Theo Camfferman's Selection of French property for Sale

About my area

Meribel is the central valley of the largest ski domain in the world, Les 3 Vallées. With 600 km of groomed pistes, 85% of which are above 1800 metres, 25 accessible summits, 174 modern lifts and over 2090 snow cannons covering 43% of the ski area the statistics are impressive as is the skiing. However Méribel is much more than the 5 month winter ski season and an extended stay in summer or during the colours of autumn are needed to appreciate this. The initial development of the ski resort in the late 1930’s was a British and French partnership and this acceptance of English speakers continues to this day. Méribel is now a much more diverse international community with a large percentage of residents or visitors speaking English as their main or second language. The main village of Méribel is built on the eastern side of the valley between 1450 and 1700 metres and because of this it is surrounded by forests or grass & timbered slopes. The strict architectural codes of alpine sloping rooflines, timber and stone cladding compliments this setting and makes it one of, if not the most, attractive of all the large high altitude French ski resorts. The other major “resort villages” are Méribel Mottaret (1750 m), Méribel Village (1400 m), Les Allues (1100m) and the spa town of Brides-Les-Bains (600 m) at the very bottom of the valley. There are many smaller villages or hamlets so the range of property covers all tastes from barn conversions & village houses through to ski apartments and super luxury ski in ski out chalets with private swimming pools. As well as the normal range of hotels, bars, restaurants & shops Méribel boasts a range of facilities and activities. The Méribel Olympic Centre is home to a full size ice rink, indoor climbing wall, 25 metres indoor heated pool and water slide, conference centre, gymnasium and wellness centre of spa, steamrooms, etc. There is a spectacular 18 hole Golf Course at 1700 metres and a huge range of other outdoor activities such as tennis, hiking, mountain biking, road cycling, paragliding, fishing, etc which are enjoyed in the warmer months. Méribel property is generally more expensive than other French resorts but not yet at the dizzy heights of Courchevel 1850 with perhaps the exception of a few of the most prestigious pockets. As Méribel continues to become ever more popular with the big spenders of the world the strong capital growth experienced over many many years is likely to continue.

About me

I worked my first ski season just over the hill in La Plagne more than 20 years ago and just loved it. In early 1997 I returned to France looking for an attractive, high altitude resort with great skiing and long glorious summers and chose Méribel to build a Chalet and start a small tour operator business. We still own the Chalet, which has seen many improvements over the years, but now lease it to a tour operator and run a Chalet & Apartment holiday rental business instead. Recently after many years of coming and going from Méribel, of travelling the world and working in wonderful cities like London & Sydney and interesting counties such as Japan we decided to make Méribel our permanent home and raise our family. We love the contrast of the frenetic winter ski season & the stylish international atmosphere with the relaxed summers spent swimming, walking and eating wild strawberries from the forest with the kids. Our children will grow up bilingual and we are a short drive away from Italy, Switzerland, 3 popular airports; Lyon, Grenoble and Geneva and are a TGV train ride away from Paris for weekends away and longer holidays breaks. Are we living the dream? Come visit and see what you think.