Wine in bed, ski to the pub, shots at lunch, dinner in the lift and stunning views.
Welcome to the life of a chalet girl as described by Lily Peake, who has been documenting her time living and working in the French Alps in a series of fascinating “day in the life” videos posted to her TikTok account. (@likypeake).
The 19-year-old from Bath is working on her second ski season with VIP SKI in Bear Lodge in Les Arcs 1950 and says: “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
But it’s not all fun and games, as some might imagine. She told MailOnline Travel: “It’s a much harder job than you think.”
Lily Peake (pictured), who documents her life as a chalet girl on TikTok, told MailOnline Travel: ‘It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.’
On Lily’s days off, her life consists of skiing to the pub, drinking on the mountainside, and enjoying wine in bed.
Lily describes the position as 50 percent work, 30 percent skiing, and 20 percent partying.
Most of the time, he says, he’s “cooking, cleaning, building rapport with guests, and making their vacation as fabulous as possible.”
He adds: “Whether it’s removing the beds, cleaning the bathrooms, serving champagne or playing with guests after dinner, we do it all with a smile on our faces.”
Lily explains that the chalet staff share rooms with a bathroom, a common kitchen and a living room. She describes it as a “complete bubble” of reality. And she adds: ‘We are very well cared for. The chalets are amazing and the guests are fantastic.’
A typical day for Lily and her fellow chalet hosts begins at 6:15 a.m. “with a billion alarms ringing.”
Lily adds: ‘We’re in the chalets before 7am making breakfast for about eight people. We prepare the table for breakfast and, while we wait for the guests to wake up, we prepare the afternoon tea cake.’
Lily works with VIP SKI at Bear Lodge in Les Arcs. She describes the position as “50 percent working, 30 percent skiing, and 20 percent partying.”
A typical day as a chalet host begins at 6:00 am and involves “cooking, cleaning, and establishing rapport with guests.”
Lily and her fellow chalet hosts are at the chalets before 7am most mornings. She says, “It’s a much harder job than you think.”
Once breakfast is finished, they clean the kitchen and living room and prepare afternoon tea. They then clean the rooms and bathrooms, before heading to the slopes for a day of skiing around 11am.
At six in the afternoon they are back in the chalets “preparing canapés, starters, main courses, dessert, cheese and truffle boards.” The day ends at 9:30 pm, after which Lily and her chalet hosts usually “go play pool at our local Irish bar.”
Lily says chalet hosts often experience a “mid-season blues,” where they feel “down because of the lifestyle.”
While this “is very demanding,” he says, “everything gets easier as the season progresses: less time at work and more time on the slopes.”
The maximums, he says, include the days off in which ‘partying at tables with champagne showers’ and skiing ‘on days when there isn’t a cloud in the sky’.
And the advantages? She says: “Skiing and living with your best friends in the Alps.”
After a long morning of work, Lily usually heads to the slopes at 11 a.m. By the end of the season, she says, “we all became excellent snowboarders and skiers.”
While the life of a chalet girl can be “very demanding,” Lily says that “everything gets easier as the season progresses.”
Highs, Lily says, include days off when she’ll “party at tables with champagne showers” and skiing “on days when there’s not a cloud in the sky.”
Lily filmed an ‘elevator dinner’ session at the chalet
While Lily described the pay as “good,” she says, “Tips make a difference.” They vary wildly between €150 and €500 (£127 and £426) a week.
And at the end of the season, Lily says, “We all became excellent skiers and snowboarders.”
While Lily admits, “I’m not sure how many seasons I have left,” she adds, “I have a feeling this isn’t the last.”
Your advice for those thinking about becoming chalet workers?
She says: “Apply now in May and get experience in hospitality and cooking.”
To see more of Lily visit her on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@likypeake.