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The playground of pop stars, these top ski chalets put luxury in a new category
Sleek and contemporary is the new alpine style, combined with service fit for an oligarch
Just how much luxury is enough? In the world of top-notch ski chalets, five-star opulence is just the starting point.
Bespoke, boutique and beautiful are the bottom line, plus the best materials, award-winning design and so many toys and extras that the slopes outside are in danger of becoming an afterthought. The service, too, must be beyond impeccable; nothing is too much trouble.
Here are 11 of the best mountain masterpieces in the Alps:
1. Chalet Eden Rock: St Anton, Austria
This other Eden in the hamlet of Nasserein is the jewel in St Anton’s chalet crown. It rocks a traditional exterior with a sleek, stylish interior, and can be booked as an exclusive 10-room chalet or split up into three smaller private chalets.
Designed by an award-winning architect, its spacious wood and stone-clad entertaining spaces offer open fireplaces, cozy dining areas, plentiful balconies and indulgent en suite bedrooms.
For those with energy left after a day skiing or snowboarding around the vast Arlberg area, there is a gym, swimming pool with jet stream, sauna and steam room. Seven nights exclusive use of the property from about $35,500 to $89,000 with Kaluma Travel.
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2. Chalet Edelweiss: Courchevel, France
Situated in Courchevel’s billionaire’s row alongside the Bellecote piste, Chalet Edelweiss is a standout bloom among a glittering crop in France. In this domain favored by Russian oligarchs, sporting megastars and industry magnates, bling is the thing.
Edelweiss covers 3,000 square meters of luxury living space for 16 people, with the master suite, including a private sitting room, occupying the entire top floor of the six-story chalet. For those with Saturday night fever, there’s a full-on nightclub featuring DJ booth, dance floor and bar for 100 guests. There’s also a cinema, swimming pool and spa, gym and massage rooms in case the world’s largest ski area just outside the window isn’t enough to keep you amused.
About $27,780 per person for seven nights in high season through Alpine Answers.
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3. Art Chalet: Courchevel. France
Another Bellecote blockbuster, this flamboyant fancy is an homage to art, contemporary design and bespoke fittings. Seven levels pack in all the standard luxury trappings – nightclub, cinema, swimming pool, sauna, hot tub, spa, gym, games room and fully toyed-up children’s playroom. Sleek glass elevators, Japanese toilets and a piano add to the over-the-top opulence.
The 2,200-square-meter Art Chalet sleeps 16 in eight en suite bedrooms and offers ski-in/ski-out luxury just minutes from the center of Courchevel. Although, of course, a private chauffeur is on hand to bring back the booty from those world-class shopping sorties.
From about $172,000 for seven nights with Green to Black.
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4. Chalet Husky: Val d’Isere, France
Chalet Husky more than pulls its weight among Val d’Isere’s luxury pack of properties.
Its spectacular contemporary design incorporates a vast open-plan living space, with bar and dining area at one end and sofa-surrounded open fireplace at the other, linked by a glass walkway over an indoor atrium garden.
A climbing wall, archery facility and rifle range augment the usual set of toys, alongside a wellness area with spacious rainbow-lit swimming pool and infinity waterfall. The 611-square-meter chalet sleeps 14 in seven en suite bedrooms. From about $3,300 per person to about $6,600 for a week through Ski Scott Dunn.
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5. Chalet N: Lech, Austria
The bulletproof glass offers a hint at the caliber of guests staying here and it’s easy to see why the A list chooses Chalet N. Rock royalty Tina Turner is reputed to be a fan.
Set on the car-free plateau of Oberlech above the elegant village of Lech in Austria’s Arlberg, this commanding castle blends traditional alpine styling with high-end interior design. The 10 sumptuous suites sleep 18-22 while the penthouse master features a dressing room, living room, fireplace and children’s suite with four bunk beds.
A swimming pool with mood lighting, plus a gym, saunas, salt-cave steam bath and ice fountain make up the wellness offering, while a hair salon can provide that last-minute go-faster trim. The arresting design of the wine cellar makes every trip for fresh supplies an experience in itself. From about $178,000 per week with Leo Trippi.
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6. Chalet Zermatt Peak: Zermatt, Switzerland
There’s the standard, run-of-the mill luxury – and then there’s Chalet Zermatt Peak. If jaws haven’t already dropped at the floor-to-ceiling views of the Matterhorn from the living area, they will at the walnut floors, marble and stone-clad walls and sumptuous furnishings of the interior.
This is the stuff of the movies – the entrance tunnel hewn into the rock is reminiscent of a Bond villain’s lair. A floating walnut, steel and glass staircase and a lift access five more levels of Swiss swank.
There are five lavish bedroom suites, while the master has its own Jacuzzi and the top-floor gallery bedroom has a glass roof to take in the peaks and the stars from bed. An indoor/outdoor Jacuzzi is the centerpiece of the indulgent spa area. From about $62,000 to $190,000 for a week with Alpine Guru.
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7. Chalet Eagle’s Nest: Val d’Isere, France
From its rock-hewn eyrie above Val d’Isere, Eagle’s Nest has shaken things up from the start.
This Tarentaise treasure offered the first swimming pool in a private chalet in 2002, and has since undergone a number of tweaks to raise the bar, including the recent addition of a cantilevered deck with hot tub.
Featuring vast living spaces with crackling log fires, indoor swimming pool with jet stream and an integrated entertainment system, the list of luxury features is longer than the nearby La Face black run, the venue for the men’s downhill at the 1992 Winter Olympics.
From about $40,000 per week in low season with The Oxford Ski Company.
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8. Chalet Mont Tremblant: Meribel, France
Standing out isn’t easy in this market but Mont Tremblant managed it and was voted Best Luxury Ski Chalet in France at the 2016 World Ski Awards. The double height lounge gives vast views over the Meribel Valley, and the open fireplace and separate snug provide a place to hunker down in the evening.
Mont Tremblant sleeps 12 with a stunning master suite across the first floor and five further en suite bedrooms, all with gas fireplaces. A heated outdoor infinity swimming pool and hot tub, plus a hammam and massage rooms can soothe tired limbs before a chill-out session in the in-house cinema.
There’s also a games room with pool table and children’s playroom. A separate office provides a haven for those who can’t let go of the grind. From about $21,000 per week in low season to $96,000 in high season with Consensio Chalets.
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9. Chalet Sirocco: Verbier, Switzerland
This Swiss stunner was voted World’s Best New Ski Chalet in the 2015 World Ski Awards and for good reason. Crisp, cozy yet cavernous, it sleeps eight over four floors with a vast open plan living area and impressive wellness area featuring pool with waterfall, sauna, hammam and massage room.
Sirocco occupies a commanding position above Verbier with far-reaching views towards the towering peaks of the Grand Combin and the Mont Blanc massif. From about $64,000 per week in low season with Bramble Ski.
10. Chalet La Datcha: Val Thorens, France
Owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Tinkov, the founder of Tinkoff Bank, La Datcha is a shrine to high luxury in Europe’s highest resort. The 1200 meter square chalet is just 10 meters from the slopes and offers five suites of two or three rooms, each with a private south-facing balcony.
Off-slope entertainment includes an amusement arcade with “foosball” and racing simulators, and a virtual golf driving range fitted with the latest Trackman 4 simulator and top-of-the-range clubs.
But what sets La Datcha apart is the cuisine – it claims to be the only private chalet with three-Michelin-starred dining. Chefs Rene and Maxime Meilleur of the famed La Bouitte restaurant just down the valley in St. Marcel act as culinary consultants.
A week’s exclusive occupancy of La Datcha Val Thorens for up to 15 people starts at $83,000.
11. Chalet Couttet: Chamonix, France
Chamonix is a mountain-lover’s mecca and Chalet Couttet is a cosy-chic home below the altar of Mont Blanc. A nominee for the World’s Best New Ski Chalet 2017 award, this alpine idyll boasts cutting-edge decor fashioned by British interior designers Laughland Jones, who crafted Sir Richard Branson’s ski retreat.
The chalet offers a raft of luxury trinkets including cinema room, private wellness suite, 12-meter heated outdoor swimming pool and jacuzzi in the south-facing garden with in-your-face views up to “The Blanc.”
A short stroll away is the soaring Aiguille du Midi cable, which whisks you up to the needle-like peak standing sentinel over the historic town and accesses the famed glacier descent of the Vallee Blanche.
From $24,000 to $48,000 per week with Firefly Collection.