A family who booked a ski trip to one of the first chalets to be run by British company Le Ski in Courchevel 35 years ago had such a good time that they have returned every ski season since then. Michael Cranmer went to find out what makes them keep coming back
Back in the 1982/83 season when skis were head-high and skinny, and ‘the look’ was an all-in-one ski suit featuring the colour palette of a box of Bassetts Allsorts, Andrew Stothert was invited by his girlfriend Amanda to join her family on a ski trip to Courchevel 1650.
REPEAT BUSINESS: The Stothert family has been skiing in Courchevel for 35 years.
It was a baptism of fire for Andrew as he found he was in a family party of 18 – in fact there were so many of them that Amanda’s brother had to sleep in the owner’s private chalet. But not only did Andrew and Amanda fall in love with each other and eventually marry, they also fell in love with the resort and Le Ski, the company that hosted them – and they have stayed with them every year since that first trip.
Le Ski has expanded from that single chalet and now have 34 to choose from in Courchevel, La Tania and Val d’Isere. Andrew and Amanda’s own family has also expanded and they now have four children and a grandson. I caught up with them during their 35th year staying with Le Ski to find out the secret ingredients that keep making them want to come back.
“Neither of us had done a chalet holiday before,” explained Amanda, “so we had no idea what to expect.” Although they didn’t know it at the time, Nick Morgan, who co-owns Le Ski with his sister Liz, was a rookie in the ski chalet business but started with a mantra that has been the bedrock of the Le Ski success story. And that is ‘keep the guests happy’. Nick said: “We pride ourselves on the personal touch. Everyone is different and there’s no formula to fit all.”
EARLY DAYS: Amanda and Andrew Stothert during one of their first ski trips staying with Le Ski.
Being able to adapt to their personal needs is one of the things that has kept the big family party coming back every year. Andrew said: “One example was from our very first visit when we found out that it was duck for dinner one night. Not many of us liked duck so they offered to change it. We told them not to worry we would order in a curry ourselves. The end result was everyone was happy.”
That first year set the benchmark and as the group has grown even larger with more family and more friends so has Le Ski’s ability to cater for them all.
FIRST TIMERS: Andrew and Amanda during their first trip to Courchevel 1650.
“Sometimes it seems like organised bedlam, but huge, huge fun,” added Amanda.
Courchevel 1650 (now rebranded as Moriond) has been the perfect place for the youngsters in the group to learn skiing and snowboarding. If the Le Ski chalets have been Base Camp, La Casserole mountain restaurant, slap bang at the bottom of the Signal chairlift, has become the group’s encampment on the mountain.
Andrew said: “We can sit and have lunch, or coffee, or a glass of wine, and watch the kids go up and down, knowing they won’t get lost. The owners in our early days were Dominique and her husband Phillipe Jorioz who became our close friends. Phillipe is sadly no longer with us, but their son Arthur grew up with our kids and stays with us when he is in the UK.”
The Stotherts are all skiers. “We’ve dabbled with snowboards,” said Amanda, “and I used to put sponges down the kids’ salopettes to soften their falls. But we all stuck to skis in the end.”
This is a family who stick to what they love, and after 35 consecutive years with Le Ski, they just keep coming back for more. “We can’t stop now. It would break the spell!” said Charlotte, Andrew and Amanda’s 30-year old daughter who recently became engaged to Tom. He too has been welcomed into the tribe – and onto the annual ski trip.
LAUNCH PAD: Chalet Anecay pictured in 1982. This was Le Ski’s first chalet – and below, how it was promoted in Le Ski’s first ever brochure.
Andrew knows a thing or two about loyalty. He’s founder and CEO of Brand Vista, a highly successful brand loyalty consultancy with a platinum-plated portfolio of companies which include LEGO, The Times, Silverstone, The Grand National, and The Harry Potter franchise.
Likewise, the Morgans, Nick and Liz, owners of Le Ski, clearly tick all the right boxes for the Stotherts and the thousands of other guests they have hosted over the years since starting with that humble one-chalet back in 1982 and this is reflected by the amount of other people who return again and again.
“We have an enviable rebooking rate,” Nick said. “Our customers, many of whom have become friends, like what we provide, so naturally they come back time and time again.”
Le Bel Air panoramic restaurant at the top of l’Ariondaz gondola is the perfect place to experience the ‘Stothert Effect’. Its lunchtime, high-season and the place is packed. Andrew, a big, smiling bear of a man, arrives. Patron Christophe Gormier pummels his hand, “Come, my friend. Come”. It’s like the arrival of royalty.
Heads turn, Christophe sweeps a path through to the best, sunniest spot. Bottles appear, and the family group bolstered by boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses and children chatter and laugh in a joyful mass of unity.
All ski resorts, big or small, have their key movers and shakers. Sometimes a farmer lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, canny enough to capitalise on the seasonal snowfalls; sometimes a mayor with vision for his town. Courchevel 1650, or Moriond as we should now call it, is no different.
From small beginnings in the 80’s, when it was in the shadow of the mighty 1850, it’s evolved into a delightful, stylish, yet calm resort. As Le Ski has been very much part of this evolution, the Morgans are hugely respected by locals and visitors alike.
The last word goes to Amanda. Over a pre-meal cocktail in Copina, another Stothert favourite, I ask her to try and sum up why they keep coming back after 35 years. She smiles, gives a little contented sigh: “It’s like settling into a favourite armchair.”
TRAVEL FACTS
More information on Le Ski and the destinations and chalets it offers can be found at:
For more details on Courchevel go to:
Categories: France