Summer on the slopes

Anyone flicking through the Club Med brochure might be forgiven for thinking the concept a Brit's worst nightmare. On one side, Les Français, speaking

So why, now we're here, are we enjoying it so much? First, think stupendous location. The Aspen Park Club Med is in Mèribel, in the heart of the French Alps, high up in the mountains of the Haute Savoie. Right now, it's skiing country; in summer, the snow gives way to deep green valleys carpeted with wild flowers and crisscrossed by walking trails. Three hours after picking up our hire car at Lyon we were up in the clear Alpine air, where snow still dusted the higher peaks.

Next, the Aspen Park is a different kind of Club Med. Here the emphasis is on de-stressing and relaxing. There's a health spa, a golf course, and, of course, all that marvellous scenery. You would not come here for a week of partying. "This is much, much quieter than most Club Meds," said one regular.

But this still leaves us with the nationality imbalance (the vast majority of Aspen Park's guests are French) and the peculiarities of the Club Med ethos. At dinner on the first night, a young woman with a badge approached and asked if she could join us. We took this to be a one-off welcoming gesture. But then we noticed that every table was laid for at least four. Our new friend, or others like her, would be dining with us each night. And at lunchtime too. Welcome to the world of Gentils Organisateurs (them) and Gentils Membres (us).

This set-up, in which the GOs organise activities and join the GMs for meals, is enough to send most Brits, gentils or not, fleeing in horror. Unnecessarily so, we discovered. Aspen Park's 60 or so GOs were colourful and engaging characters, and their company actually added to our enjoyment. There was Jody, the English barman, slow-moving and friendly. Katrien from Belgium, the club's top masseuse, was training to be an osteopath. Davy from reception was a gangly 25-year-old with a Jerry Lee Lewis obsession. All these and others made mealtime conversations lively and funny. And as my wife pointed out: "It's not every day a charming young man asks me to lunch."

The French, ranging in age from twenties to sixties, were a sociable crowd and several of them joined us for meals. Once, I entered the club's sauna to find half-a-dozen people engaged in conversation. The language immediately switched from French to English for my benefit. Imagine that happening in reverse over here.

We fell into a routine. Morning walk in the valleys and forests above the club, or a cable car ride up to Tougnete, where we picnicked by a mountain lake and watched the clouds form strange shadows on the bare hills. The picnic, as with most things at Club Med, was included. You simply filled the plastic dishes provided at the breakfast buffet.

Afternoons were spent by the pool. Early evening we hit the spa for seaweed wraps or a massage with Katrien, whose diminutive frame supported fingers that could crack bricks.

Then it was out to the terrace for G&Ts, with a long, slow sunset over the mountains and the sound of cowbells. Finally, dinner, with everything from Montpellier oysters to couscous on the menu, accompanied by solid red and white Vin de Pays d'Oc, or lighter rosés from Provence.

Any wrong notes? The nightly cabaret was inevitably hard to follow. And the GO whose idea of fun was to arrive at your table with a repertoire of card tricks nearly found himself given a good slapping. But even I, after a week of relaxation and egged on by Davy, felt compelled to join in the karaoke evenings. Great Balls of Fire will never sound the same again.

? Paul Mansfield flew to Lyon with British Airways (0845 77 333 77), which flies three times daily from Heathrow. Returns in summer from £135. He stayed at Aspen Park Club Med (0700 2582 633). Summer season starts end of June, seven nights from £371pp full board, and in mid-August £434pp, including unlimited wine and beer, a guided mountain walk and use of the pool. Car hire with Holiday Autos in summer (0870 400 0000) from £139 per week.