Residences Chamossaire Switzerland

Set in the Swiss village of Leysin, this resort hotel’s highlight is its south-facing frontage, taking full advantage of the sunshine and giving magnificent views over the snow-capped Swiss Alps. A hub for skiers and snowboarders in winter and hikers and trekkers in spring and summer, it’s a good base for exploring this spectacular region.

The 16 spacious, sunny apartments here offer attractively furnished rooms with full kitchens equipped with microwaves, refrigerators, dishwashers and a supply of crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils. Cable and satellite channel TVs give a variety of channels, and several of the apartments are specially fitted out for family holidays.

Friendly, personalised services are a feature of the hotel, and include childcare and babysitting if required. The staff are multi-lingual, welcoming and do their best to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. There’s a choice of studios, one bedroomed apartments in two sizes and two-bedroomed apartments, and the entire hotel is non-smoking.

Many guests arrive for the ski season, and the ski-in ski-out complex is well-fitted out for winter activities. Ski lockers are provided, as are spaces in the apartments for heavy winter clothing and footwear. When you’re too exhausted to cook, the in-house restaurant serves warming meals in a cosy setting. Although the hotel has little in the way of amenities, guests can use the swimming pool at the next-door hotel.

Spring and summer visitors will delight in the Alpine beauty of the seasons with their delicate flowers, fascinating bird life and rushing, snowmelt streams. Leysin itself is an unpretentious, attractive Alpine village with plenty of après-ski activities, live music bars and local eateries set in sleepy streets and quaint squares.

The Leysin Ski Resort is large, with 29 pistes suited to beginners and intermediates, and a selection of runs for experts. Snowboarding here is particularly good, and there are 10 kilometres of cross country trails. A total of 14 lifts make sure no skiing time is lost in waiting, and the vast majority of the slopes don’t need snowmaking equipment.

Other Leysin outdoor activities include the village’s tobogganing park - great fun for families - an outdoor ice skating rink, sledding for children and the Berneuse Cable Car which runs from sunrise to sunset. Magnificent views on the ride up and from the highest point above Lac Leman stretch as far as Mont Blanc, the Eiger and Lausanne in the far distance.