Renting a chalet in Courchevel is nothing like booking a hotel. Supply is limited, the best weeks often go a year ahead, and two chalets at the same nightly rate can deliver very different holidays. This guide covers what to know before booking for winter 2026-2027.
When to book for winter 2026-2027
Christmas, New Year and February half-term weeks are usually taken eight to twelve months ahead. January, early March and late season often still have availability three to four months out. If your dates are fixed, book early; if budget matters more, aim for January or the second half of March.
- —December before Christmas: quiet resort, reliable snow at altitude, the gentlest high-season rates
- —Christmas and New Year: the two most requested weeks, book far in advance
- —January: the best value of the winter, quiet slopes
- —February: school holidays, family atmosphere, book well ahead
- —March: long days, spring snow, falling rates
1300, 1550, 1650 or 1850: which village?
Courchevel is not one resort but five villages on the same ski area. The village you choose shapes the holiday more than the chalet's star rating.
- —Courchevel 1850: palaces, boutiques, nightlife, the highest prices
- —Courchevel 1650 (Moriond): sunny and family-oriented, wide pistes
- —Courchevel 1550 (Village): quiet, quick gondola link to 1850
- —Courchevel 1300 Le Praz: the historic village — stone and timber houses, a lake, village restaurants — with a gondola reaching 1850 in 6 minutes
Le Praz is often the best compromise: direct access to Les 3 Vallées while sleeping in a genuine Savoyard village, away from the crowds and the 1850 price tags.
What to budget
For a high-end private chalet sleeping 10 to 12, expect roughly €1,500 to €4,000 per night depending on the week, before services. Per person, a private chalet often costs less than four equivalent hotel rooms — and adds a kitchen, a living room, a spa and the privacy of a whole house.
- —Weekly rental, normally a 6 or 7 night minimum
- —End-of-stay cleaning and linen: check whether they are included
- —Tourist tax: payable locally
- —Private chef, driver, instructor, massages: extra, and worth booking early
The facilities that genuinely change a stay
After a day on the slopes it is rarely the square metres that matter, but a handful of specifics.
- —A heated ski room with boot dryers: you leave each morning in dry boots
- —A heated indoor pool or spa: essential on bad-weather days and with children
- —A proper open kitchen: most evenings happen around it
- —A garage: parking in Courchevel is difficult in high season
- —En-suite bedrooms: twelve people live together far better with four bathrooms
Skiing from Le Praz into Les 3 Vallées
From Courchevel 1300 the Le Praz gondola reaches 1850 in six minutes, where the links to Méribel, Val Thorens and Les Menuires begin. Les 3 Vallées is the largest linked ski area in the world, with 600 km of pistes. You ski back to the village on the Olympic run built for the 1992 Albertville Games.
Getting there
Geneva is about 2 hr 15 by road, Lyon 2 hr 30, Chambéry 1 hr 45 and Moûtiers station 25 minutes. In winter bring proper tyres and avoid Saturday changeover if you can: Thursday or Sunday arrivals make the drive far easier.
Chalet Les Cochettes in short
Our 330 sqm private chalet in Courchevel Le Praz sleeps 12 adults across 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, with a 10-metre private indoor pool heated year-round, a cinema room, a central fireplace, a heated ski room and a garage for two cars. Weekly rental, flexible arrivals Thursday to Sunday, 6-night minimum.