Megève: Les Fermes de Marie

Jocelyne and Jean-Louis Sibuet are native Savoyards who have become known for their imaginative hotel projects, starting with the renovation of an old Megève hotel, Au Coin du Feu, in 1981. In the 1990s they created Les Fermes de Marie, a new concept in luxury lodging: a hamlet composed of nine centuries-old mountain chalets that were dismantled from various alpine locations and reassembled in a 5-acre park that’s a lovely 15-minute walk from the village, following a mountain stream.

With a total of 71 spacious rooms and suites, the interlinked chalets combine Savoyard simplicity, rustic antique decor and absolute luxury. The complex includes a bar, a lovely mountain forest-themed spa and two restaurants, one traditional French, the other offering alpine specialties including many cheese dishes. For those with boundless budgets, two private chalets are available. One, the Chalet des Fermes, is a spectacular three-story, five-bedroom lodge with cathedral ceilings, full kitchen, sauna, massage area and fitness room—all of it an alpine dream of stone walls, leather sofas, fur throws, a huge fireplace and a glass wall and wide terrace overlooking the Massif du Jaillet.

Les Fermes de Marie Chemin de Riante Colline, 04.50.93.03.10. website

Originally published in the January 2009 issue of France Today