'This ski resort is for people who like to take their time on holiday, who don't want to speed through the day."
Most ski resorts would balk at this description, but Thierry Durand, director of the reservations company which promotes Valloire in south-east France, embraces the resort's cosy nature.
Unlike so many marketing descriptions, this rang true. Valloire may have originally been named Vallée d'Or after its fields of golden grain, but has ended up as a healthy antidote to other resorts' après-ski decadence.
The nightlife is genteel and centred on restaurants, not clubs or bars. French-speaking families, older couples and groups of schoolchildren populate the streets, rather than the hordes of British 20-somethings found at many ski centres.
The Grand Hotel where I stayed was 30 seconds from the slopes and ski shop.
Getting there
Package: Crystal Ski Holidays offers a week's half-board at 3-star Grand Hotel Valloire from £935 and Hotel Christiania from £953 or at 2-star Hotel de la Poste from £717. Prices are per person based on two sharing and include a six-day lift pass, flights from Gatwick to Chambery and transfers (for departure on March 12). Direct flights are available from all major UK airports.
crystalski.co.uk. Tel: 020 8939 0726
The hotel was perfectly comfortable with a lovely breakfast buffet, but the slopes were the main attraction.
Tremendous views are a given in the Alps, but the sheer variety among the resort's 85 slopes was special, with something for everyone. There were enough ski moguls (bumps), jumps and thick off-piste powder to keep advanced skiers happy - and even the odd unexpected herd of donkeys.
Then there are the cheeses. When lunch rolls around, pay a visit to L'Alp de Zélie, a wooden ski lodge with a fabulous view of the scenery.
The starters were interesting mixes of sweet and sharp flavours - blue cheese with apples and tomatoes, for instance - but the next course was to die for.
Melted cheese wrapped in a fried pancake sat under ice cream, with honey-infused whipped cream on the side.
A bed of salad, balsamic vinegar and pine nuts completed the full and challenging taste experience.
We were then brought mini pistachio cakes and biscuits. The only risk associated with eating here is that you might not be able to return to the slopes, due to a food coma.
And as our ski instructor said, we had come at the right time. Though the ski season lasts from mid-December until mid-April, coming in January is cheaper and the slopes are emptier - not that a resort with a capacity of 1,800 skiers a week can ever get especially crowded.
There was also the added bonus of seeing the aftermath of the international snow sculpture contest held in the town. The competition, along with its ice-sculpture equivalent, is held yearly and included terrifyingly lifelike portrayals of the Sasquatch the monkey and a clown, among others. Sculptor Jean-Pierre worked for 30 hours straight after arriving late, eventually producing a 10-feet tall treehouse. "I lived up to my dream," he said.
After a day of skiing, you will be greeted with the overwhelming smell of wood smoke - a portend for what awaits you at the local restaurants.
There are not many to choose from, but those present are magnificent. The Hotel le Christiania draws you in with its wonderful, garlicky cheese fondue with rustic bread. One fondue pot could feed a small army. Dessert, a super-sized almond macaroon with pistachio cream, raspberries and a matching raspberry coulis, was similarly gorgeous.
Alternatively, the Grand Hotel offered a plethora of feel-good cuisine for dinner, with a creamy spinach ravioli followed by a fish course which benefitted from a sweet, flavourful sauce.
If you still have the appetite - and after skiing, you probably will - this is all followed by a melt-in-your-mouth block of chocolate that's perfectly complemented by an accompanying pear, with praline ice cream and a thin slab of gorgeous pistachio ice cream.
If you are inclined to a tipple, be sure to follow this up with a visit to the Galibier Brewery, a family-run establishment about 10 minutes from town which provides guests with free taster pints and a hearty welcome.
The beers, made with glacier water, range from lightly floral to rich and dark, and are worth a try. The son in the father-and-son team is a friendly former snowboard champion who is guaranteed to challenge you to a drinking contest. Agree to this at your own risk.
Otherwise, as the Crystal Ski representative - herself in her early 20s - noted, there was just the one popular bar for the resort's small contingent of young folk.
It's not party central, but if you want a relaxed, convenient, cheap resort where you can ski to your heart's content, Valloire is the place for you.
