Express Styles

Mountain Hotels 2.0

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TOTEM A CODE BREAKER TO FLAINE

In the Sibuet family, let's take the son Nicolas. Crazy about design in the 1960s and 1970s, he took over a run-down hotel in Flaine, a small resort that was pulled out of the ground in the 1960s by architect Marcel Breuer, the prince of minimalism. Austere at first sight, Flaine can be approached like an open-air museum, revealing here and there sculptures by Vasarely, Dubuffet... From the building facing a work by Picasso, Nicolas has kept fireplaces and concrete walls, brightened up the rooms with tables in raw chestnut, woollen fabrics with ethnic motifs and graphic tags. In the immense lobby, he has carved out intimate corners, including a cosy ski shop like a tea room and lounges where Breuer tables, Bertoia chairs, Rock the Kasbah sofas and antique finds converse. Here, no reception, just an electronic pass given by a member of the hotel and hop, to us la dolce vita à la carte. Yes, à la carte, because if the price of the nights is unbeatable, everyone is free to treat themselves to a mas of little extras: treatments at the Pure Altitude Spa, sauna on the terrace in an old gondola, coffee and croissants at all hours, tapas and cocktails at the bar... In the evening, some people enjoy an organic salad, others recharge their batteries with pasta and blanquette to face the fabulous ski area of the Grand Massif, 265 kilometres of slopes for all levels with breathtaking views of Mont Blanc.