Those days that nurture and renew
Your summer home in the Hamptons used to suffice for getting the whole family together. However, now with a son and his young family on the West Coast, a daughter studying for finals in Chicago and your hectic schedule, you’re finding it increasingly hard to pin down those annual precious three weeks. With everyone’s shared passion for all things ski related, a trip across the pond to Courchevel 1850 is a certain way to rally the troops once more.
Your wife’s love of all things quaint is hard to fulfill in downtown New York. However, as one of the leading private homes in the Alps, full to the rafters with classical charm and previously used as a summer residence for one of the former UK prime ministers, you know just which luxury chalet has the family’s name on it this winter.
Located in the exclusive Hameau de Cachemire in Courchevel 1850, you knew from the outset that these two weeks were something special to truly look forward to. Away from the sensory overload of the first few days in Paris, Chalet Le Namaste is where you will soothe your Wall Street frayed nerves. With direct ski-in ski-out access to the famed Bellecote Piste, you have certainly made it well known to colleagues that you are residing in one of the most desired addresses in town.
It can be a little daunting risking the family’s favourite two weeks in the French Alps when Colorado is having such a remarkable winter. However, just as namaste is well recognized as a respectful form to express gratitude for assistance offered or given, the same can be said of your friends in high places. They have offered you nothing but the upmost diligence in reassuring you that after these upcoming two weeks, the Alps will be as common place as the Hamptons in your annual social calendar.
With three generous double rooms and a slightly smaller but still perfectly formed double, the whole family can spread their wings after being couped up in Flagship First. How grateful you were for your SkiBoutique PA’s recommendation of two private transfer vehicles to swoop you and your entourage of luggage from Geneva to the glamour of Courchevel 1850.
Used to their West Coast freedom, to avoid any bickering this week, the grand children needed their own cavernous lair and that is just what Chalet Le Namaste provides with zest. With four generous cabin bunk beds opening up onto an adjoining games and lounge area, they will temporarily forget the excitement of the fresh snowfall and making snow angels.
Not only are these two weeks used to hone your skills both on the piste and on the menu at Le Cap Horn but to spend quality time together as a family. With Chalet Le Namaste’s feature wellness suite, après will take on a new meaning. Embark on yet another round of pirates v mermaids in the indoor pool, complete with wave machine and mood lighting or survey their antics from the poolside bar with your daily newspaper and a glass of Perrier-Jouët. The ladies in the family have sensibly retired to the hammam and sauna and with the Moroccan mezzanine above the pool, you might temporarily forget where in the World you are.
As the hands on the clock tick by, it is time to round up the troops, encourage the children to leave the pool games on the side and cajole the ladies out of the spa treatment room. With the next few magical hours approaching, you have a feeling that you are in for another treat. With this morning’s breakfast featuring signature dishes from London’s Duck & Waffle, you know that tonight’s canapés on the large south facing terrace will be suitably indulgent. These are certainly the days that make your soul feel nurtured.
You’ll wish you could Namaste and stay forever.
