Once the only five-star hotel in Europe’s highest ski resort, Altapura maintains a fun, funky edge in a growing luxury market through bold, idiosyncratic design.
Nowadays, there are swishier accommodations in Val Thorens – crowned the planet’s best ski resort by the World Ski Awards for ten of the last 13 years – than Altapura, but there’s something about its combination of classy comforts and idiosyncratic design that’s quintessentially, quirkily French, and that keeps us coming back. Time was, the highest-altitude major resort in France’s vast Trois Vallées ski area – and indeed in Europe – was the budget choice, serving families, students and groups of young ski buddies with frills-free apartments and modest, mid-range hotels. But then someone twigged that ‘VT’s’ snowsure altitude (an ever-bigger asset in these climate-challenged times) and abundance of ski-in-ski-out slope access gave it a major edge, and the resort has since evolved into a polished, full-service destination well-served with elevated dining options, bars and nightlife and four five-star hotels.
The first of these, opened in 2011, Altapura has since been eclipsed on metrics of bling and service refinement, but in an avalanche of variations on the pimped-chalet theme, its one-off aesthetic – combining 1970s and Mid-century Modern influences in a building that honours the mould-breaking ski resort designs of visionary 20th-century French architect Charlotte Perriand – still sings out.
Its location, for a start, is hard to beat. A few leisurely turns straight out of the hotel deliver skiers and snowboarders to the Plein Sud chairlift, a peasy link into the world-class lift system that serves the Trois Vallées’ colossal 600km (375 miles) of slopes. At the end of the day, the piste of the same name brings them right back to the ski room door. The hotel also lays on a shuttle to and around the resort, 24/7.
Playfully skewing the materials and shapes of traditional chalet architecture, Altapura features two huge diagonal glass façades above a generous slopeside terrace, and supersized windows in its 88 rooms and suites. All of these face the sunny side of the valley, maximising epic views of the 3,200m (10,500ft) Cime Caron and neighbouring peaks and flooding rooms with daylight. Yet more swathes of glass link capacious but cosy public areas with the spectacular setting, and create a sense of space that echoes the modernist leisure utopia Perriand sought to create in her iconic 1970s buildings in nearby Les Arcs. At the heart of it all is the bar and lounge, a bold confection of textured concrete panels and columns, splashes of rich colour, Scandi-ish, MiMo-ish furnishings and statement fireplaces and lighting. And it totally works – Austin Powers acing interior design school.
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| While you’re Out There |
| A shared passion for board sports inspired three young friends from Auvergne, France, to create Picture, an organic clothing company that produces funky, fun designs ranging from high-performance technical outerwear to cosy après-ski slouch threads. Since its launch in 2008, the brand has grown to offer accessories and streetwear with a cute skater/surfer vibe, all the while pushing the sustainability envelope with industry-leading innovations. You’ll find one of their dedicated stores in Val Thorens’ Galerie Caron mall. |
The rooms and suites feature more muted combinations of the same influences – wrapped in lashings of blond birch panelling, another updated chalet motif – that feel both retro and fresh, and ooze character (a soupçon too much character, perhaps, in the one-off ‘Cocooning Suite’, of which one large wall is clad in a deep-pile faux sheepskin). We loved our Duplex Suite, a large, airy living space with a handsome stone bathroom, and a mezzanine above for our huge bed, free-standing soaking tub and his’n’their vanity units. Adapted rooms are available, and wheelchair accessibility is good throughout the hotel. Thanks, among other measures, to solar-harvesting tech integrated into all that glass, the hotel also has environmental credentials that have won it ‘Clef Verte’ sustainability certification.
At 1,000 sqm (10,760 sqft), the spa is the largest in Val Thorens and the only one to feature an indoor/outdoor pool, which, integrated into the main terrace, taps once again into those mesmerising mountain views. Spa by Codage, to give it its full name, also comprises a compact gym, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, therapeutic showers and an indoor igloo. Treatments using the eponymous Parisian cosmetology products are offered in six treatment rooms.
Altapura’s dining offer spans three in-house restaurants. Sleek, urbane Altayaki is the dressier evening option, with artfully presented sharing plates bringing European and South American twists to East Asian dishes. Casa Alta is the more relaxed main hub (diners in onesies is not a rare sight), serving an accessible, hearty fusion of French brasserie and Italian dishes at lunch and dinner, with some more refined choices for the gourmets. Both showcase organic and local produce. We hope some attention has been paid to Casa Alta’s poorly executed breakfast buffet since our last visit, as this really let the hotel down. Much more joy was found in the cute La Laiterie fondue and raclette joint, a partnership with renowned local artisan cheesemonger Boujon, where, with expert guidance, we paired our cheesy cauldron’s dairy and wine components ourselves, another Val Thorens exclusive at Altapura.
Photography courtesy of Altapura
