Le Morgane

The Hotel Le Morgane is designed to appeal to the skier who likes a bit of fanciness with her freeriding, a little stylish minimalism with his mountaineering. After a full day of frolicking in the Alps, it’s comforting to know you’ve got epicurean meals, all-over spa treatments that stimulate the chakras, and a private terrace overlooking the mountains to come home to.

A recent renovation thoroughly reinvented this wedge-shaped hotel, which chain-hotel connoisseurs will recognize as a one-time Best Western. In addition to behind-the-scenes solar panels and water filtration systems, the décor now reflects a new eco-mindedness; wooden chairs have been carved to resemble polished eggs, and carpets look as textured as the canopy of trees outside. Photographs show wildflowers in extreme close-up. More attention has been paid to the feel and the atmosphere, as the phenomenal views have, thankfully, remained the same. The palette is as cool and soothing as the icy crags of infamous Mont Blanc, visible throughout the hotel.

Ingredients used at Le Bistrot are locally sourced, so they come directly from the Chamonix Valley, as well as nearby Italy and Switzerland. The chef earned his Michelin star for simple seasonal preparations that put taste over showmanship in a refined but unstuffy atmosphere (c.f., the restaurant’s name). If you’ve had your fill of the outdoors, stay in and take one of his monthly cooking courses.

How to get there:
Chamonix is 88 kilometers from Geneva-Cointrin Airport (GVA).