This hotel in the Alps is the antidote to concrete-jungle ski resorts (and the royals are fans)

Au revoir, 60’s brutalism. Bonjour, chocolate box chalets 👋

By Lucy Smith

Avoriaz and Les Arcs are two winter holiday destinations bound to scratch the adrenaline itch of any well-versed skier or snowboarder. Certainly, what with their high-altitude slopes and boarding-friendly terrain parks, the pair are understandably popular with families and après-goers alike. What these resorts don’t boast, however, is a sense of wintery comfort, warmth and charm. Excellent off-piste? 3-6 clubbing at La Folie Douce? Check, check. A long-standing family history and a trio of Michelin-starred restaurants? Not so much. Enter, Megève: an enchanting resort with over 100-years of tradition (thanks to the Rothschild family, no less) and a lavish Four Seasons hotel at the centre of it all. 

Naturally, I would be doing the Four Seasons a disservice if I didn’t declare my love of the hotels’ magnificent gastronomic offerings. With a total eight bars and restaurants to feast in, you’ll be spoilt for choice come breakfast, lunch and dinnertime. Famished after a morning of shoop shoop shooping on the slopes? Look to L’ideal 1850, a mountain-top restaurant with Mont Blanc as the backdrop and a menu to suit all diets. Seafood, antipasti or a glass of crisp rose (Whispering Angel, of course) – L’ideal have got you covered.