Les Portes du Soleil : skiing and the charm of Savoy

Encompassing about 12 resorts, 650 km of ski-runs and close on 200 ski-lifts, Les Portes du Soleil is one of the world’s largest skiing domains. The area proposes quality accommodation with a wide range of prices.

A French-Swiss skiing domain in the Massif du Chablais (Upper Savoy) with altitudes climbing from 1,000 to 2,400 metres, Les Portes du Soleil have seven resort villages on the French side which have succeeded in blending authenticity with modern infrastructures. There’s skiing, of course, on over 290 slopes, but also relaxation areas and all the shops and amenities essential for a delightful stay in the Alps. Another asset : numerous activities are proposed in summer (mountain biking, hiking, cross-country…), thanks esp­ecially to the opening of about 20 cable-cars. Les Portes du Soleil are thus lively all year round.

One of these resorts, Les Gets, is a commune with over 1,200 residents in the mountain pass of the same name, only 45 minutes from Geneva and its airport : “Our ideal location enables us to benefit from maximum sunshine and exceptional snow coverage at this altitude,” says Nicolas Thibon, manager of Century 21 Thibon Immobilier, an agency opened in 1992. “Furthermore, the ski-runs all lead right down to the town centre, making after-ski activities much more accessible.” Describing a resort “enjoying a real boom over the past few years”, Nicolas Thibon runs two agencies in the village : one specializing in sales, the other in seasonal rentals (standard to top-notch services with conciergerie). For apartments, the price per sq. metre ranges from 4,000 to 8,500 € depending on how far they are from the centre. “300 metres can have a significant effect on a property’s price.” In the case of chalets, one can expect to pay from 6,000 to 8,000 € per sqm., or even 10,000 € in new residences at the heart of Les Gets. Prices which rank among the highest in Les Portes du Soleil. The top end of the market is, in fact, “a buoyant sector”. By way of example, a chalet of 250 m2 (five bedrooms) with an indoor pool and hammam, pegged at 2.4 million euros. Nicolas Thibon’s clientele mostly consists of French fam­ilies. “Though we have also traditionally been contacted by English and Swiss buyers, who are now making a comeback.” 99 % of his sales consist of holiday homes.

For Virginie Krafft, manageress of Lacoutete Immobilier, they account for at least 95 % of the activity. Her agency, based for about 30 years in Les Portes du Soleil and also specializing in both sales and holiday rentals, is in Morzine (about 3,000 inhabitants). This village resort offers the particularity of being right in the centre of the skiing domain. “In the hyper-centre, the average price per sqm. is 7,000 €. A few hundred metres further on, it ranges from 5,000 to 5,500 €. Then, on the outskirts of Morzine, it drops to 3,000-4,000 € per sqm.” The agency’s last two sales consisted of a house of approx. 200 m2 in need of renovation, in the town centre, priced at 880,000 €, and a 1-bedroom apartment of 35 m2 near the ski-runs and shops, with a garage, at 230,000 €. What about land ? “Building plots in the hyper-centre cost around 1,000 € per sqm. and are extremely rare. In the area surrounding Morzine, they are more numerous and prices are lower, though you won’t find anything under 500 € per sqm.” Virginie Krafft has a wide range of clients : “40 year-olds with budgets from 150,000 to 200,000 €, more well-off families who can afford to pay over 1 million euros, retirees…”. The most widely repres­ented nationality is the British, even before the French.

Stéphanie Delerce, manageress of AlpesVente.com, an agency founded 10 years ago, is based in Saint-Jean-d’Aulps (about 1,200 residents). She runs two branches, also handling sales and seasonal rentals, together with prom­otion. “This resort is smaller but enjoys the advantage of having everything within walking distance. And we are only a stone’s throw from the other skiing domains in Les Portes du Soleil and close to Lake Geneva, which is a bonus in summer. Above all, prices here are still appealing.” Studios of about 20 m2 in fact cost from 55,000 to 65,000 €, with those of 30 m2 and 2-roomed apartments available from 85,000 to 95,000 €. “A 2-bedroomed apartment costs on average 140,000 €. With three bedrooms, about 200,000 €.” Chalets offering living space of 150 to 200 m2 are priced from 450,000 to 600,000 €. “As a promoter, we are currently proposing a new development of nine chalets from 525.000 to 605.000 €. High-end properties built of brushed burnt wood with the lower part in stone, they offer 4 or 5 bedrooms and stand at the foot of the slopes. In less than 16 months, four have been completed and three are already sold.” The market covered by Stéphanie Delerce, in which holiday homes represent 70 to 80 % of sales, attracts families both French and for­eign (English, Dutch and Swiss).