Squeeze in a last run, 2300m up

the times Saturday March 1 2014
Travel 35
Skiing
Squeeze in a last
run, 2,300m up
Europe’s highest ski resort, Val Thorens,
has classy new hotels and great
late-season snow, says Tom Chesshyre
I
n the centre of Val Thorens, skiers
and snowboarders are flying down a
snow chute, flinging themselves into
the air, performing tricks, then
collapsing onto a giant air bag. Near
by, folk in sunglasses are lazing at
picnic tables by a snack stall, munching on hot dogs, while listening to Daft
Punk on a stereo.
It’s unpretentious, lively and chilled out
— so different from Courchevel 1850, just
a short ski away in the Trois Vallées. Yet
although Val Thorens has long been
known for its youthful edge, and is popular
with British university ski groups after
cheap apartments, it’s now getting posher.
This is because Russians with roubles to
blow are getting cramped for space in
Courchevel, where prices are steep even
for oligarchs (ten-night stays in a suite at
Hotel Le K2 can cost an eye-watering
€35,000 per person). To meet this demand,
some high-class, stylish hotels and restaurants are popping up among the cut-price
apartments. And because Val Thorens lies
at 2,300m, and is the highest resort in
Europe, it’s a great bet for late-season
snow. It’s no coincidence that the snazziest
of the new places, the new, five-star Koh-I
Nor Hotel, is at the top of Val Thorens.
This is a great spot to take in the purpose-built resort; there is no traditional
village but there is a stunning ring of
jagged peaks. Sitting on a wooden deck
sipping morning espressos, we plan our
day’s skiing while looking out across the
rooftops of the apartment blocks and the
building site of a Club Med that’s due to
open next season.
We hit the slopes, which begin right by
the ski room complete with “ski butlers”, of
the Koh-I Nor. We zigzag down red and
black runs for an hour, before stopping at
the Caron Freeride Café for a hot chocolate, where a sign tells us they have the
“highest free wi-fi in Europe”. Russian
skiers in Lacroix jackets (about €1,000 a
go), enter and order pick-me-up shots of
green Chartreuse, the local liquor.
Val Thorens is
unpretentious,
lively and
chilled out; so
different from
Courchevel 1850
The joy of Val Thorens is that, while
Courchevel 1850 could definitely be said to
be a bit “up itself”, Europe’s highest resort
hasn’t gone that way, probably because of
its youthful side, with plenty of students,
and the slightly stark, almost East
European bloc, look of many of the
apartments. Even at its top restaurants,
there’s no snootiness. We try out the
first-rate, slope-side Chalet de la Marine,
which is elegant and refined yet down-toearth at the same time (with brilliant
steaks, salads and noodle soups). The twoMichelin star Restaurant Jean Sulpice,
with its seven-course evening meals,
is also relaxed.
There’s no dress code, the atmosphere is
unstuffy, and the food imaginative and fun
— from polenta crackers, to tender pigeon
wrapped in crisp pastry, and a crazy
burning chocolate bonbon.
Of course, there’s always the snack bar
for a hot dog or a burger to escape Val
Thorens’ fancy new ways. Or
there’s the Folie Douce, up
on the pistes above the
village. Here, Capucine, a singer from
the group the Party
Makers, is belting
out lines above a
dance track tune,
while jigging about
on a platform above
a terrace filled with
Russian millionaires
rubbing shoulders with
British university students
drinking beers. The scene
perfectly captures the atmosphere of the
resort, way up on the top of Europe.
CHRISTOPHE PALLOT / AGENCE ZOOM / GETTY IMAGES
Need to
know
Tom Chesshyre was a guest of
the Val Thorens Tourist Board
(valthorens.com) and Ski Solutions
(020-7471 7700, skisolutions.com).
Where to eat
Chalet de la Marine
(chaletmarine.com) has two courses
from about €45. Seven courses at
Restaurant Jean Sulpice
(jeansulpice.com) is from €125.
La Fruitière restaurant at La Folie
Douce (lafoliedouce.com) offers
soups, burgers, salads and steaks
for about €30 for a main. The
five-course menu by two-starred
Michelin chef Yoann Conteat at
Koh-I Nor (00 33 4 79 31 00 00,
hotel-kohinor.com) is from €90.
Skiiing at Val Thorens
and, below, one of the
rooms at the resort’s
Koh-I Nor Hotel
Cool hotels in Val Thorens
Koh-I Nor Hotel (00 33 4 79 31 00
00, hotel-kohinor.com) has 63 rooms
right on the slopes. It opened in
December and the decor is
ostentatious, but far from traditional,
with rooms with walls of reclaimed
wood walls and gilded mirrors,
chrome lamps, marble sinks and
fancy VRAI toiletries. B&B doubles
are from £330 a night. Ski Solutions
offers a week’s half-board from
£1,565pp, with flights.
Altapura (00 33 4 57 74 74 74,
altapura.fr) at the bottom of the
village is also ski-in, ski-out. It’s a
celeb haunt, opened in December
2011, with 88 sleek minimalist rooms.
B&B doubles are from £240.
Hotel Le Fitz Roy (00 33 4 79 33 01
04, hotelfitzroy.com) is a revamped
four-star hotel with 58 pared-down
rooms with a muted colour scheme in
the heart of the resort. B&B doubles
are from about £180.
Le Val Thorens (00 33 4 79 33 01 04,
levalthorens.com) is the sister hotel
to the Fitz Roy and has 80 chic
rooms. B&B doubles from £160.
Hotel Tango (00 33 4 79 00 02 70,
hotel-tango.eu) is in the middle of the
resort. B&B doubles from £160.