Words: Josh Lee
For as long as memory serves, the small-scale Swiss village of Verbier has been associated with the rich and famous. It’s like the winter version of Saint-Tropez or Monaco – but the difference is that the people who go to Saint-Tropez or Monaco are there to watch or be watched, unlike in Verbier, which has a sort of understated style.
In Verbier, you are aware that people are wealthy. A standard chalet here can drain even the deepest of pockets, and the average pint of beer will cost you what a light lunch may be worth elsewhere. There are also the more obvious signs of affluence, from the black Mercedes G-Classes slowly rumbling through Place Centrale, to the Moncler shopfront, not to mention the watch boutiques that would be better suited to the area surrounding Bond Street than a bijou Alpine destination.
The difference, however, with Verbier – or ‘Verbs’, as the west-London set might have you call it – is that the wealth is stylish and in fine taste. People are there for the key reason you should go to a ski resort: for the skiing. And the architecture can be – as is evidenced with this refined property that comes courtesy of Knight Frank – sleek, modern, and done in an understated manner.
Indeed, there is certainly an appeal in the usual no-holds-barred grandeur to the usual chalet fit-outs, but we find that there is something also rather remarkable about the less-is-more approach that best shows off the peaks and pinnacles of the surrounds – this well-appointed trio of interconnected chalets, known as ‘The Rocks Estate’ and set on Les Moulins piste, most notably, offers fine panoramas of the mountainous terroir in the distance.
The entire build was done in collaboration with Comina, a local architecture firm, and each one of the main floors features expansive living rooms that are flush with soft furnishings, clean-cut fixtures and a fireplace; fully equipped kitchens ideal for preparing Alpine-appropriate fare, such as potato, bacon and raclette gratin, or zuppa di cavolo Valpellinese; and spacious dining areas in which to entertain large parties of family members and friends over a few magnums of Valais wine.
To further bolster the relaxed, easygoing ethos, and to ensure your skin stays in premium condition during the below-zero seasons, a permit has been requested in order to construct a 470sq m wellness centre that will showcase a fitness room, steam room, sauna, changing area, and a swimming pool that goes both inside and outside, with a relaxation terrace that has views to make the jaw drop.
For those holiday periods in which the guest count shoots up, there are ten bedroom suites spread throughout – and subterranean garages and external parking spaces are ideal for stowing away those Mercedes G-Classes.
Want more property? Escape to this Aberdeenshire estate…
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