cable car
cable car
October is not usually known as a ski month. But at the Andermatt Swiss Alps development, you can cruise the slopes down the 3000m Gemsstock in the morning, and be back for some witches’ brew at the Chedi in the evening.

There are many time-honoured ways to get thrills and excitement on Halloween; skiing, traditionally, has not been one of them. Yet if the fancy catches you, that is exactly what you can do this October 31, on one in Switzerland’s most serious ski mountains.

The Andermatt Swiss Alps ski region, located bang in the centre of the country, is opening this October 31 with its top run, descending from a dizzying 2955 metres, the first to open, followed by two steeper and more challenging glacier runs later in November.

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Andermatt’s Gemsstock mountain, where the action is taking place, is one of the most exciting in Switzerland. From the top you can see over to Monte Rosa, near Zermatt, on the Italian border to the southwest, and to Piz Buin, on the Austrian border, to the northeast. There is a vertical drop of more than 1500 metres from top to bottom. Many of the pistes are north facing and benefit from big snowfall caused by the “barrage effect“ of winds sweeping across north-western Europe and hitting the Alps. In simple terms: lots of snow.

ski mountain

Andermatt’s 3000m Gemsstock mountain

This year, after a hot autumn and early September, temperatures plummeted and the mountain has already seen several significant snowfalls, augmented by their own “snow farm” which preserves snow from the previous winter throughout the summer and feeds it into the slopes for the next season.

Read more: OceanX founders Ray & Mark Dalio on ocean awareness

Sadly, Halloween skiers won’t be able to take advantage of the full vertical drop down to the village at the bottom, which will only open in December. But the village of Andermatt itself is a new gem of the Alps, a tiny traditional village of cosy shops and restaurants augmented by a new luxury development.

ice rink hotel

restaurant dining room

The Chedi with its private ice-rink (above), and Japanese restaurant

Aficionados will know that its highlight is the Chedi hotel, with its Japanese at the Chedi restaurant at its heart. There is also a burgeoning new residential development village created around the Piazza San Gottardo up a little further along the road, with apartments – uniquely, open for purchase by foreigners – restaurants, shops, bars, two hotels (one already open) and even a concert hall.

luxury apartment

A rendering of Andermatt’s latest apartment building Enzian

Later in the season proper you can also sample Michelin-level fine dining on the other mountain, Gutsch. For the moment though, it’s time to put on a Halloween costume, book your place in the cable car up the mountain (a new service for coronavirus times) and whizz down from the top on your broomstick, or even the latest pair of Stöcklis.

Find out more: andermatt-swissalps.ch

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contemporary apartment
contemporary apartment

The penthouse apartment at Alma, one of two apartment houses to become available in Andermatt

The transformation of the village of Andermatt in the Swiss Alps into a place for permanent residence or seasonal getaways is taking more than just the rich amenities already there. It is the care and imagination with which the developers are creating the architectural environment that is drawing in investors, too, as Jenny Southan finds out

You want an escape, away from the crowds, to use year-round and as attractive in summer as it is in winter. It needs to be somewhere secure, clean, easily accessible, with excellent facilities; somewhere your family can indulge in outdoor sports on the doorstep, and then gather for a home-cooked meal, or zip out to the local high-class Asian restaurant in the evening. It should also feel like an attractive investment, in a desirable country in which property is hard for foreigners to acquire; and in a location where there is strong demand for holiday rentals, to provide income when you are not there.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

Welcome to the new apartments being developed in Andermatt in the mountains of central Switzerland. In a country where new-build apartments available for foreigners to buy are almost unheard of, the two new buildings, Frame and Alma, sit aside a central square in the brand-new development village of Andermatt Reuss. They are all part of the spectacular Andermatt Swiss Alps development, which has seen a previously sleepy and marginal ski village in a spectacular location transformed into one of the pearls of the Alps, via a $2bn investment by global place creator Samih Sawiris and his company Orascom.

mountain views

Panoramic windows in Alma’s penthouse apartment

The development starts at The Chedi Andermatt hotel and restaurant complex, on the edge of the old village, through a rebuilt railway station and gondola lift station, to the hotel, retail and residential complex at Andermatt Reuss, which features the central Piazza Gottardo around which the new apartment buildings are located. Owners have access to the huge indoor swimming pool, spa complex and concert hall at the Radisson Blu Reussen hotel next door, and Piazza Gottardo has a big sports shop, restaurant, bar and other retail to come. The 18-hole golf course, one of the most beautifully located and eco-friendly courses in Europe, is nearby. Zurich airport is just over an hour away by car or train; and speaking of cars, all the parking in Andermatt Reuss is underground, meaning there is no traffic.

Read more: British artist Hugo Wilson on creating art from chaos

The five-floor Frame apartment house has been designed by Swiss architectural firm OOS with a younger generation in mind. It features 34 apartments (one-bedroom and duplex, some with double-height ceilings) that have been designed to feel airy, generous and bright, despite being compact in size at 50–60 sq m. Bay windows, for example, provide space for sofa beds.

There are also communal areas on the ground level that include bike storage, and a ski room and workshop where you can do repairs. There is a chill-out lounge, a sauna, a courtyard with a fire pit, and the Hearth, which is an entertaining space with a kitchen where you can have drinks or dine with friends. The developer Andermatt Swiss Alps (ASA) says: “You can cook food yourself, get one of the restaurants to deliver or have one of the chefs from the local hotels come in. It’s also a place where, if you are thinking of going out for a week’s hike, you can invite your guide in for a coffee and plot your course.”

communal kitchen area

Frame features a communal dining area with a kitchen

While the exterior of Frame is based on the look of the handsome rendered buildings already in existence in the village, another apartment building called Alma draws its inspiration from local traditional wooden architecture. The developer says: “Our ambition is that in 20 or 30 years’ time the new and old parts of the village will blend together so it will look like one destination. We always ask our architects to look at the wealth of architecture here but interpret it with a more modern eye because we don’t want it to be a pastiche.”

However, the developers don’t want to create an ‘architectural zoo’ – as the developer puts it, “Everything has to have harmony”. Tasked with designing Alma, which sports dark, over-lapping timber cladding, was Dominik Herzog from the Zurich architectural firm Herzog Architekten. Located on the western edge of Andermatt Reuss, Alma has 11 two- and three-bedroom apartments (measuring 122–169 sq m) that have living rooms with fireplaces, bathrooms with freestanding tubs and large picture windows looking out on to the mountains and the Reuss river. There is a sauna on the ground floor.

facade render

Frame’s exterior has been designed to blend in with the village’s existing buildings

The developer says: “The spaces are satisfying, nurturing and enriching. They are not shouty or flashy. They are thoughtfully detailed. Every single apartment has 180-degree views, sunken corner lounges that are heavily upholstered and sheltered balconies so you can go outside even when it’s snowing or windy.” Although Frame and Alma are different from one another, both are firmly rooted in a sense of place. “Their use of materials has been informed by the existing architecture and they have been very careful about how they open up their buildings to the surrounding landscape. The windows almost become the artwork on the walls,” says the developer.

ASA also wanted a car-free environment so much of the investment (millions of dollars in fact) has gone underground to make a double-storey basement of car parking, storage and services. The result is a healthy, liveable, pedestrian-friendly village. The developer explains: “Some people live here full time and others use their property as holiday homes. We have a lot of local clients from Italy, Switzerland and Germany who come for weekends over the season in summer and winter, but also investors from China and Singapore who come and use it before it goes back into the rental pool.”

Open Season

The winter season on Gemsstock runs from 31 October to 25 April, and the Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis season runs from 19 December to 11 April. These dates are, as always, dependent upon the prevailing snow conditions.

For more information visit: andermatt-swissalps.ch

This article features in the Autumn 2020 Issue, hitting newsstands in October.

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Two young men in their rooms

You’ll bump into The Gstaad Guy at the yacht club, the art fair and on the slopes; if you don’t know him already, you’re clearly in the wrong milieu. Here, the Instagram legend’s two alter egos, super-wealthy Eurotrash Constance and his nouveau New York cousin Colton, take our questionnaire. Interview and photographs by Maryam Eisler

Constance

Your favourite brand?
Loro Loro, Piana Piana of course! They just know! And the vicuña, the best of the best.

Your favourite music?
Whatever you can dance to holding a glass of wine! Bocelli at the top. And then you drop
some Julio [Iglesias] and Dalida into the mix and you get perfection! And, of course, my very own ‘Commercial Flight’.

Your favourite car?
A Jaguar E-Type, no doubt. Pure class.

Who do you like hanging out with the most?
My dearest Prince Will. Prince William. Sometime Bill [Gates] and Jeff [Bezos] join us, too.

Your favourite artist?
Picasso. He just knows.

Your favourite resort?
Cheval Blanc, because it’s the Cheval Blanc. And I don’t count the Gstaad Palace as a resort, as it’s my second home. My pied-à-terre.

Your favourite restaurant/favourite dish?
Cipriani. Tuna tartare and artichoke salad to start, and a veal farfalle for main.

Colton

Your favourite brand?
Chrome Hearts – fo sho.

Your favourite music?
Travis. He’s savage! 21. Lil Pump. You know, the classics.

Your favourite car?
LAMBO TRUCK.

Who do you like hanging out with the most?
Cousin Constance.

Your favourite artist?
Alec Monopoly! He’s just crashing it and cashing it!

Your favourite resort?
Amangiri fo sho. Do it for the gram!

Your favourite restaurant/favourite dish?
Cipriani, plain penne. And in LA, Omakase at Matsu[hisa]. Can’t beat it!

Find out more: gstaadguy.com
Follow Constance & Colton on Instagram: @gstaadguy

This article was originally published in the Spring 2020 Issue.

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Ski season is in full swing, and there’s nothing like nestling around a dining table in your own apartment on the slopes, sipping at your own magnum of Brunello di Montlcino in privacy with your nearest and dearest, exchanging tales of the day’s adventures. However, until recently, the casual Alpine skier without the good fortune to own a home in St Moritz or Zermatt, would risk suffering for their hobby. In contrast to North America, ski apartments in Europe were patchy at best, cramped and devoid of service – and still expensive – at worst.

Then, French hospitality group Pierre & Vacances began constructing its own, purpose-built, resort and apartment complexes, with all the panache of the best ski-in, ski-out properties in North America. Arc 1950, L’Amara in Avoriaz, and Les Terraces d’Helios above Flaine, all in the French Alps, are delightful, contemporary developments, with five-star hotel-style service, spas, bars, pools and – most importantly of all – properly designed ski-in, ski-out facilities. More are in the pipeline, meaning you don’t have to buy a $10m apartment in the Engadine to enjoy high standards in your “own place” on the slopes. Darius Sanai speaks to Martine Balouka-Valette, Chief Executive Officer of Tourism at Pierre & Vacances, about the Alps and other holiday trends.

Martine Balouka-Valette Luxury Leaders

Martine Balouka-Valette

LUX: When we first saw one of your properties (in the recently-developed resort of Arc 1950 in France) we couldn’t help but be reminded of the holistic architecture of top North American resorts like Breckenridge and Whistler. Is that your inspiration – do you bring some North American standards to Europe?
Martine Balouka-Valette: No, I don’t think I would say that. We are inspired by our own architecture! For example, we are planning to develop a new destination, Aime 2000 in the resort of La Plagne, with the architects Wilmotte & Associates [whose projects include new elements of the Elysée Palace, Louvre Museum and Musée d’Orsay in Paris]. It will be of a very high standard, our own style, and it will open in 2019.

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LUX: A couple of decades ago, wealthy British people, in particular, would think nothing of piling into shared ski accommodation which was of a far lower standard than their residences at home. Is there now a trend of consumers moving more towards the luxury end of ski accommodation?
Martine Balouka-Valette: Yes. They don’t want to have less than what they have at home. It means that now we are going more and more premium. Price is not an issue – at all. They are looking for services. And we are cementing that, because we need to meet their expectations. It’s key for us. When you are a family you now expect a certain type of product. When you are young and you want to sing and dance and ski and you want to have very good time, it’s slightly different. Families expect us to take care of the children in order to allow the parents to spend time in the spa and skiing. They are comfortable and feel secure that we can take care of their kids. We have developed various products in order for people to enjoy their vacations their own individual time.

L'Amara ski resort

L’Amara, Avoriaz

LUX: What about Asia? Is that something that is important for you?
Martine Balouka-Valette: Yes, we have signed an agreement with HNA Tourism Group (Hainan Airlines) that own 10% of Pierre et Vacances Center Parcs in total, to develop the Center Parcs concept in China. We have an agreement that the outline is to build four projects in the next 3 years. And we also plan to develop a Chinese mountain resort because they are very fond of our facilities at Avoriaz in France. I think with the 2022 Winter Olympics (in Beijing) in mind they want to create a new destination on the mountain that can be completed with new apartments that they have in the mountain, to convert it into a ski resort destination.

L'Amara, Avoriaz

Inside one of the luxury residences of L’Amara

LUX: You mentioned Chinese skiers enjoying Avoriaz – is that is a big potential market? The Chinese in Europe, skiing?
Martine Balouka-Valette: Yes. They love our resorts in France; for example in summer they enjoy coming to Center Parcs to enjoy the Loire castles. They enjoy the mountains, and in Paris we have Adagio (apart-hotels) with more than 5,000 apartments, they are very fond of this type of destination. So the three brands (Pierre & Vacances, Center Parcs, Adagio) meet the expectations of the Chinese clientele; we are pretty sure it is an upcoming market for us. I think it can be a very important business but we have to be careful that we balance between the domestic market and the Chinese market because otherwise the other clientele will disappear because when you have a dominant clientele, it’s not appealing.

Read next: Eric Favre, MD of The Alpina Gstaad on the simplicity of true luxury

LUX: With all the disruptors in the industry, are you optimistic about the future of the type of tourism you specialise in?
Martine Balouka-Valette: I am the CEO of the group so I cannot tell you that there is no future in our business! (…) Our locations are very good. They have space. I think our main competitor will increasingly be Air B and B or One Fine StayOne Fine Stay. This type of business is becoming a competitor for us, apart from the hotel business. But of course there is a future because as a brand what we offer is secure and safe. We have the services there, and we do not cheat our clientele. We are not proposing services that we cannot provide. So there is a real future for this type of business – more and more so. And [regarding upmarket wintersports accommodation] we are the leader. And our goal is to remain the leader in this category. That is why we continue to upgrade our accommodation because that is where the market is.

pierreetvacances.com

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