Four Seasons Hotel Megève
Just over an hour’s drive north, Megève is a tiny medieval village complete with cobbled streets and horse-drawn carriages. Located directly on the Mont d’Arbois slopes, which feature more than 130 well-groomed runs, the new Four Seasons Hotel Megève looks like a classic Alpine chalet, with an A-frame structure of oak and stone. But the 55 sleek rooms and suites and the Michelin two-star restaurant Le 1920, which specializes in contemporary French cooking, make it decidedly modern. The Four Seasons is also in the process of renovating a group of existing chalets in the nearby village of Mont d’Arbois, set to open later this year, that will offer a more old-fashioned experience. Rooms from $1,550; fourseasons.com.
Les Airelles
A little over two hours from Geneva in the heart of Les Trois Vallées, Courchevel is home to some of the French Alps’ most luxurious lodges—and with nearly 100 miles of ski runs, it can feel remarkably private, even in high season. Les Airelles, which reopened last month following a complete overhaul, features 50 palatial suites with separate his-and-her bathrooms (his comes with a hammam shower; hers, a bathtub), an Italian restaurant from Michelin three-star chef Pierre Gagnaire, and a Bernard Orcel ski boutique. Rooms from $1,050; airelles.com.
Aman Le Mélézin
A ten-minute walk along the Rue de Bellecôte from Les Airelles leads to Aman Resorts’ only property in France, Aman Le Mélézin. The hotel recently debuted a stand-alone, two-story, 8,255-square-foot spa that includes a Thai-massage suite and a Capri-stone hammam. There’s also a new outpost of Nama, which serves traditional seasonal Japanese cuisine. All 31 rooms are imbued with the hotel’s signature plush but spare design—but it’s the two Chambre Ski Piste rooms that go beyond, with outdoor hot tubs that overlook the main ski run. Rooms from $1,300; aman.com.
Terminal Neige Refuge du Montenvers
In nearby Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Europe’s mountaineering capital, the family-run boutique-hotel brand Maisons & Hôtels Sibuet recently opened Terminal Neige Refuge du Montenvers, a 20-room chalet at the foot of the famous Mer de Glace valley glacier. The stylish French chain has taken over a historic lodge (Goethe, Lord Byron, and Victor Hugo all stayed there) and glammed it up with an haute-rustic look: wool fabrics, miner’s lamps, and original wooden chimneys that have been converted into bookcases. Rooms range from a dormitory that sleeps ten (keeping to the property’s heritage as a shelter for mountaineers) to the spacious, boudoir-style Altitude Suite. Suites from $405; montenvers.terminal-neige.com.
