The History of the Very First Luxury Chalet Trips to Chamonix Village
Back in 1770 the 1st hotel was opened in Chamonix. Before this Chamonix Haute Savoie France was a wild and tough agricultural town where the populace hunted animals and farmed their barley.
Chalets then were used to breed dairy cows over the summer months. Their milk was preserved by changing it into cheeses and stored down in the valley for consumption over the harsh winters. Throughout the winter the farms were locked, and valued possessions were put safely in a liitle shed.
The person who devised catered chalets is nameless, however it was in all probability various keen people who realised a pattern which people liked. For entrepreneur Erna Low it commenced when she was a unhappy student and could not see her family in Austria as much as she wished. Therefore in the early 1930’s she took a risk and took out a advertisement in the London Times to tempt guests on a ski holiday. The cost was £15 and they journeyed to and from the skiing resort, enjoyed meals and lodging in the sole pub lodging, and paid for ski gear and lessons. The trip was hard , there were no skiing lifts, no quick release fixations, merely strong leather shoes, it was such a hit that Erna Low kept on taking groups on trips, seeing to it that she sourced fantastic chalets and ski instructors.
Catered chalet holidays in the formative years were very different from the luxury we can get now. In the early days hot water was in short supply, bathrooms had to be shared by all of the punters, and there wasn’t a cook; all the clients needed to help out. No one knew who might share the lodge for the week, one may be agreeably surprised by meeting new allies, or grimace at the thought of having to spend any more time with them.
Ski holidays were later on publicized on its other pluses. Your own chef, who would serve you breakfast and a plentiful evening meal and baked you afternoon tea.
