Accommodation
Overlooking the spa village of St Gervais and with breathtaking views of the Mont Blanc, LA VIEILLE FERME, our beautifully converted Savoyard farmhouse, has a vast amount of interior space. This means that our five guest bedrooms are all of a very decent size. Our large family bedroom has one double and three single beds and en-suite bathroom, (and has been known to sleep four adults). Our other rooms consist of a second family room with a double bed, two full sized bunks + bathroom, a double room with bathroom, and a double room adjacent to a twin room; these two rooms currently share a bathroom.
A very large living room looks out over St Gervais and gives onto a balcony that runs round the south and east sides of the farm. Guests spend hours, winter and summer, just gazing at the ever changing face of the Mont Blanc which seems to rise up out of the bottom of the garden. We have a separate dining room with a wood burning stove which is overlooked by two cosy mezzanines where one can relax with a book from our library or listen to music. There is also a television room with satellite TV. There is a very reasonably priced 'honesty' bar in the living room with wine, beer, coke, and tonic; you note down what you take and pay at the end of your stay.
Marie herself does the cooking. She serves a three course evening meal from a rich variety of menus, from the best of the renowned Savoie specialities, to dishes that have their origins all over the world. The wine included with supper is the result of much dedicated and selfless research on Jeremy's part, and is much appreciated by all our guests. The only complaints we seem to get are that guests go away slightly larger than when they arrive, even after all the walking! However, Marie's cooking is one of the many reasons why these same guests return again…and again…
La Vieille Ferme is at 1000 metres altitude
La Vieille Ferme is at 1000 metres altitude, not very high in the local scheme of things; however, 1000 metres is 22 metres higher than the highest point in England, (Sca Fell Pike), and only 85 metres lower than the top of Snowdon in Wales.
Located at the north entrance to the Val Montjoie, on the west side of the Mont Blanc Massif, St GERVAIS MONT BLANC has attracted tourists since 1806 to it's reknowned Spa Centre. It became a ski resort as well with the opening of the first cable car to the Bettex in 1936! It has stayed very French even into the Twenty First Century, and, despite a lot of recent British property investment, it remains a relatively undiscovered haven nestling between it's better known cousins, Chamonix and Megève. The main 'Voie Royale' climbers route and the summit of the Mont Blanc (4810 metres) are all in the commune of St Gervais and can be accessed by the world famous rack and pinion 'Tramway de Mont Blanc'. Above all, this a very friendly, Alpine 'living' village, not frequented by the package tour industry, with one of the prettiest skiing areas anywhere in the Alps, and superbly placed at the heart of one of the best walking regions in the whole of Europe!
Click on the link opposite to see the St Gervais website, with local information, webcams etc
Your Hosts
Jeremy and Marie own 'La Vieille Ferme' and live here all year round. "We are very proud of our home and incredibly enthusiastic about the Mont Blanc region in which we live. We consider ourselves immensely priviledged to spend our lives in this area of oustanding natural beauty, and to be able to take advantage of many of the sporting activities that go with the mountains. Our aim is simple: to impart our love of the mountains with our guests, to try and pass on what we feel, and to share the comfort, good food and relaxed atmosphere of our wonderful home."
Marie is French and Jeremy English, (although he has been living in France for a long time). Before they bought 'La Vieille Ferme' in 2000, they had been coming to this area on holiday every year, winter and summer, for a long time, (and in Marie's case since she was a child). A nurse by vocation, Marie is an excellent cook and expert skier. Jeremy is an enthusiastic photographer and keen walker, but who also likes the challenge of new sports - most recently paragliding and mountain biking.