This is a delightful and traditional French Alpine Village set in a peaceful valley at 1250 metres. There is a collection of shops, restaurants and bars set around a pretty village square and an excellent Pub with great atmosphere and occasional live music. We first visited the resort ourselves in April 2000, and around 1500 of our guests have enjoyed their Alpine Bridge holidays there since then. In January 2019 we enjoyed our 75th Ski & Bridge Holiday at the very comfortable Hotel l'Ancolie, a landmark achievement of which we are all very proud.
The Hotel L’Ancolie is situated on a small plateau about 50 feet above the village square and so has commanding views of the surrounding countryside and mountains. There is a winding road to the village centre, which is a 3 minutes stroll away. The Hotel has 31 bedrooms, 24 with balconies and all are ensuite with full sized baths. There is an excellent restaurant on 2 levels, a Bar/Lounge and a conference room which will be used by our group for Bridge playing and seminars, as well as doubling up as a breakfast room. In the basement there is a small Gym, a Sauna, a pretty Jacuzzi for up to 4 people and the Ski Locker room. The owners, M. & Mme. Pelican actively manage the Hotel themselves with their friendly staff and they speak very good English. They now know the needs of our group very well and enjoy looking after us.
View of Courchevel from the Hotel's Bar
The village of Champagny is South facing and looks out across the slopes of Courchevel which is a short distance across the Bozel valley. However, its very own modern high speed Gondola takes only 7 minutes to get you to the snowsure slopes of Upper Champagny. Here a selection of lifts give 40 km of good ski-ing on Blues and Reds all above 2000 metres with 3 separate and easily accessed links to the huge area of La Plagne which offers a further 200 km of Pistes, a glacier and a huge choice of off-piste adventures. The Vanoise express cable car links us directly to Les Arcs and adds a further 200Kms of piste to the total ski area which is known as Ski Paradis! There are also two six man chairlifts serving the return journey to our side of the mountain, as well as the modern Grand Rochette telecabine and the Col de Forcle draglift.
The Champagny Gondola station is about 60 yards from the Hotel door, if you cross a slightly uneven car park area, or about 120 yards if you walk along the flat road. In adequate snow conditions you can ski back to the village at the end of the day, or descend in the Gondola from the 2000m top station if your legs won't stand the long red run home which has recently been modified and widened.
The local ski area is therefore very suitable for Beginners, Intermediates and experts alike and has numerous good quality mountain restaurants with good menus, sunny terraces and clean toilets! However, for the more adventurous skiers, we are able to arrange day trips in our private minibuses to Courchevel and its huge neighbouring resorts in the 3 Valleys. We leave from the front door of the hotel at around 0915 and can be on the Gondola to Meribel or Courchevel within 30 minutes.
We are also now able to take guests for a day out to the very picturesque and little known resort of Pralognan which is even nearer to us than Courchevel. This offers a complete change from the hustle and bustle of the big resorts and gives us a chance to ski in a typically chic French village and enjoy a leisurely lunch in an area unknown to the British tour operators.
Our guests also visit Les Arcs on a regular basis, crossing over the deep gorge in the spectacular Vanoise express cable car. We hardly need to take our skis off all day on this trip..other than for the 4 minute traverse of the valley.
These excursions further afield attract a small supplement over and above the normal cost of the local lift pass. There will also be a charge of approximately £15 per person for the return journey when we use a minibus. These are operated by Dunand Transport, the local coach operators in the village.
Cross country ski-ing, walking and snowshoe trips are also available on a daily basis from the ski school or the expedition centre, with a free shuttle bus service up to the quaint old village of Champagny le Haut where winter lingers a little bit longer!
So, with all these excellent features, we strongly recommend an early booking for your visit to Champagny as we often reach a sell out position early in the season. Our regular guests return year after year to enjoy the warm welcome and generous hospitality provided by the Pelican family at the lovely Hotel l'Ancolie. We hope you will be able to join us there soon!