Ski Resorts News
11/12/2017
Since acquiring global hospitality provider Club Med in 2015, Chinese conglomerate Fosun International has been on track with its ambitious plan to open three to five resorts a year by 2020.
One of the latest Club Med unveilings is Grand Massif Samoëns Morillon, which had its grand opening party last month in the presence of 400 journalists. In an emotional speech, the mayor of Samoëns recounted the many hurdles that had to be overcome to make the 100 million euro mountain resort a reality. Construction took 18 months, but the process to obtain the land and get approval to build the property was arduous. There was a point when an announcement was made that the resort would not be built.
Created during the 1982-1983 winter, Grand Massif was the result of a liaison between La Tête des Saix, Flaine, Les Carroz, Morillon and Samoëns, totalling 40,000 hectares (98,840 acres). The village of Samoëns, easily reachable via cable cars from the Club Med property, dates from 1167AD and is designated a historical monument. Grand Massif is well known among the French, and Gino Andreetta, Club Med’s chief executive for Greater China, says his company hopes to promote the area to the world.
This resort, located on the Plateau des Saix at an altitude of some 1,600 metres close to Geneva and Annecy, has 423 rooms divided into Club (up to four guests), Deluxe (up to three) and Suite (up to four) categories. They are all well-decked out in light wood and natural colour palette punctuated by occasional bold prints, textural pattern and dashes of sharper colours.
In the new club med you will find contemporary design and mountain atmosphere especially with “frescoes” representing the mountain nature.
These large frescoes – such as a black and white imprint enhanced with a color proper to the space in which it is integrated – allows to discover or rediscover every day evocations of the local nature.
Natural materials, such as wood and stone, predominate throughout, in direct reference to traditional Savoyard design. The building itself has a stone base and features timber cladding. Its simplicity allows it to blend into the landscape, especially with the roofs, which will be vegetated in summer and covered with snow in winter, a perfect extension between the landscape and the building.
The lobby and main bar resemble the mountains in winter – the green of the summer is gone and we find gentian or glacier blue, white as bright as the snow or the mountain flower edelweiss, and brown like the chamois and old wood in reference to alpine chalets. The main restaurant has four different areas, each with their own atmosphere like the warm mountains in orange and the mountain and its lakes and rivers in blue. The rooms celebrate the mountains in autumn – in this season, the limestone rock is still dotted with green, hence the meadow green and white theme.
These large frescoes – such as a black and white imprint enhanced with a color proper to the space in which it is integrated – allows to discover or rediscover every day evocations of the local nature.
Natural materials, such as wood and stone, predominate throughout, in direct reference to traditional Savoyard design. The building itself has a stone base and features timber cladding. Its simplicity allows it to blend into the landscape, especially with the roofs, which will be vegetated in summer and covered with snow in winter, a perfect extension between the landscape and the building.
The lobby and main bar resemble the mountains in winter – the green of the summer is gone and we find gentian or glacier blue, white as bright as the snow or the mountain flower edelweiss, and brown like the chamois and old wood in reference to alpine chalets. The main restaurant has four different areas, each with their own atmosphere like the warm mountains in orange and the mountain and its lakes and rivers in blue. The rooms celebrate the mountains in autumn – in this season, the limestone rock is still dotted with green, hence the meadow green and white theme.
The bathroom doors feature lively forest animal motifs and the bathrooms walls evoke the mountain stone.
In the spa, you have a finish sauna an indoor and outdoor pool. Unfortunately the outdoor is not heated, which would be amaazing to enjoy the setting over the mountain peaks.
Culinary enjoyment is provided in the three restaurants.
The chefs treats the palates with regional specialities like chesse of the region and typical french dishes. I enjoyed the restaurant La Rivière, if you love food you are right here.
In all different Club Med restaurants the fish, meat, lobster, oysters meltin your mouth, omelettes with vegetables, nice salads, fruits are just great.
Yummy. The Club Med offers an intimate feeling. Easy to enjoy the time.
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