Super-chic Courchevel has long been a favourite ski destination with the in-the-know crowds, and this high-end destination has reached new heights with the opening of Maya Hotel Courchevel 1850.
First, an introduction to Courchevel for those (not yet) familiar. Located in the French Alps, Courchevel is split into five skiing villages, of which Courchevel 1850, where the brand-new Maya Hotel is located, is the haunt of the rich and famous. The list of names who have swooshed down the slopes here is so long it would take 10 rounds of the ski lift to reel them all off: Brigitte Bardot came in the 1960s and is (in-part) credited with putting it on the map, and by the 1990s this snowy hilltop village was a favourite with European royalty, US movie stars, global fashion designers and high-net-worth families.
As recently as this year (March 2025), Moncler – who also brand the resort’s ski lifts – hosted a celeb-studded event attended by Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Adrien Brody and Penn Badgley, plus there’s a private-jet airstrip here, a store from every designer name you can think of, and a more densely-packed Michelin-star scene than anywhere else in the world.
All of this to say, Courchevel 1850 is a high-end, high-glamour kind of resort. And with just 14 rooms and suites, and set in an almost ski-in-ski-out location (the top of the slope is just a few metres away from the hotel’s front door) Maya Hotel is poised to meet – and exceed – the high standards of those who visit.
The Vibe
The lobby and reception at Maya Hotel 1850
The tone of your stay at Maya Hotel Courchevel 1850 is set the second that the well-dressed doorman welcomes you into the lobby. In 1931, René Lalique of Maison Lalique designed his crystal anemone, or crystal flower, and on arrival at the hotel, you’re greeted by a crystal chandelier hanging above the check-in desk – custom-designed by the Maison and featuring the anemone design.
But don’t be entirely fooled by the lavish entrance; taking inspiration from Japanese minimalism and Monégasque-style opulence, Maya Hotel Courchevel is a lesson in how to achieve just the right amount of extravagance in what is an overwhelmingly calming space. Sleek design is anchored by stone, wood and cool metals – and seen in the small and large touches, like the electronic shoji screen separating the open-to-all restaurant from the hotel’s guest-only spaces, and the detail found in intricate, textured, embroidered wallpaper.
The Rooms and Suites
Views from Room 502
There are rooms with a view, and then there are rooms with a snowy-Alps view. Here, in every room and suite, bedroom curtains peel back to reveal a floor-to-ceiling window with a view across the snow-capped Alps – and I’m not sure there’s a better way to wake up. If, by chance, it’s not enough to stir you out of your sleepy state, almost all bedrooms and suites have outdoor balconies too. One step outside into the crisp mountain air will do the trick.
Four room categories – Deluxe Room, Exclusive Room, Junior Suite and Suite – come in three different colourways, so there’s a surprising amount of choice for such an intimate hotel. I stayed in a Junior Suite (room 502, to be specific) and I don’t think it gets much better: the room’s interior design reflects the greys and blues of the mountains and sky just outside the window, and, on the fifth floor of the hotel, the stretching mountainscape views can’t be beaten.
For all-out indulgence, book the 123-square-metre Lalique Suite with bedroom, lounge, a dining and kitchen space (sleeps two). Look out for the hand-crafted Lalique crystal details throughout it, like the birds hanging above a staircase and the flowers above the headboard. The pièce de résistance? A private massage room.
The Food + Drink
MayaBay Courchevel 1850
New to Courchevel, the Thai-Japanese fusion concept at MayaBay (yes, that MayaBay that’s already established in Monaco, Dubai and Porto Montenegro) is already proving a big hit – we visited on the opening weekend and the restaurant was buzzing with curious locals keen to try out the area’s new hotspot.
Cleverly split into two contrasting sections, one side is kitted out with comforting green-toned furnishings and designed more as a restaurant space, the other side in a sleek and sultry red and overseen by a DJ as night falls, giving it a more bar-like feel.
Platters of sushi and sashimi hit the spot any time of day, but it’s the steamed dumplings, robata grill and warming curries – grilled lobster (red); vegetable (green); puff-pastry chicken casserole (yellow) – that you’ll turn to after a day on the slopes. And don’t miss the sesame seed tacos stuffed with avocado and Wagyu beef, the Grade 4 Wagyu beef stir-fry with asparagus, basil and a spicy sauce, or the red tuna sashimi topped with Petrossian Caviar. All personal favourites. After dinner, it’s the hotel’s signature drinks mixed using ingredients such as macha, sake and yuzu, that you might like to turn to.
Breakfast is equally special, though decidedly more French: freshly baked baguette, cured meats and cheeses, yogurts, and of course plenty of croissants and coffee.
The Little Extras
The Lalique Suite
Alongside the intricately crafted Lalique touches and the can’t-look-away views, coffee-table books are scattered throughout rooms and suites, and paired with in-room amenities including Culti Milano toiletries, Esprit Gourmand mini-bar snacks (cocoa and roasted almonds, gummy bears, cashews, for example), and probably the fluffiest bathrobes ever, by 1845- and French-founded Yves Delorme.
Looking for extra space? The Lalique Suite might usually sleep just two people, but it can be connected to the floor above it (floor five) for extra space – and bedrooms. For something really special, consider booking the entire hotel out for a special week away with a group (I’m bookmarking this idea for my next landmark birthday).
The To-Do List
Refuge de la Traye
Skiing, of course. Courchevel has 150 kilometres of ski slopes and plenty of interconnecting ski lifts, many of which run from La Croisette – a central hub packed with ski services, shops, restaurants and events and located just a few minutes’ walk from the hotel’s front door. You’ll find ice-skating, dog-sledding and snowmobiling nearby – but take time out to browse the stores; every designer has a presence here with stores including back-to-back names like Rolex, Dior and Prada, each housed inside Alpine-style wooden chalets. Back at the hotel, re-energise ski-weary limbs with a head-to-toe massage using products from the Japanese skincare brand Forlle’d, which uses a nano-technology formulation to seep deep into the skin.
On the days you’re not jumping into a lift and heading for the top of the ski slope it’s worth making the intrepid journey even higher into the mountains: to the six-bedroom-only sister hotel, Refuge de la Traye. There are just two ways to get here (and to leave): via a snowshoe hike or by jumping in the hotel’s snowcat, which will whizz you up to the entrance – a snow path lined with tiki-style torches, located 5,000+ feet above sea level. Dinner is closed to outside guests, but if you’re not staying at the hotel you are welcomed for long lunches of wholesome-but-elevated mountain-worthy classics such as a butternut squash soup with roasted pumpkin seeds and crispy bacon, or lamb shanks confit with honey and thyme, and paired with a pasta gratin. You’re also welcomed for spa visits, where high-tech treatments meet back-to-nature pampering and include a Japanese-inspired infrared sauna and light therapy machines, as well as an outdoor hot tub heated to 38ºC overlooking the snowy mountains, a milk bath, and a bed made of hay for when you need 30 minutes of outdoors-inspired healing.
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