“The more time we spend in Morzine the more we want to be here, so building our own chalet was a natural step.”

The owners of Chalet Tataali wanted to build the perfect base to bring their extended family together for ski trips, and also to enjoy the Alps in the summer.

We’ve been coming to the Alps for many years and decided to start our own project about 5 years ago. It’s a natural step for us as my wife is an architect, we have experience of developing properties and we love to have somewhere where we can bring the extended family together under one roof.

It took us some time to find our ideal spot. We looked at several locations across Les Gets and Morzine, both existing buildings and land plots. Having spent many happy ski weeks (and time in summer) at Chalet Twenty26 we always had a preference for Vallée de la Manche but despite years of looking we were unable to find the right spot. Then about two and a half years ago my brother, who was visiting Morzine, called me to say he had found the perfect spot just a stone’s throw from Twenty26. Once we visited we knew the site was just right, with stunning valley and forest views with the River Dranse sweeping by just metres below the site.

We have a large extended family and get together on a regular basis. We already have a house on the coast in Southwest France and this has really helped bringing everyone together during the summer months. We wanted to try and replicate this in the mountains primarily for winter ski trips but also to enjoy the Alps in the summer.

My wife’s philosophy for a house is that it should be fun so that’s always our starting point and we’ve tried to add lots of fun features around the chalet. I must give all the credit for the slide to her — she is a devotee — we have a slide in our house in Cap Ferret and it’s great fun. For both children and adults.

The idea for the climbing wall came from our project manager, who assures me not to worry about any health and safety issues! I am really looking forward to trying this out. We have also added a pin wall and monkey bars in the playroom and there’s table football and a pool table which should help keep everyone entertained.

In case you were wondering, the name “Tataali” is Arabic for “cascade” reflecting the cascading of the river which runs just a few metres below the chalet and can be heard from most of our rooms, and also the fact the chalet cascades down the valley.