Most Alpine holidays follow the same script: ski in winter, lift passes, buffet dinners. In the Savoie region of the French Alps, a British couple named Kevin and Karen Appleton are quietly offering something different — a bespoke summer and wellness experience built around a restored Savoyard chalet and over a decade of living in the mountains themselves.
The pair set up their company, Into the Alps, after making the area their family home. They've been welcoming guests for more than five years, and the pitch is simple: instead of a package holiday, you get an itinerary shaped around what you actually enjoy, guided by people who know which quiet paths have the best views, where to spot ibex, chamois and marmots, and which village restaurants and cheese producers the locals genuinely use.
Base camp is a chalet that mixes rustic and comfortable — stone walls, exposed beams, handcrafted pine furniture — with private gardens looking towards the peaks of the Trois Vallées. A private chef cooks regional food from local ingredients, and meals are treated as slow, proper occasions rather than refuelling stops. There's yoga on offer with a mountain backdrop, and depending on when you visit you might hear cowbells as herds head to summer pastures in early summer or pick cherries from the garden later in the season.
The activity menu is broad. Walkers can choose anything from easy meadow strolls to serious hikes, with stops at traditional mountain refuges for a Savoyard lunch. Food-focused travellers get farmers' market visits, artisan producers, hands-on Savoyard cookery sessions and nearby vineyards producing Alpine valley wines that few visitors ever taste. Wellness seekers get yoga, meditation and spa time woven into the stay.
For adrenaline, the options climb quickly: tandem paragliding, hot-air balloon flights, helicopter or light aircraft trips over the peaks, white-water rafting, via ferrata routes, or an e-bike assault on a famous Tour de France climb. The idea is that you can combine several of these into one trip, or do almost nothing at all beyond long lunches in the sun.
Why does this matter for travellers? Summer in the French Alps is massively underrated. Once the ski crowds leave, the melting snow reveals flower-filled meadows, empty trails and villages with serious food traditions — and prices and crowds are friendlier than in February. A hosted, small-scale setup like this suits anyone who wants the Alps without the logistics: solo travellers, couples, or people who'd rather someone who lives there handle the planning. It's also a good fit if your group has mixed energy levels — one person can hike a ridge while another books a spa afternoon, and you still eat dinner together.
Worth noting: this is a personal, owner-run operation rather than a big resort, so expect a homely, hosted feel rather than hotel anonymity. Bookings and details are at intothealps.co.uk.
Story via The Good Life France
