Armancette

Style

Alpine A-lister

Setting

Starring in hamlet

First impressions of Armancette can lead you astray. Built on the site of an old village bakery, this newbie mountain stay resembles a long-standing charmer, with a timbered exterior designed to blend into its Alpine hamlet setting. The hotel’s allure, however, is thoroughly contemporary: a stellar spa, a choice of restaurants and bars, plus polished ski-lodge interiors dressed with Italian flair. Thoughtful extras such as ski kit delivery and private dining for chalet guests make stays here a refreshing breeze – with chairlift access to Evasion Mont-Blanc only metres away.

Facilities

Rooms

19, including four suites, plus Chalet Ancolie in the center of the village (sleeps 10 adults and six children).

Checkout

11.30am; earliest check-in, 3pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability.

More Details

Rates exclude breakfast (€35 at the restaurant; €39 to dine in-room).

Also

The hotel is wheelchair accessible with a lift and one adapted room for wheelchair users.

Hotel Closed

The hotel closes annually in April until mid-May, and in November.

Fitness Center

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pool

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Ski lockers, lounge with fireplace, terrace, salon du thé/bakery, choice of restaurants, pool table, guest shuttle. In rooms: free WiFi, smart TV, bluetooth speaker, minibar, free tea & coffee, free bottled water, Kos Paris bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

There are no short straws at Armancette: balconied rooms are individually styled with sumptuous Italian textiles, local timber and stone and marble ensuites. Multi-bedroom options are given as much emphasis as retreats for two. For larger groups, three slopeside chalets above the hotel are traditionally timbered yet contemporary, with bold, Italian-inspired interiors, and benefit from free extras such as concierge service and town shuttles.

Poolside

A long, heated pool in the spa extends outdoors to a decked terrace with mountain views of Mont Blanc. There’s also a trio of hot tubs: two alfresco, one indoors.

Spa

A timbered-and-tiled spa covers all your wellness needs, from energising to soothing. Its 24-hour fitness room is equipped with treadmills, static bikes, elliptical and rowing machines, as well as free weights, with personal training available five days a week. We couldn’t wait to sling aside the salopettes and dive into the spa’s indoor-outdoor pool, hammam, sauna and relaxation area of plumply pillowed woven sofas. Book a treatment ritual for face or body using KOS Paris products – an ethical, plant-based spa range – in one of the spa’s two treatment rooms (available 10am–7pm). Chalet guests can enjoy a more exclusive set-up: there’s a private spa area at Aster, and Silène and Carline are next door to a dedicated spa chalet – home to a treatment room, sauna and hot tub.

Packing Tips

Ski or board wear in winter – hiking and biking gear in summer. For evenings, the dress code is laid-back glamour: trousers rather than dresses; tactile layers, shimmer or prints rather than jewels; flats rather than heels.

Also

A shuttle ferries guests to and from St-Gervais-Les-Bains. Chalet guests have the option to book a private chef and food service, or ad hoc meal and picnic deliveries.

Children

Very welcome, with a choice of family and duplex rooms and babysitting (from €25 an hour).

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

Method diners (all about the process) may prefer a ringside seat next to the open kitchen at La Table d’Armante.

Dress Code

Ready-to-ski is fine for breakfast; for dinner at La Table d’Armante, up the ante with textured knits, shimmering or embellished layers.

Hotel Restaurant

La Table d’Armante is a timbered dining room open for breakfast, but by night it’s an altogether more gastronomic affair with a French menu that showcases more than just mountain cuisine and culminates in what appears to be the transport of our dreams: a cheese chariot. Executive chef Thomas Vonderscher and team whip up dishes such as roasted sea bass with oysters tartare, duck and foie gras pithivier with buttered greens, and a meltingly good slow-cooked fillet of beef with black chanterelles. Across the road from the hotel, Le Bistrot Le Mont Joly is a laid-back spot for drinks or casual dining (fireplace in the lounge, check; pool table, check). Open for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, plus brunch on Sundays, it serves Alpine home cooking and Italian fare: Savoyard favourites such as fondue and tartiflette are on the menu alongside burgers, soup, pizzette and croquettes, as well as heartier mains including shoulder of lamb with polenta, and pork filet mignon in a mushroom sauce. With homemade bread, pastries and viennoiseries, the salon du thé is the hotel’s between-meals pitstop (it opens from 7:30am to 6pm in high season, and from 8am to 4pm, Friday to Tuesday, in low season).

Hotel Bar

Listing 800 vintages and Grand Crus, the Mont Joly Wine Bar across the way from the main hotel is an oenophile’s delight; those less familiar with French tipples can sign up to a group or private workshops with the hotel sommelier, exploring old vintages, forgotten varietals and lesser know organic and biodynamic wines.

Last Orders

La Table d’Armante serves lunch 12pm–2.30pm on Mondays and Tuesdays; dinner from 7pm to 9pm Friday to Tuesday. Lunch at Le Bistrot is 12pm–2.30pm, Wednesday to Sunday, and dinner is 7pm to 9.30pm, Wednesday to Saturday.

Room Service

Breakfast is the only meal you can order to your room, between 7.30am and 10am.

Planes

Geneva airport is a 75-minute drive away. The hotel can arrange private minibus transfers from €360 each way. Alternatively, Lyon St Exupéry and Grenoble airports are each two hours and 15 minutes away by road. Megève airport is an option for private charters and helicopter transfers.

Trains

St-Gervais-Les-Bains—Le Fayet is 20 minutes away and has direct services to Geneva and connections to Paris via Annecy. The hotel can arrange private minibus transfers from €70 each way.

Automobiles

The hotel offers free valet parking and has a private garage at ground level, featuring several charging terminals for electric vehicles. Chalet Ancolie, too, has garages with electric chargers.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

A five-minute walk away, the church in St Nicolas de Véroce is a baroque beauty with an art museum attached. The hotel can arrange visits to local farms for tours and tastings. Picturesque mountain playground, the Mont-Blanc massif, is a place to hike or bike in summer – try via ferrata, paragliding, climbing, rafting or hydrospeeding (white-water sledging). Take the Mont-Blanc tramway to the top of the Bionnassay Glacier or a rack-railway to Montenvers and the Mer de Glace ice cave; towards Chamonix, you can take a cable car to the top of L’Aiguille du Midi beside Mont-Blanc. Winter brings snow-fuelled fun from the sedentary (snowshoeing, horse-drawn carriage rides, dog sledding) to the energetic ( skiing, snowboarding, biathlon and fat-bike riding). The massif can be admired at any time of year with a private flight or helicopter tour across the range or a hot-air balloon ride in spectacular Alpine scenery. Revive tired muscles with a body treatment at the hotel spa or with a trip to the thermal baths in St-Gervais-Les-Bains. Little Smiths are well catered for with toboggan runs on the mountain, treetop adventures, guided family-friendly hiking and mountain biking, ski and snowboard lessons and mini-golf in St-Gervais.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .