Les Dromonts

It’d be difficult to miss the Hotel des Dromonts. Not only is the architecture truly eye-catching, but it’s also, until recently, been the only game in town. Granted, it’s not a large town, nor an old one: it’s Avoriaz, one of a string of purpose-built ski resorts built in the French Alps in the 1960s. The quirky building, angular and pyramid-esque, was inspired by Le Corbusier’s designs for economic urban dwellings, maximizing vertical space and providing great views from every room.

In its heyday, Hotel des Dromonts, with its happening restaurant and discotheque, was the epicenter of the so-called “Saint Tropez de Neige” — Saint Tropez in the snow, positioned at the heart of the Portes du Soleil. But the hotel’s petite purple-and-orange “skier cells” didn’t exactly translate to a modern clientele, and transforming the interior aesthetic was no small task, especially after France named the building a historic landmark, forbidding any structural changes. It’s a long way of saying that your room at Hotel des Dromonts will not be particularly spacious. But a stay here will be memorable.

There are 34 guest rooms, relatively cozy in size, and graced with their original archways. The designer took inspiration from the hotel’s sixties-era origins, outfitting the cedar-walled rooms in cool shades of gray. Standard rooms have small bathrooms with showers, while superior rooms feature free-standing baths. A handful of suites even have separate seating areas. Many rooms also feature small balconies.

Despite the considerable efforts the new owners underwent to get the Hotel des Dromonts into shape for the contemporary ski and snowboard set, this isn’t the kind of place where you’ll spend a ton of time in your guest room. Not when there are fires roaring in the stone fireplaces downstairs, and aprés-ski drinks waiting in the retro-chic Le Festival Bar, classic French cuisine at Les Enfants Terribles. Did we mention Hotel des Dromonts is ski-in, ski-out? See you there, if you can book one of these increasingly coveted rooms.

Please note: Hôtel des Dromonts is a seasonal hotel and accepts reservations between mid-December and mid-April.

How to get there: Hôtel des Dromonts is a 110-minute drive from Geneva International Airport via A40.