by Ah, skiing, this exorbitantly expensive and very addictive winter sports. If you get down a freshly powdered slope under a Bluebird sky, it is an unbeatable high.
But it comes with many pronounced unglamorous moments: clomming in silly boots; drag and sweat in your thermal; Freeze your face on a windy elevator; And to see tiny French children in ski bans who zoom in with more grace than they will ever reach, while in an essentially a controlled case they take a mountain with two sticks on their feet.
At the end of a day on the slopes, the thought of finding a hip -après place can be too much to face. Many thanks to the winter gods for the experimental chalet Val d’Isère, the glamorous new four-star skihotel that really has everything. From the coolest cocktail bar in the city, which is occupied by Dishy Expert Barkeauts, to the combing of Raclette restaurant, in which you can eat your body weight in cheese, the entire glamor of mountain life will be restored, regardless of how sore your calves are.
The 11th supplement of the test group began as a cocktail club in Paris, which was founded in 2007 by the school artists Olivier Bon, Pierre-Charles Cros and Romée de Goriainoff. While Xavier Padovani was bought on board as a fourth partner in 2010. Ankle.
Today there are experimental outposts in New York, London, Ibiza, Menorca, Venice and Verbier and Cowley Manor in the Cotswolds. Here is what you can expect from the brilliant new outpost in the French Alps.
Where?
Val d’Isère, a sweet traditional mountain village in the Savoie region of the French Alps, which has the reputation of combining great skiing and Lively après ski. It is almost three hours of car from Geneva in Switzerland, the most convenient airport where you can fly.
The style
The perfect balance between alpine charm over American ski lodge, tiny retro chic. The interior designer Dorothée Meilzon has strained into the existing aesthetics of the chunky stone chimney with lots of wood and vintage feeling textiles. It is all the seventy charm without the sweaty polyester.
Pay attention to sweet details such as the fox-shaped door knockers and the themed-pin badges, something special for the brand Experimental Group-Jeder place has a unique local fauna as a mascot. The staff also wear very stylish sheepskin gilets, and the boutique by reception offers a refined series of warm clothing and cool sunglasses when you receive the purchase balance.
Which space?
The experimental chalet -val d’Isère was converted sensitively, and the 113 rooms retain the compact dimensions of its previous incarnation as the L’Aigle des Neige. This only contributes to the nostalgic charm, with a minibar and a kettle in the corridor in the corridor leads to a plump king-size bed with a wooden head part that causes snowboards.
There are options for rooms with balconies that look over the snow -covered slopes and lifts as well as the options for suite and penthouse – if you are looking for something that offers a little more space.
The bathrooms are surprisingly spacious affairs with beautiful details such as the accent tiles and handles that look like the antlers of the majestic moose. It’s like a hunting hut and a hotel in Old World had a baby.
Toilet articles from the Swedish spa brand L: A bruket game on the wellness aspect that is restored in hospitality today, and there are fluffy white dressing dresses and experimental branded house shoes, so that you can mix down to the spa if the bathtub and the rain shower are not completely cut for your relaxation needs.
Food & drink
With two restaurants and a bar, the hotel doesn’t have to leave at all except skiing. Do not miss a dinner in L’Aiglon, the smaller internal restaurant, with the central wood oven to get all Savoyard specialties (ie cheese) beautiful and sticky. It is very difficult to choose between raclette and fondue and choose both to be safe. If you are milk -free, my condolences.
L’Aigle d’Or, where a delicious continental breakfast is also served, is located in the style of a glittering Paris brasserie with its marble -based metal mussels. The natural environment still nod with mushroom -shaped lamps and almost Japanese paper suggestions in the style of a structured cloud around the central bar.
In view of the roots of the experimental group in cocktail culture, it almost understands that the bars are their crown jewels. The employees train at the various locations of the company, including Ibiza, and bring their own flair to produce delicious preparations.
The dedicated experimental cocktail club has a groovy hideaway vibes with coarse, brows orange, carbonated carpets and low seating. It is not quite a talks, but to get there. You can definitely make them a drink that you can dream of, but I can recommend it with mezcal and white wine (sounds strange, but only you are waiting).
Facilities
Do not neglect the Biojoux spa facilities to check that a swimming pool in Art Deco style, a steam bath, a sauna and this important cold fall into a large old barrel. Drive your way through to get maximum muscle recovery while sipping plenty of fruity ice water rich.
Soothing underground treatment rooms can be booked for facial treatments and massages. I can recommend the Les Laboratoires Mansard Facial with a delicious scalp massage immediately after a flight in the early morning and a three -hour transmission of Geneva. It brings them from halbar to Effuff and glows in the shortest possible time.
One of the best parts of the stay in the experimental chalet Val d’Isère is that your equipment rents directly to hand. With friendly and knowledgeable staff, you will be equipped in the exact equipment you need (if it is for a while) and you can publish them on a faster skis) and you can store them with numbers that correspond to the room.
The heated boot section is particularly delightful – something that I could implement at home after this terrible wet gray winter we had in London.
Extracurricular
Skiing, of course! You have the entire Le Solaise area available and you can vomit via gondola towards the Tignes page and the entire Espace Killy. The experimental chalet -val d’Isère only enjoys the main position from the main deployments.
There are 300 km slopes with many long blue runs for chill skiers (C’EST MOI) as well as more demanding blacks and red wines. I am reliably informed that local skiwrouille offers an excellent service from door to door (or rather, blood van to the ambulance), but please remember to take out mountain -specific insurance.
If you are not a skier or snowboarder, there are also funny outdoor activities such as traditional snowshoeing or a new range: electrical fat bikes. Thanks to your large, flu -like tires and your battery assistants, you can zoom in along the snow and absorb the beautiful mountain backdrop.
Best for
A great time on the mountain, followed by guaranteed great food and the hottest water hole in the city, without ever having to linger far from a roaring fire and the comfort of your hotel.
Details
One at night in the experimental chalet Val d’Isère begins at £ 350 including Bed & Breakfast and Spa access. Experimental chaletvaldisere.com
