The Alpine Club, which specialises in running beautiful boutique chalets in the charming resort of St Martin de Belleville in the Trois Vallées, is launching a brand new chalet for this coming winter.
Chamois Lodge is located in Villarabout, a tiny hamlet just four minutes’ drive from St Martin de Belleville, the most authentic Savoyard village in the Trois Vallées. It is a complete new build by English architect Chris Raemers, who co-owns The Alpine Club with his wife Helen and who specialises in designing stunning alpine homes.
“I designed Chamois Lodge specifically as a ski chalet, instead of just a private mountain home which is then rented by ski companies,” says Chris. “As a result, all the bedrooms are equal sizes, the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains are optimised and the living room sits at the top of the chalet, with exposed beams and fantastic double height space.”
The décor throughout is contemporary mountain chic, featuring a witty combination of modern furnishings and reclaimed old pieces. There are cow skin rugs, fur throws, sheepskins and atmospheric mountain canvases plus old reclaimed timber, hand-picked antiques and designer pieces. Helen oversaw the look and was inspired by British interior designer Kelly Hoppen’s signature colour palette of calming taupes and beiges to create a soft, relaxed feel.
She comments: “I wanted Chamois Lodge to look stunning and designer and contemporary, while also paying homage to the surrounding mountains and the ancient buildings nearby. I was inspired by the textures and colours of the old granges in the village – the brown hues in the weather wood, the grey tones of the old stone, the natural materials and colours that sit so comfortably in the landscape. I took these as my palette and have combined them with hand picked furniture and tactile fabrics to bring a luxurious feel to the lodge. I also took inspiration from Kelly Hoppen who is a bit of goddess at using natural colour schemes to create luxurious homes that have a contemporary yet truly calming feel.”
The main living space features exposed roof timbers and walls of old wood. There is a beautiful giant oak dining table with two wooden carver chairs and ancient wooden bowls on top, plus large, sink-into sofas and a wenge rectangular coffee table and sideboard by French design house La Fibule.
All the bedrooms have stylish headboards crafted from old wood sourced from local barns or floor boards from old farmhouses. The beds are all twin or king-sized Hypnos luxury pocket sprung beds with Egyptian cotton linen, feather duvets and pillows. Gorgeously thick throws and cushions provide accent colours and there is extraordinary attention to detail throughout, including English power sockets, long wardrobe mirrors for checking the full effect of your gorgeous new ski outfit, individually controlled underfloor heating and plenty of other power sockets for charging phones and iPads.
Other luxuries include complementary wifi throughout the chalet, a stunning outdoor hot tub and a team of highly experienced professional staff on hand to provide sumptuous six-course meals every night, run the chalet seamlessly and operate a dedicated in-resort chauffeur service that is available to guests all day until 10pm.
Chamois Lodge also has excellent eco credentials, with geo thermic heating that involves pipes penetrating 80 meters into the ground to make use of the earth’s heat for the chalet’s hot water and underfloor heating system. Some of the old wood from sister chalet Chalet Abode has also been recycled and used for newel posts, furniture and wall cladding, while the walls are also highly insulated beyond regulatory requirements.
Helen concludes: “We wanted to create another beautiful chalet to compliment our much-loved sister chalet, Chalet Abode, which sells out every winter. Chamois is a stunning property with knock-out views, all the extras you would expect of a genuinely luxurious ski chalet, from fabulous bedding to complimentary wifi and an outdoor hot tub, as well as excellent staff who will be ready to create beautiful meals and look after our guests’ every whim.”
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