Today’s luxury ski resorts and hotels offer more than sport as they compete to woo winter holiday travelers with concierge benefits, 24-hour room service, hot-spring-style whirlpools, and après-ski massages.
Here is global list of destination ski resorts Holiday travelers head to whether whether they hit the slopes or not.
The Chedi Andermatt, Switzerland
Andermatt is a year-round luxury resort destination developed by Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris. Designed by Jean-Michel Gathy, head of Kuala Lumpur architecture firm Denniston, the resort mixes traditional chalet architecture with modern symmetrical design. Tokyo-based design firm Spin Studio brings an upscale aesthetic to the hotel’s fine dining and sushi restaurants. The biggest indulgence is the 2,400 sq m spa with its 35-metre pool and no fewer than eight fireplaces to warm guests after a day on the slopes. Winter sport enthusiasts get their own ‘ski butlers’ on stand-by and this summer the resort launched a golf course for guests to meander through the meadow.
Gotthardstrasse 4, Andermatt, Switzerland; Tel: 41. 41 887 0659; www.thechedi-andermatt.com
Hotel Mont-Blanc, Chamonix, France
Mont-Blanc is Europe’s highest mountain and home to Chamonix, one of the world’s most fabled ski resorts. The hotel was acquired in 2010 and reopened in 2013 by the Taittinger champagne family. The lodge features ornate stucco moldings, marble fireplaces and elegant iron balustrades thoughtfully counterpoised by classic contemporary furnishings upholstered in warming tones of ochre and crimson. There are 40 rooms including two suites, a Tibetan-inspired treatment spa and a restaurant and bar helmed by chef Guy Martin of the Grand Véfour in Paris. The chic menu offers specialties from Martin’s hometown of Savoie.
62 allée du Majestic, 74404 Chamonix, France; Tel: 33.4 5053 0564; www.hotelmontblancchamonix.com
Whistler Residence, British Columbia, Canada
Architects David Battersby and Heather Howat of Vancouver-based firm Battersby Howat designed a spectacular, private villa in a growing neighborhood above the resort community of Whistler. The villa’s voluminous size is belied by the surrounding bedrock which was strategically blasted to envelop the house making it seem as if a substantial portion is below grade.
The lower level contains private and communal spaces while the upper levels sport panoramic views to the forest and mountains offering multiple sources of natural light all without compromising privacy. The property is privately owned but available for hire.
230-49 Dunlevy Avenue, Vancouver, Canada; Tel: 1.604 669 9647; www.battersbyhowat.com
L’Apogée Courchevel, Saint-Bon-Tarentaise, France
The latest ski hotel overlooking France’s Courchevel valley is L’Apogée. The chalet inspired facade and interiors designed by Joseph Dirand achieve a sense of homeliness. The restaurant overlooks striking mountain views. The kitchen is overseen by two-Michelin-starred chef Yannick Franques. And the spa which follows Dirand’s usual black and white palette has six treatment rooms, a salt cave and a steam room.
1 Jardin Alpin, Saint-Bon-Tarentaise, Savoie 73120 France; Tel: 33.4 9293 3240; www.lapogeecourchevel.com
QT Falls Creek, Falls Creek, Australia
The Victorian market is home to the densest concentration of ski resorts in the country. The QT Hotel group revitalised an aging resort in the area and renamed it QT Falls Creek . The location now offers 63 luxury apartments with an open-plan layout, with light, contemporary furnishings, a private terrace with hot tubs and sweeping views of the Kiewa Valley. The luxury spa has five treatment rooms, a sauna, steam room and indoor plunge pool, plus an outdoor spa.
7 Bogong High Plains Road, Falls Creek, Australia; Tel: 61.3 5732 8000; www.qtfallscreek.com.au
W Verbier, Verbier, Switzerland
The latest W Verbier ski resort opened in 2014 offers an off-the-beaten-track hospitality experience. Concrete Architectural Associates designed the four wood-clad chalet-style buildings containing 123 guest rooms each with its own fireplace designed with local materials in wood and red tinted glass. The resort features an urban style black leather Carve bar with a mirrored ceiling. The spa, the largest in Verbier, has an indoor-outdoor pool. Michelin-starred chef Sergi Arola headlines the resort’s Arola Restaurant which offers his famous ‘pica pica’ sharing plates specially designed with a Swiss slant.
Rue de Médran 70, Verbier, Switzerland; Tel: 41. 27 472 8888; www.wverbier.com
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