I visited the no.1 chalet in the French Alps and it changed my mind about ski holidays

Not many people get to spend a night at the number one rated ski chalet in the whole of the French Alps.

Ferme à Jules is invariably fully booked, with winter sports aficionados clamouring to reserve their place at Morzine’s alpine paradise some 12 months in advance.

This should come as little surprise to anyone who’s had the pleasure of visiting the place. From the moment I walked through the front door, I was greeted with the kind of service you can only find on television adverts. Wine, smiles and cheese boards were the order of the day. I’d barely had time to drop my suitcase before I was sitting in front of a three-course meal.

But it’s not all fun and fine dining. Beyond Ferme à Jules’ stunning exterior - an ornate oak chalet complete with ten bedrooms, a log-burning fireplace and a hot tub on the balcony - a rigorous sustainability policy underpins the glamour of this illustrious abode.

“What makes us unique is that we have a luxury high-end service, but we're doing it sustainably,” says Al Judge, founder of AliKats, the mountain holiday experts behind the chalet.

“When guests stay with us, we love them to go away at the end of the holiday with the feeling that they've been treated well, they've tasted delicious food and they've had minimal impact on their environment.”

Much like the level of service provided at Ferme à Jules, AliKat’s commitment to sustainability is second to none.

A rigorous green philosophy informs the day-to-day running of the chalet - from the permaculture garden where all of the resort’s fruit and vegetables are grown, to the fleet of electric vehicles used to deliver guests to and from the pistes.

“My wife and I are both co-founders of a charity in Morzine called Montagne Verte,” says Judge.

“One of