History

In 1962 Tom Hall was invited with his wife Mariette to visit a certain Peter Lindsay, who was developing a ski resort in Méribel-les-Allues near Moutiers in the French Savoie region. Peter Lindsay had a distinguished war career being awarded the DSO in Burma, and he had subsequently worked for a London property company. Over the ensuing years Peter and his family became great friends of Tom and Mariette.

Peter proposed that Tom should join him as a partner and help attract British investors to Méribel valley where he was building new ski lifts. He suggested Tom should build a chalet and that his company would provide the land to achieve this. However as Tom had a large family at school in England, he could not move to France. Despite this he built a chalet to help Peter to attract visitors and potential purchasers. The chalet sits on a fine site with a beautiful view across the Méribel valley and direct access to the ski slopes. This is still true today as the chalet still remains 'ski in ski out.'

Chalet Tom Hall was designed by Christian Durupt, the resident Méribel architect, and it was built in 1963 by Maurice Front, who helpfully was also the village Mayor! Tom reviewed Christian's plans and increased the number of bathrooms from one to three! (There are more now!) At that time, foreign currency was tightly controlled, and as Tom had six school fees to pay, he left the top floor unfinished with camp beds for the children.

Tom became a director and investor of the Méribel Alpina ski company and the family established close friendships with the ski-lift operating staff, who took care in slowing the lifts to make the children's access easier!

Many of Tom's friends and family enjoyed Chalet Tom Hall for over twenty years, and now there are four family generations who have skied here over fifty years. The chalet ownership has passed to his eldest daughter Janie. Janie has modernised the chalet although retains its alpine feel and continues to maintain its warm and friendly atmosphere to a high standard. It is open for guests both winter and summer.

Written by Tom Hall in 2019