Le Mascara - Mistero Courchevel 1850

Central Chic

Fun fact – the epicentre of the Courchevel valley - the exclusive, the beautiful, the fabulous, Courchevel 1850 - is, in fact, situated at 1747 metres. We shall come back to this.

Les Tovets was the original name of the village that now, proudly if not entirely accurately, bears the name Courchevel 1850. It designates the area from where the main lifts soar towards higher places to connect to some of the best skiing in the Alps. Le Mascara is a new residence right beside the slopes and the lifts, just 25m from the Tovets piste. Completed in 2023, its apartments are sleekly luxurious and eminently practical. As a guest, you are privileged. Le Mascara fuses the facilities of a hotel with the privacy and independence of your own apartment.

If you are a party of eight, apartment Mistero is for you. On the third floor, it spreads across 158sqm with a master bedroom suite of 31sqm on an upper level. The other three bedrooms can be made up as doubles or twins and each has its own en-suite with a walk-in shower. The master has a dressing-room, a bathroom and office space as well as its own balcony. The open-plan living room is designed with a contemporary feel for space and light and there is a large balcony. Local materials such as exposed stonework and timber and a stylish wood-burning fireplace blend are set off by the gently neutral colour scheme. With the open kitchen it is a social space and there is a small snug with a sofa-bed as a peaceful escape zone.

Like a hotel, there is a full concierge service with a Residence Manager available for advice and to arrange additional à la carte features such as a private chef, a personal trainer or massage therapist. Then there is the fabulous spa with its dream-scaped swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a Nordic bath, a hammam and sauna and its comfortable lounge. You also have your ski room with boot warmers and an indoor parking space.

And, of course, you have Courchevel 1850. Even missing a few metres of altitude, it still shines with its world-class skiing, its Michelin starred restaurants and its wealth of activities for pleasure seekers whether they ski or not.

However, not so very long ago there was little here but a scattering of hamlets. Development began in the 1940s with the plan to name the whole area Courchevel. In fact, the first lift was installed by the hamlet of Les Tovets in 1946 and a sign went up by the original Courchevel, a hamlet down the road, with the words Courchevel Dessous (lower Courchevel). Locals were incensed. The solution was to name each section of the resort after its altitude. The highest village became 1850 – driven more by marketing than accurate measurement. It was not a coincidence that this placed it a little higher than its rival. Val d’Isère is at 1800m. But just take a wander to over the Jardin Alpin part of town. There you will find that 1850m.