Val D'Isere -What's New For 2020

Val d’Isère is a genuine old village with an outstandingly high quality ski area with more than 80 years of history since the first pioneers. These visionaries turned a little community tucked away at the end of a long and remote valley into a world class international tourist destination. It’s this historical backdrop that plays an important role in creating the kind of charming and challenging holiday environment that greets you on arrival in Val d’Isère today. You’re skiing in the footsteps of Jean Claude Killy and the other great ski champions of the past who learned their skills here. Your hotel or apartment may well be the former family home of one of those pioneers.

• Val d’Isère has been welcoming visitors for nearly a century and local inhabitants are justly proud of how the resort has developed from those early pioneering days into the world-class ski resort that it is today. This autumn sees the launch of an emotive digital publicity campaign of video and still images that has been built around the past and the present
• A glamorous new hotel which opens its doors this December is expected to become one of the most sought-after properties in the Alps. Airelles Val d’Isère Mademoiselle has been built on the edge of the piste beside the old village, on the site of the former Hotel Brussel’s. It’s part of the Airelles Collection, which also owns Hotel Les Airelles in Courchevel and La Bastide de Gordes in Provence. The hotel has 41 rooms, 11 suites and five apartments with a private butler service.There’s a 1200m² Guerlain spa, a special children’s kingdom with an enchanted forest, cinema, 200 m² ski room and a gallery of boutiques hosting iconic brands. Its 860m² south-facing terrace opposite the village nursery slope is a real sun trap and the perfect lunch and aprèsski spot. Its gourmet restaurant, Le VI, is open for dinner and there’s live music every evening. The cosy Le Carnotzet is a traditional Savoyard restaurant serving fondues, raclette and other regional specialities. The celebrated La Grande Ourse on the front de neige is now managed by the hotel. The restaurant serves brasseriestyle cuisine to hotel guests as well as being open to the general public. If you are staying in the hotel, you can book your half-board dinner here. The bar offers a range of rare spirits along with some fine vintage wines and an exceptional choice of Champagne.
• Village Montana, owners of the luxury Chalet Skadi apartments, open a second establishment in the resort this December. Five-star Chalet Izia is located at the foot of the slopes and has 51 large apartments. These vary in size from 60 to 135m² and are built in a warm contemporary style using lots of natural wood. There’s a wellness area with an indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, hammam, and a Cinq Mondes spa for guests. Children are welcome and the spa offers specific treatments for kids. Concierge services include reservation of lift passes and ski equipment, organisation of transfers, and breakfast deliveries. Tour operators offering these apartments this winter include Erna Low, Inghams, Ski Collection and Ski Independence
• Perched on a ledge at an altitude of 2 551m, the Refuge de Solaise has the distinction of being the highest hotel in France. Because of the short summer, work in transforming what was the country’s oldest cable car station into a luxurious and unique mountain hotel has taken a year longer than was originally expected. After a partial opening last season, Le Refuge is finally operating at full capacity from November 30, 2019. The hotel has 16 rooms, four large apartments, and a luxurious (for a mountain refuge!) dormitory, sleeping 14 in single and double beds. There are two restaurants, a bar, and a meeting room for seminars. There’s also a spa with a 25m pool. The spa will be open to all. At an altitude of 2551m, the contrast is dramatically marked between the spectacular but sometimes hostile natural environment outdoors and the welcoming, warm ambience of the Refuge’s spa. Professional treatments include a range of Exertier cosmetics.The spa is open to everyone. In winter the Refuge can only be reached on skis or by the high-speed Solaise Gondola from the village. You can eat indoors or outside on the sun terrace that provides extraordinary views of the surrounding peaks. The main gourmet restaurant was open for part of last winter and has already established a strong reputation as one of the best addresses in the resort. It’s also open to visitors for dinner on Wednesday and Sunday evenings, with access via the gondola. The snack bar has been transformed in a genuine Italian restaurant with pizzas and homemade pasta. Also, the new Bar du Refuge will serve breakfast for residents and snacks for skiers with an enticing display of cheeses, charcuterie and desserts.
• For many years now Le Val d’Isère, located on the main square beside the Tourist Office, has operated as a Mark Warner chalet hotel. This arrangement came to an end in April 2019 as the building was sold to local architect Jean Charles Covarel and his son Adrien in 2017. The hotel was built in 1968 by local businessman Paul Raymond and used to be a popular and central meeting place during the last three decades of the 20th century. In order to restore the hotel to its previous exalted status in the resort, the new owners plan to give it a complete makeover during the next couple of years. The south-facing views across the village are exceptional and it’s only a 100m walk from the front de neige. It re-opens with a few cosmetic changes on November 30 before the renovations get fully underway. Adrien Covarel plans to breathe new life into the rooftop Sur Le Toit restaurant with a serve-yourself buffet each evening featuring local produce and homemade dishes. La Crêperie d’Adrien will be open on the spacious ground floor where there’s also a welcoming bar and a sitting room with an open fireplace.
• Night Experience is a highly unusual evening where food, music, and visual arts all combine to create a grand spectacle. Diners are not just part of the audience, from apéritif to dessert they become personally involved in what can only be described as a multi-sensual happening. Night Experience takes place each Tuesday from December 24, 2019 to April 14, 2020. Places are limited for the evening which includes canapés, starter, main course, cheese and dessert. Meeting place is 7pm at the bottom of the La Daille gondola. Return journey is 10.30-11pm.
• On top of its Nuxe spa, from December 1 Le Yule is creating a new level of paramedical expertise, run by healthcare specialist Pôle Santé France. On hand, there will be four osteopaths, a psychologist, and two sports coaches. The new healthcare centre offers training sessions and personalised fitness programmes. It is equipped with state-of-the-art machines (Technogym, Miha Bodytech, and INDIBA Activ Therapy).

For more than 80 years Val d’Isère has continued to evolve. But, at the same time, it’s managing to retain its authentic charm, as visitors discover when they explore the streets of old stone buildings at the heart of the village