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Merry Christmas
24th December 2009
Merry Christmas to everybody. If you want to give yourself a free Christmas present, this little iPhone app looks great. I can not check it out myself because I am a fan of the BlackBerry but am continually tempted by the iPhone. Going by the catchy name of App Méribel it can be download to your iPhone here. This app leverages the power of iPhone technology to provide you with a better skiing experience. Included is a dynamic map of the ski area, GPS localization in the resort, detailed weather forecast of the ski resort, a complete address book of all the stores and services available in Méribel and emergency phone numbers

That said you can all of that on the Purple Ski Mobile Web Site.

It's Official! Purple Ski delivers the best food in the Alps!
17th November 2009
Dan Hughes, Chef in Lapin Blanc, joined the other 5 Chalet Chef finalists in London on Monday to fight it out for the title of The Times Chalet Chef 2010. We are delighted - and very proud - that he won! Watch the video at this link

It's been snowing!
11th November 2009
The weather has turned decidedly cold and we have now had a few snowy days, so that the mountains are gloriously white. A great start to the winter! Lifts open in just over 3 weeks' time... Max has been toboganning at the Chaudanne this morning, and loved it!

Purple Ski shortlisted for the final of The Times of London Chalet Chef competition
31st October 2009
We have just been told that we have reached final shortlist for The Times Chalet Chef Competition 2010. Only six companies (three upmarket and three mass market as The Times describes them) have reached this stage of the competition, so that's quite some achievement given that scores of companies were nominated. Thanks to all of you who voted for us. The next stage of the competition is a cook-off between six nominated chalet chefs/hosts in London on Monday 16 November; Dan Hughes, chef in Lapin Blanc in 07-08, 08-09 and 09-10 will be representing us at the cook off, competing against chefs from the other 2 "up-market" companies. Wish him /us luck!

Special introductory prices and offers on Petite Pia
16th October 2009
Having added this charming chalet to our portfolio only recently and relatively late in the year, we are delighted to be able to offer it to you at special introductory rates - see Special Offers.

Purple Ski features on Paradizo
17th September 2009

Featured Vacation Rentals on Paradizo.com

Meribel Backgammon Tournament
31st August 2009
The inaugeral Meribel Backgammon Tournament will take place in Meribel from 10th to 13th December. Purple Ski’s chalets are voted Meribel’s best place to stay by The Daily Telegraph for full details visit The Daily Telegraph web site.

Purple Ski Chalets the best
28th August 2009
Purple Ski’s chalets are voted Meribel’s best place to stay by The Daily Telegraph for full details visit The Daily Telegraph web site.

Chalet Foinsbois
25th August 2009
We are pleased to announce the addition of a new chalet to our portfolio - the uber luxurious Chalet Foinsbois in Meribel Village. Some details have already been published on the site but more photographs and floor plans will follow shortly.

La Petite Pia in Association with Purple SKi
16th August 2009
Details of a new chalet we are offering for next season has been posted to the site today. Chalet La Petite Pia is a uniquely luxurious chalet sleeping 8 people in the heart of Meribel. For full details visit La Petite Pia's web page.

New high speed chair for Meribel Village
27th July 2009
Meribel Alpina is updating the the chair out of Meribel Village to a fast six man chair. Work is progressing smoothly and the helicopters were in action when I was in Meribel last week. This is great news for clients staying in Chalet Iamato and for those visiting the Le Plantin and Blanchot restaurants for lunch.

Follow Purple Ski on twitter
22nd June 2009
You can now follow Purple Ski on Twitter at http://twitter.com/purpleski. Posts will mainly be made in the run up to the season and during it but any significant events will also be announced via twitter as well as here on the web site

Purple Ski Mobile Site
24th April 2009
Purple Ski now has it's own mobile site at www.Purpleski.mobi, while the site has details of Purple Ski chalets and how to find them, the site will be of interest to any visitor to Meribel as it gives details of lift closing times, bars, services and restaurant reviews.

Altitude Comedy Festival
15th February 2009
Why not take advantage of our special offers on 29th March and enjoy two great events. The British Ski Championships which are in Meribel from 28th March to 6th April and the Altitude Comedy Festival which is on from 28th March to 3rd April.

Lapin Blanc on the The Times web site
28th January 2009
See Chalet Lapin Blanc featured on The Times of London Web Site with a recommendation from Sean Newsom, The Sunday Times ski correspondent no less!

Guest Feedback - 11th January 2009
"I am writing to you to express my thanks for a great week we spent in Lapin Blanc. It has been my third vacation with Purple Ski and you have again proven to be a great connoisseur of the meaning of the word hospitality." Dmitri P - Lapin Blanc He has holidayed with me in three different chalets.

Guest Feedback - 20th December 2008
"Our holiday with Purpleski was fab - despite the compromise of Guy having to ski with me for half the week! Even better than when we were with you in Feb. Karen is a great judge of personality recruiting staff - we were thoroughly spoilt and nothing bad to comment on at all. We will be back. We wish Purpleski well in a difficult climate - you are a special company and a rarity in a mass produced world." - Ali C Olympie III.

Lifts Open - 6th December 2008
The lifts opened this morning at 9.00 and Karen and I were there. We did several runs in the powder off piste from Burgin Saulire 1 to the Chaudanne and it was sublime. There have been starts as good as this (I can remember December 93 and December 98 in particular) but I really don't think there has been better in my 18 seasons here. This really is going to be a cracking season and those of you who have been brave enough to book for the 13th December, it is possible that you are going to have the best skiing you have ever had.

More Snow - 1st December 2008
I am back out in Meribel now, having been back in the UK for family reasons and we have more snow falls happening now (12.00) and forecasty at the moment for the enxt 7 days+. This really is an excellent start to the season. For details visit our weather page for details an web cams.

New Web Site Design - 24th November 2008
I have been hard at work over the past few weeks, in between selling holidays and quite a few other things, redesigning some of the pages of the web site including this page. For returning visitors I hope you like them. If you spot any errors please do let me know.

Huge Snow Falls - 21st November 2008
We have a great snow fall and low temperatures over the last few days and are expecting more of the same over the coming week. Not long now before the lifts open on 6th December. I for one will be skiing that day!!

Rousillon - 14th September 2008
Chalet Rousillon is now available over Christmas and for the remaining January weeks on a part booking basis. For availability visit the availability page.

Snow Forecast - 11th September 2008
I received my first Snow Alert this morning from Snow-forecast.com. Temperatures are dropping fast over the next few days with snow falling today and Saturday. Winter is on its way!

Mobile Site - 31st/August/2008
The mobile site has now been fully updated and improved. It includes usefull information from Purple Ski plus the ability to get directions from anywhere in the world direct to your chalet using Google Maps. Just log on to www.purpleskiski.com/mobile from your handheld and take the mobile site for a spin.

Chalet Kouneli - 31st/July/2008
Our most luxurious chalet, Chalet Kouneli, is being renamed Chalet Lapin Blanc. The chalet remains exactly the same indeed as does the chef. See below

Staff - 31st/07/2008
As always in the summer Karen is busy recruiting and we are very lucky that at the time of writing nine members of last season's team will be returning for the 2009 season. This includes three of the chefs: Dan will be once again working his magic in Lapin Blanc (Kouneli) and Rob will be back at Chalet Iamato. Clint will be back at Chalet Rousillon

To see details of all the returning members of staff just visit the web site.

Great Conditions - 1/04/2008
We still have great conditions here in Meribel. In fact in my seventeen seasons I have never seen conditions in April both piste and off piste as good as this. So why not take advantage of some great prices and catch a last minute holiday. For example the ultimate in luxury Chalet Lapin Blanc from £488.

Amazing Snow Fall - 14/11/2007
We awoke this morning to more than 25 cms of snow outside our chalet door at 1,000 meters and it is still snowing. Have a look at the web cams to get a flavour. This is the best start to the season for quite sometime and they are forecasting very cold temperatures for the next few days.

Altitude Festival - 18/10/2007
The Altidtude Festival comes to Meribel.

Chalet Lapin Blanc - 15/10/2007
We visited one of our two new chalets for next season - Chalet Lapin Blanc. The chalet is beyond our wildest dreams; it is absolutely stunning. The chalet will definitely be one of the best chalets available to rent in Meribel. Everything about the chalet is incredible. Photos will follow soon.

The Brochure - 09/08/2007
Our new brochure is out now so don't forget to request a copy. For the first time the brochure is only available in PDF format. You can have one emailed direct to your inbox by going to the brochure page. Over the past 3 years requests for the paper brochure have declined by 70% as more and more people turn to the web to find their holidays. In addition with the pressure growing to be more and more green we felt that publishing a paper brochure was not really the right thing to do.

Champagne - 29/07/2007
Next winter, we will be offering what we call "on tap" champagne in all of our chalets except Rousillon. That is to say, you can drink champagne as you want, when you want.

Furthermore, from next season we will be serving a non vintage champagne from one of the great houses.

This weekend we had tasting with a few past guests and our PR and, well, we could not decide. So we have decided to offer two champagnes so that guests can choose. For more details please go to our new champagne page....

Chalet Locations - 25/07/2007
I have now uploaded a new location map for all the chalets. Based on Google maps (which I think most people are familiar with) I hope these show clearly where the chalets are located in relation to the main places in Meribel. To see the map click here.

Chalet Rousillon - 22/07/2007
Chalet Rousillon is available as of today for part bookings for the week commencing 17th February 2008.

EasyJet announce new routes - 11/07/2007
EasyJet is to start flying from Birmingham International Airport with two new routes to Geneva and Grenoble. A new daily service to Geneva, with fares from £37.98 return including taxes, will start on December 14. A twice weekly Grenoble flight, with fares from £48.01 return, starts on December 22.

Chalet Lapin Blanc - 22/06/2007
Full floor plans of Chalet Lapin Blanc our new chalet for next season have now been posted to the web site. To have a look click here.

Lots of snow - 08/02/2007
I am off to Geneva now (09.00)(business and pleasure!) but just wanted to let you know that it is chucking it down now so with the snow set to fall over the next week and the great base we have already, we are set for a great second half of the season.

Dumping Down - 23/01/2007
It is dumping down now and more is on its way. We have had 17 cms here in Le Villaret (1000m) and it is still snowing. So we are looking at a really good snow fall up on the mountain!

British Ski Championships
Why not come and support the British Ski Championships which are taking place here in Meribel from 24th March to 31st March. Full details can be found on the SnowsportsGB web site.

Snow down 400m on Monday - 19/01/2007
Great snow falls are forecast for the coming week with a big drop in temperatures and snow down to 400m on Monday. For details watch the Merinet.com video snow report.

Lots of snow - 15/01/2007
Contrary to what the media would have you believe we have lots of snow here in the Three Vallees; in fact 81% of pistes are open, that is 266 pistes. Visit the Purple Ski weather page to see the web cams.

Grenoble Airport - 15/01/2007
I have just done a transfer to Grenoble Airport - it is a great little airport and is closer than both Lyon and Geneva. Both EasyJet and BA fly to it and restaurant is exceptionally good.

"Miracle" in Meribel - 04/01/2007
A 23 year old local man was deeply buried for over an hour here in Meribel. But the rescue team did not give up searching and a member of the probe line finally touched something solid under 180 cms (6ft) of snow. The man had survived thanks to a tiny air pocket, a miracle against the odds.

Lift company Merger - 04/01/2007
Compagnie des Alpes, the leisure group that operates the Meribel ski lifts, is looking to purchase Sofival, the owner of the Val d’Isere and Avoriaz lift complexes. Shares in CDA gained 6 per cent yesterday after it revealed the talks with Sofival, raising the leisure group’s market value to €565 million (£380 million).

Video Snow Reports - 01/01/2007
Merinet.com Video Snow Report service is now free. The videos will be issued once a week during the season. You can find out more and subscribe for free at Skinet.com.

Snowing - 09/12/2006
It is snowing again in Meribel and how - check out the web cams on our weather page. It must be deep up top!

Major Snow Fall - 22/11/2006
We just had the first major snowfall of the season. Through the begining of November there was a light dusting of snow at the tops of Saulire and Mont Vallon but that was it.

On Sunday the first snow fell in the resort, and on Tuesday night we had a massive dump. Around 15-20cm fell in Meribel centre and judging from the web cams a lot more has fallen at altitude.

Video Snow Reports - 22/11/2006
Merinet.com have launched a new Video Snow Report service. This a twice weekly video report filmed from the ski areas that they cover, which includes Meribel. You can find out more and subscribe, for as little as 40p a video, at Skinet.com.

Ski TV - 10/11/2006
Ski Club of Great Britain has just launched the UK’s first Internet TV channel dedicated to snowsports - SkiTV.co.uk. Subscribers can view ski and snowboard movies on their personal computers or laptops 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The content is updated every Monday and is divided into several categories to allow the user to pick and choose the videos that they are interested in.

To be caught in an avalanche - 09/10/2006
This excellently written article in "The Oberver" (a UK Sunday newspaper) by Pierre-Francois Papet is well worth a read and gives an amazing impression of what it must be like to be in an avalanche. The article can be found on the Observer's web site.

The perfect B & B - 31/08/2006
We have just taken a few days off visiting various friends in the South West of England. Currently staying in what might possibly be (in our our opinion) the nicest B & B in England. We really can not fault it! It is called Hillside House in Portscatho. We can highly recommend it. Beautiful rooms by the sea, lovely breakfast and wireless broadband for those of us, like me, who can not stay away from work! If ever in the South West you should give it a try.

Week in Wales - 9/08/2006
We have just spent a lovely week at my Father's house in Pennal near Machynlleth and Aberdovey in Wales. This picture is taken from the hill above the house looking south west. Click on it for a larger version.

This house is available to rent through wales-holidays.co.uk

Max was born this morning at 1.55 - 1/07/2006
Our son Max (Maximilian) was born this morning (Saturday 1st July 2006) at 1.55 weighing 3.28kg (7lbs 5oz). He was nearly two weeks late but was fine on arrival. Both Karen and Max are fine and will return home on Tuesday. Click on the photo for a larger version.

Baby - 19/06/2006
Our first baby is due today but so far no new arrival - will keep you posted here!

Quote system - 14/06/2006
Today sees the launch of our online quote system. This enables visitors to the site to get real time quotes instantly. Simply enter your details and click submit. Try it online now!. We hope you like it.

Chalet Rousillon - 08/5/2006
Next season Chalet Rousillon will benefit from an out door hot tub, broadband internet and computer facilities and a separate television/children's room. Book now and enjoy all these facilities at this year's prices, before prices rise.

Off Home - 06/5/2006
With our baby due in less than six weeks we return to the UK on Tuesday to get ready for the new arrival. But we are still, as always, taking enquiries and bookings.

End of Purple Ski News