Les Rives d’Argentière, a hamlet of five-star chalets in the village of Argentière, Chamonix

For centuries, Chamonix has been the prime alpine resort for those seeking adventure luxury travel with a heady mix of challenging skiing, glaciers, designer boutiques and five-star hotels. Digital Editor Millie Walton travels to the lesser known village of Argentière, a twenty minute drive from the main town and home to the valley’s most luxurious collection of chalets, to discover where adventure and luxury meet

That feeling you get when you wake up early on the first day of skiing is, for me at least, the nearest I ever get to the giddy excitement I felt as a child on Christmas morning. It’s a restless, wide-eyed kind of anticipation and on the way to Flégère, one of Chamonix’s most scenic and slightly easier ski areas (although no skiing in Chamonix is exactly easy), the excitement is almost palpable. We’re silent as the driver opens the door and hands us our skis, poles and passes. We’ve been warned that the visibility is bad, which is hard to believe in the valley where it’s sunny and relatively clear, but the warning makes us even more edgy and impatient to begin.

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At the top of the cable car, we’re met with gale force winds that pull us from side to side in a drunken swagger, making the experience of waking in ski boots feel even stranger and more space like. Most of the pistes are closed, the wind howling in our ears, stinging our faces, biting into bare skin. My ski partner looks at me and points warily at a red avalanche sign with one pole, a gesture that’s perfectly timed with the boom of the canon and the thundering rumble of snow. And yet, there’s something especially exhilarating about skiing in extreme conditions, when there’s a sense that you’re on the fringes of real, raw adventure. We push off down the run, carving through thick powder, gathering speed and arrive at the lift, panting, laughing. It’s worth everything for that (and a timely break for vin chaud).

World famous off-piste skiing: Vallée Blanche, Chamonix

Sadly, the mountain is closed after a couple of hours – the weather’s too extreme – and whilst it’s not quite long enough, it’s something, and we return to Les Rives d’Argentière with our cheeks still flushed, snow dripping from our hair. The pretty hamlet of luxury chalets sits snugly in the little village of Argentière, facing south towards Mont Blanc. We’re in the biggest of the four, Chalet Terre which has a capacity of 14, but is by far the cosiest with rustic, tribal inspired furnishings, a log fire, a sleek open plan kitchen (re-stocked daily with drinks and snacks), five en-suite bedrooms, a games room in the basement and a hot tub, sunken into the snow on the terrace.

Read more: Geoffrey Kent on the rise of adventure luxury travel

The chalets also share an underground walkway with a sauna, hammam, fitness suite, massage rooms and cinema, and it means that if you happen to be renting the whole hamlet, you don’t have to trudge through the snow to pay the rest of the group a visit. That afternoon we’re booked in for treatments with Chamonix’s star masseuse Ruth Martin, who uses her fascination with the inter-relationship between psychology and physiology to create a truly bespoke experience that’s as relaxing as it is deeply therapeutic.

The Montenvers Railway winds up the mountain alongside the Mer de Glace to a viewing point at 1913 m

Most people who choose Chamonix over resorts such as St. Moritz or Zermatt, choose it for the extreme sports (the first Winter Olympics were hosted by Chamonix in 1924); the notorious off-piste skiing route Vallée Blanche, the Mer de Glace, Aiguille du Midi (a 3,777m terrace with panoramic views of the surrounding alps), and ‘A Step into the Void’, a glass cage that hangs over 1000m precipice. It’s a ski resort that’s primarily about the sport and not the après, and because of that it tends to attract a slightly more adventurous clientele, who are by no means less deep pocketed – wander through Chamonix town and almost all of the shops are designer or artisan and there’s a multitude of smart restaurants.

The warm, blonde wood interiors of one of Les Rives d’Argentière’s chalets

One evening, we’re treated to a wine tasting menu in the chalet with an excellent and varied wine selection by Le Verre Gourmand, who are renowned suppliers of the top chalets in the alps. The food is not quite as refined as one would expect, and disappointingly doesn’t take advantage of the Alpine ingredients and traditional recipes, which are done so well and with so much elegance in the bistro style restaurants in town, but the service is warm and thoughtful.

Secluded in its own little world of luxury, Les Rives d’Argentière has all the advantages of a five-star resort, with the added allure of privacy and bespoke service that makes a day of adventures slightly less daunting.

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The Ritz-Carlton Almaty has a spectacular panorama of the Tien Shan mountains

Why should I go now?

It’s mid-winter in Kazakhstan, a spectacular time to see the biggest and most historic city in this huge and dynamic former Soviet republic straddling Siberia and the Tien Shan mountains – effectively the northernmost edge of the Himalayas.

What’s the lowdown?

Arrive at night, like we did, and you are ushered effortlessly to your room by the staff – they behave as welcomingly as Ritz Carlton staff anywhere in the world, but if it’s a first visit to the country, the Kazakhs looks impossibly exotic, beautifully coiffed, tall, slim, a striking blend of Slavic and Asiatic.

In the morning, draw the curtains expecting to see just another big Asian city, and you are blown backwards by the view from the picture windows in the bedroom. Before you stretch a vast array of peaks, rising to more than 5000m – higher than the Alps, deep frozen in snow, dwarfing any view from Milan, Geneva or Munich. Right in front of the hotel is an Olympic-style ski jump.

Dinner with a view at the VISTA restaurant

You could spend all your time in the Ritz and the uber-luxe Esentai Mall that adjoins it; the lobby, bar and restaurants are all on the 28th floor, with an excellent sushi bar. The aptly-named VISTA hosts a Sunday jazz brunch, with live band, straight out of the Upper West Side: we dined here with old friends, a sad and poignant occasion for very private reasons. The food was pure Manhattan bar & grill, with a little Osteria thrown in (particularly in the wine list, which was a heaven for Italophiles).

It would be a shame, though, not to go and explore Almaty: we enjoyed a night time trudge through deep snow to a couple of luxury fashion boutiques, including gorgeous MaxMara and Armani stores, with staff and clientele seemingly lifted directly from the Via Montenapoleone. And in contrast, in winter, a short drive takes you to the high-altitude ski resort of Shymbulak; skiing at nearly 4000m on the northernmost edge of the Himalayas is one of the world’s more spectacular experiences, and the snow is usually cold and dry (and the runs well groomed, and quite easy).

Getting Horizontal

There’s a beautiful pool and a Six Senses spa to revive yourself ahead of your next round of business conversations. Kazakhstan is a country on the go, and we found its leaders very open to inspiring conversations about developing its future. As for the bedroom, think Ritz modern luxury, with that matchless view thrown in.

An executive suite with a breathtaking view to the south

Nitpicking

This has to be the best luxury spot between Moscow and Beijing. If we had to be critical, we’d say we’re mystified as to why Kazakhstan doesn’t do a better job of selling itself. President Nazarbayev – call on LUX if you need inspiration, because your country is too much of a secret.

Rates: From 90 000 kzt ( approx. £200 / $300 /€250)

Darius Sanai

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