list and our key holder will arrange your full shop to be delivered to the apartment for just €15-€25 + the costs of the items. Garage, parking and storage: There is ample onsite parking and for those guests who need a large secure storage area there is the possibility of using a full sized garage. There is also a lockable ski cave for guest use. Heating and lighting: Les Iris is energy efficient having a very high level of insulation. Each room has an electric radiator with individual controls; this allows guests to control the temperature in the rooms by simply turning down the radiator rather than having to open windows and doors. Energy efficient lighting is standard and the cost of the electricity is included in the weekly rental. Food and restaurants: In the village has a lovely restaurant providing French food. They also have a few groceries and you can pre-order fresh bread. Nearby in Le Biot and St. Jean d’Aulps there are bakeries, a little supermarket, more shops and eateries. For the large weekly shop, there is a large Carrefour as well as a petrol station with one of the best prices in the area on the D902 just outside St. Jean d’Aulps, between St. Jean d’Aulps and Morzine. Internet access & wifi Penthouse Les Iris has an ADSL line providing free internet/wifi to guests. Locally you can get access to the internet in: Le National – Bar, Pizza’s & Paninis (eat in and take away) Plan D’Avoz Saint Jean D’Aulps 74430 France (about 10 minutes drive from Drouzin le Mont) Le National has free wifi. There is also free wifi, internet access available at Café le Franco-suisse in Abondance (also about 10 minutes drive away from Drouzin le Mont). There is free wifi available in several shops in Thonon Les Bains. Entertainment in Penthouse Les Iris For the evenings or when you just fancy being at the apartment, there is a range of games available for all ages to play. There is also a good choice of DVD's and a TV where you can hook up your own game consoles and some books available for you to read. The TV has 20+ French and Netflix. There is an extra TV screen and DVD player in the family bedroom. Guests have access to the full apartment including a ski-locker in the basement and a full size garage. Please note that there are 2 locked private stores in the apartment that are not for guests use. We welcome any questions, before, during and after your stay and will provide all information to make your stay the best possible. There is a local French speaking key holder who can also be contacted during your stay and who will make sure that the apartment is ready for your arrival. As we found that many guests arrived out-of-hours we have an agreed location at the apartment where the key can be collected at any time of the day/night. If this is your preference guests can be greeted by the key holder. The apartment is based in Col du Corbier / Drouzin le Mont on the edge of the Portes du Soleil (one of the largest ski area’s in the world) in the French Alps, Haute Savoie, France (near the French/Swiss border) and it is just over an hour drive to Geneva airport. Drouzin le Mont is a small villeage situated in the hamlet of the Col du Corbier. The apartment is especially suitable for groups and families - including families with babies and toddlers. It offers a superb base for exploring the area and gives access to a wealth of outdoor pursuits all year round, such as skiing, snow boarding, hiking, walking, rock climbing (see below for more information), via ferrate, mounting biking, cycling, swimming, rafting, canoeing or hydro-speed and many many more. It is also a popular area for bikers. Winter season: Only minutes walk away, the Col du Corbier provides several winter activities including skiing and sledging on the beginners slope and cross country skiing for all levels. For more advanced skiining, the Portes du Soleil, one of the largest linked ski areas in the world with over 650km of prepared pistes, is only a 10-20 minute drive away and has opportunities for all levels of skiers and snowboarders. Portes du Soleil: Based on the edge of the Portes du Soleil piste map, Penthouse Les Iris gives easy access to many resorts in the Portes du Soleil: - 10/15 minute away from the old village of Abondance which also has a great nursery slope with easy ‘step on’ lift for beginners. - 15/20 minute to St Jean D’Aulps - 15/20 minutes La Chapelle d’Abodance - 20 minutes to Chatel and Morzine - 20 minutes by car from the Ardent lift. The large car park at the Ardent lift is free (like most car parks near the main lifts) and from here you can take the 10 man telecabin up to Les Lindarets to the beginner’s slopes. You can continue to Avoriaz, which features spectacular snowboard parks, tree lined pistes that meander through dramatic cliffs; excellent skiing and boarding for all levels and in all directions including the Swiss resorts of Les Crosets and Champery. If you choose, you can go the other way towards Morzine and Les Gets with endless opportunities for a huge range of abilities. And there are even more resorts in the area. Please contact us if you would like to receive more information. The ski season in the Portes du Soleil is from mid December to mid/end April depending on the snow conditions and when Easter falls. The apartment has great views over the opposite mountain which has a great sledging area for old and young as well as many opportunities for snowshoe walking and cross country skiing. We understand that the local council will organise activities such as a sledging, dog sledges, archery and other activities with the tourist office during the French school holidays. Summer season: For hikers, climbers and sports lovers it is an Eldorado! Within 5 minutes you can begin the most beautiful mountain climbing expeditions in the area (in total about 20 routes). Another well-known hikers route very close to Les Iris is the Tour de Monzon, with views of Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc. There are also special nature tours for children. Other sports in the area include mountain biking (for the real daredevils), hang-gliding, fishing and horseback riding. Or how about the adrenaline rush of rafting, canoeing or hydro-speed? Lake Geneva and Montriond and many other lakes are a short drive for summer tranquillity, water sports and swimming. There is easy access to the traditional alpine town of Morzine for shopping and evening entertainment. Rock Climbing The Haute-Savoie boast a large number of rock climbing areas, whether for bouldering, single-pitch cragging, multi-pitch routes, big walls or ridge climbs. Near the apartment are several climbing opportunites and the cliffs of Biot will enchant the rock-climbers, as much for the beauty of the places as for the quality of the escalation. 5 minutes walk from Penthouse apartment Les Iris you will find the rock-face at L’Arblay, with 20 bolted routes (from 7B) a rock-face for experts looking to work on their technique. 10 minute drive from Penthouse Les Iris are: - The “Pas de l’Ours” cliff, with some routes up to 80 metres in length, 78 beginners, intermediate and hard routes from level 3/4 up to level 8A, 8B. - The “Touvière” beginners rock face, with routes up to 30 metres in length (3/4 to 6B). and only a few minutes further: - The Chauxvu de L’Abbaye in St Jean D’Aulps (next to the Abbey). There are a range of bolted routes at all levels with 93 routes from 4 to 7. There are many more routes in the area. Col du Corbier / Drouzin le Mont is a small rural village near the French / Swiss border. The closest airport is Geneva. The drive from Geneva airport is about an hour. During part of the winter months there is a bus service (4x per day) from Col du Corbier / Drouzin le Mont to St. Jean D’Aulps connecting the apartment to the local ski resorts. There are more buses available from Le Biot, which is 5 kilometres down the mountain from the apartment. To get around during your stay we advice clients to arrange transport before departure. If you do not wish to hire a car / bring your own, we can arrange for locals to transport you around (subject to their availability). Please contact us to request about availability and a quote for the trips that you would like to make as early as possible. It’s a co-operative! – Each season we stock the appartment up with tea, coffee, hot-chocolate, salt, pepper, herbs, spices, some food, toilet paper, dishwasher tablets and cleaning products – please, help yourself! All we ask is that if you use the last of something, can you replace it please.