Hôtel Les Airelles

The building began as a 1960s hotel built by the architect and decorator Richard Ferbach. In 1988, just before the Albertville Olympic Games, Raymonde Fenestraz, a businesswoman from Moûtiers, set out to turn it into a 'château des neiges', a snow castle. Les Airelles became the seat of the Olympic committee, and Princess Anne and Prince Albert of Monaco took their holidays there.

The French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit acquired the hotel in 2007, and it was transformed into an imperial residence inspired by Empress Sissi, with Christophe Tollemer directing the restoration as maître d'œuvre. Pierre Gagnaire cooked here from 2007 to 2020. When the Palace distinction was first awarded, in May 2011, Les Airelles and its neighbour Cheval Blanc were among the eight hotels chosen. It is the first house of the Airelles Collection and today holds one MICHELIN Key.

The castle theme runs from the outside in. Forbes Travel Guide's inspectors single out fairy-tale turrets, carved wooden balconies and antique cuckoo clocks. In the rooms and suites, the hotel describes sculpted coffered ceilings, stained-glass windows and views of the Tarentaise mountains, set among precious antiques and hand-painted frescoes.

Les Airelles sits in the Jardin Alpin quarter of Courchevel 1850, among the peaks and snowy forests of the 3 Vallées, and promises direct access to what it calls the largest ski area, with 600 km of pistes at its foot. Its Bernard Orcel ski room, a 200 m² space at the foot of the slopes reserved for hotel guests, has ski valets who advise on equipment for every level; boots can be made to measure, and staff store everything until the next ski day.

By car, guests take the Chambéry–Moûtiers motorway; by train, Moûtiers station is about four and a half hours from Paris and seven from London. The hotel lists Geneva-Cointrin (190 km, about 2 hours 15 minutes), Lyon Saint-Exupéry (180 km, about 2 hours) and Chambéry and Annecy (100 km, about 1 hour 30 minutes) as arrival airports, and transfers can be booked, including a helicopter or private-plane link to the Courchevel altiport. A Rolls-Royce chauffeur is included for journeys within Courchevel 1850, and private parking is available on reservation.

The rooms and suites are decorated, in the MICHELIN Guide's words, in a remarkably authentic antique style, with comforts both timeless and subtly modern. The Chambre Deluxe sets the tone: gilding, printed-pattern curtains, oak panelling and wooden furniture, a bright sitting area and views over snowy landscapes. It measures 32 m² and sleeps two, has a bathtub, a hammam shower or both, and some Deluxe rooms have a balcony or terrace.

The Junior Suite Prestige categories are larger, and the three described here each sleep two. The Junior Suite Prestige (65 m²) looks out on the Saulire mountains from its sitting area, with gilding, oak woodwork and artisan paintwork in the 19th-century Austro-Hungarian style, a balcony, a large dressing room and a mosaic bathroom. On the valley side, the Junior Suite Prestige Vallée (58 m²) is laid out as three distinct living spaces, with views of the Jardin Alpin's fir trees from the bedroom, sitting room and dining room, and has a hammam shower room as well as a bathroom.

The Junior Suite Prestige Myosotis, the largest of the three at 70 m², is an intimate suite at snow level with a sitting area separate from the bedroom, a second living room, two bathrooms, one with a bathtub and one with a hammam shower, and two dressing rooms. All four categories described here can connect with other rooms on request, which suits families.

The hotel also describes spacious suites with a sitting room and fireplace, a private apartment on the fourth floor with a panoramic view over the resort and the Tarentaise peaks, and modern Savoyard-style chalets for families or friends at the edge of Courchevel 1850's slopes, in raw stone and carved wood around open fires, with a pool, a cinema room and dedicated staff.

Executive Chef Adrien Trouilloud, who joined Les Airelles in 2023, oversees the restaurants, which include La Table des Airelles and Le Coin Savoyard. He trained in kitchens such as the Jules Verne in Paris and The Dorchester in London, and won his own Michelin star at Rech in 2012. The included services listed on the room pages cover the gourmet breakfast buffet and lunch or dinner, at the hotel or on the slopes.

Le Coin Savoyard, which reopens for winter 2026, serves fondue, raclette, Beaufort soufflé and salade des Aravis in a bright dining room open to a kitchen where wood fires crackle. In season it opens daily from 19:00 to 22:00.

Le Chalet de Pierres, a former mountain station on the piste des Verdons, is a mid-slope stop that can also be reached by road. It reopens on 5 December 2026 and opens daily from 10:00 to 17:00; its lounge serves viennoiseries until noon, lobster rolls and truffled croque-monsieur from 11:00 to 16:00, then afternoon tea. The menu runs from cheese fondue and Beaufort tart to Kobe beef, with a seafood buffet of oysters, langoustines and king crab on the terrace, where a play area keeps children busy. The chalet also hosts private celebrations for up to 150 guests, snowy weddings and birthdays among them.

Back at the hotel, Le Bar is a fireside lounge with velvet armchairs and felt bar stools; its listed hours run from 09:00 to 01:00. It serves afternoon tea with a Traditional or a Champagne menu, and in the evening signature cocktails such as the Black Bourbon and the Airelles Old-Fashioned; on certain evenings jazz musicians and singers play live. Le Fumoir, modelled on a 19th-century gentlemen's club, is set aside for cigars and rare spirits.

The Spa Airelles, on the snow-level floor, works with two skincare houses, La Mer and LBA (Laboratoires Botanique Avancée). Its circuit alternates between winter cold and cocooning warmth: a snow cave, invigorating waterfalls and sensory showers, then a hammam and a jacuzzi heated to 40°C. There is an azure-blue swimming pool and a relaxation lounge, and the hotel says children have a dedicated pool at the spa.

For skiers, the fitness room within the spa has state-of-the-art equipment, with a personal coach on request, and cryotherapy sessions are offered for recovery. Manicure and pedicure salons and a hairdresser and barber complete the offer. Spa and fitness access is included in the stay, along with a fresh detox juice in the relaxation lounge.

Away from the pistes, guests can go dog-sledding, snowmobiling or ice skating, and the hotel also suggests cross-country skiing and a horse-drawn carriage ride. Ski Fitness, for hotel guests only, combines fitness with ski touring and can be paired with a first-tracks descent, a chance to be the first to mark Courchevel's pistes. Daily activities for adults and children are included in the stay.

The Airelles Winter Camp, included in the stay, welcomes children of all ages with personalised ski lessons from the hotel's instructors, explorations in powder snow and skating on a dedicated rink, using complete equipment designed for children; afterwards, a heated treehouse waits in the trees. Indoors there is a play fort with creative workshops, and the camp also arranges ski joëring, ice hockey, dog-sled rides and magic shows for its young guests.

Teenagers have the Teenage Room, with a billiard table, air hockey, street art, musical instruments, two cinema screens and simulator games, and the private cinema room is there for family screenings.

Four-legged companions stay at no extra charge, with a cosy bed, treats, a personalised menu, pet-sitting and surprise gifts. Daily musical entertainment and personalised gifts in the room are part of the stay.