L’Alpaga

We’ve seen some masterfully renovated Alpine chalets in our time on this earth, but nothing like Alpaga. Here no fewer than seven chalets, ranging in size from quite substantial to very cozy indeed, have been stitched together into a sort of alpine-design hamlet, which in its entirety comprises one of the most luxurious hotels in the mountain town of Megève. Naturally the result is rather more stylish than your typical Alpine village — the proprietors have a track record with this sort of thing, having established such high-elevation favorites as Le Val Thorens and the Hôtel des 3 Vallées in Courchevel.

The hotel’s 26 bedrooms and 7 suites are divided between two of the larger chalets, and they’re a masterful blend of rustic texture and modern sheen. They’ve got balconies or terraces with views of the mountains, and under the knotty-pine surface they’re as well equipped as any urban boutique-hotel room. Five suites are contained in another chalet, each one rather more like an apartment than a hotel suite, with full kitchens and views of either Mont Blanc or the Val d’Arly. And if you simply must have a chalet all to yourself, they’ve got several of those as well, which sleep up to eight, ten, or twelve guests in similarly lavish comfort.

Two restaurants, La Table de l’Alpaga and the more casual Le Bistrot, see to guests’ gustatory needs, and private chefs are on hand in case you’d prefer to have a private dinner in your own chalet. And let’s not forget the whole point of Megève: in summer you’ll hike the Vallée Blanche, and in winter you’ll ride the hotel’s shuttle to the town center’s ski lifts.