Chalet Kiana is located 500 metres from the centre (church) of the picturesque Savoyard village of Les Contamines-Montjoie.
Nestling beside the Mont Blanc Massif, and at the end of the Val Montjoie, the village has an excellent ski area for all levels, an enviable snow record and an impressive range of outdoor activities in winter and summer. It has maintained its traditional atmosphere while offering a good selection of shops, bars and restaurants.
The Good Ski-ing & Snowboarding Guide refers to Les Contamines as an “unspoilt resort” with a “keen followship” which “holds its snow well” even “when neighbouring resorts have none. Off-piste enthusiasts can find virtually untouched powder all over the area after a fresh snowfall”.The chalet is listed with 4**** in a number of guides and featured in Alpes Magazine as the place to be in Les Contamines!
In Alistair Sawday’s Special Places to Stay – Mountains of Europe (ski chalets, hotels and B&Bs), he refers to Chalet Kiana as a “chalet [built] in the traditional way and plonked [it] in the perfect place: a lovely quiet spot on the edge of perfect village. You have light and airy bedrooms named after glaciers, blond-pine walls and ceilings, balconies with splendid views”.
Our chalet is also listed in Sawday’s 
guide to French Self-catering ‘special places to stay’. This is what they have to say about our chalet and Les Contamines:
A flawless mountain chalet overlooks a perfect Savoyard village by the Mont Blanc Massif: skiers can’t ask for more. Lifts (1km) catapult you up to snow-sure pistes; Chamonix is within easy reach; and there’s snow-shoeing too – the fasting growing sport in France. In summer, weave through pine forests for rafting, rock climbing, paragliding, donkey trekking… wonderful. The new dark wood chalet is handsome in all seasons, its carved balconies dressed with geraniums in summer; in winter, with a snowy shawl. Inside: masses of blond pine and two independent gites, one below, one above. Smaller families will go for the ground-floor apartment, with its open-plan sitting room, corner kitchen, wood-burner and terrace. Those above may lounge by an open fire, dine at a long table, raid the bar, ease achy muscles in a jacuzzi and sauna. Bedrooms are chalet-cosy with floral duvets, checked curtains, 1930s posters, and views from balconies entice. There’s a shared lock-up for skis, boots and bicycles, a friendly English-speaker to hand, a cook if you wish. And the village has just the right fill of shops, restaurants and apres-ski.
Well, apart from the cook, this is how it still is at our mountain chalet in the French Alps.
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