“The building that is now the luxurious AUTHENTIC LODGE SPA was originally built by my Great, Great Grandfather in 1836 as our family "alpage" - an alpine summer farm chalet. When I was a child, my parents and I would lead our cattle to the alpage each spring to graze in the lush alpine pastures of the area around the chalet called Le Crêt. We would then live there for the following 4 to 5 months looking after the cattle and making the local areas speciality Reblochon cheese. However in 1989 the farming stopped and the chalet was left unoccupied. It was the end of an era ...
In 2000, we embarked upon a project to inject life back into the old property. I had a very specific goal - to sympathetically convert the family alpage into an exclusive luxury holiday property. I wanted to create something different and special, something unique, and chose to create not an alpine chalet, not a refuge, not an inn, not a hotel... but a lodge, inspired by the type of accommodation to be found in the great African plains or in the Canadian Rockies. However my plans weren't always easy to realise; for example despite its ideal location at the foot of the Aravis pass and the Etale sector of the La Clusaz ski area, an alpage is by definition only accessible during the summer - being cut off by snow in the winter! This problem was ultimately solved when we decided to build a heated private driveway to take you right up to the front door.
Ultimately the old family farm has been transformed into a unique and luxurious lodge, a welcoming and vast living space with a five star spa, and modern high quality furnishings and fittings throughout... My wife, a professional interior designer and I have worked together on the project to create the gorgeous interiors you can see in the photographs. The building work started in 2008 and lasted a whole year, during which time I personally coordinated the local craftsmen and choose eco-friendly building methods wherever I could, making sure to keep some of the key original features so as not to loose any of the old farm's long history, charm and authenticity. The entrance to the Lodge is through a magnificent stone vault that used to be... the manure pit!
The chalet's employees, the "guardian angels" of your stay, grew up in the valley themselves and share the same passion for the region and the preservation of its heritage that I do. They will be available both before and during your stay to help ensure you experience the perfect holiday.
The AUTHENTIC LODGE SPA welcomed its first guests on the 27th December 2009. Since then many families from around the world have holidayed at the lodge and enjoyed the unique and very special experience of staying in an authentic mountain alpage that has been lovingly converted to provide the very pinnacle of luxury, comfort and service. I hope we can soon welcome you too as guests to this mountain paradise.
Sébastien MASSON
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