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the video tour inside Branson's ski chalet
Snowflakes fell around me as I massaged my ski-sore legs in the bubbling jets
of the hot tub. Suddenly, the opening chords of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band boomed out and I opened my eyes. Inside, one of the staff nodded
towards me to check that the music choice and volume was OK. I nodded
sleepily and got back to drinking my recently topped up flute of champagne.
This is the kind of service that you get in the most expensive chalet in the
Alps - The Lodge in Verbier, the latest addition to Sir Richard Branson's
Virgin Limited Edition portfolio, alongside Necker Island in the Caribbean
and Kasbah Tamadot in Morocco. A week here over last New Year cost £59,000
for the hire of the whole property.
Not that you could have stayed here though since Sir Richard and his family
had taken over the place for a couple of weeks. Next winter, if you want to
stay that same week, it will cost you £71,000.
I was the first journalist to stay in the Lodge's master suite, where Sir
Richard and his wife had been a couple of weeks earlier. It's a rare thing
to say you have shared a bed with Sir Richard. And what a bed. I almost
needed a ladder to climb on to it, and it was as wide and white as Verbier's
Mont Fort glacier. I had a spectacular view of the mountains and the
resort's snowy rooftops in one direction and of my swish bathroom - complete
with egg-shaped bath and three designer rubber ducks in the other.
The Lodge opened in December after a £3.7m renovation transformed it from its
previous incarnation as a bog-standard three-star hotel. The new look -
Alpine boutique chic - is the brainchild of interior designer Fiona Barratt.
The old orangey pine has been ripped out and replaced with reclaimed larch.
In came designer pouffes in chocolate leather, green snakeskin-effect bar
stools and velvet sofas the colour of a morning latte.
So what are you getting for your money? Space and location for starters. The
previously cramped rooms have been knocked together and the Lodge is just a
three-minute walk from Verbier's main Médran lift.
What you don't get is a view from the lounge: a new chalet built at the same
time as the Lodge was being renovated has blocked much of the view.
Some guests may complain about having nothing to look at outside, but this is
more than made up for by other attractions. Food is a key part of any chalet
experience, and I loved that the food at the Lodge is not fussy. I was more
than happy to sup on a bowl of filling French onion soup, a simple leaf
salad with local goat's cheese and a breast of Landes chicken after a day
out on the slopes.
“Good food doesn't have to be posh,” said the Lodge's Dutch chef Gerwin Brand,
who worked as a sous-chef under Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons.
Before and after dinner, there was plenty to keep us occupied. I had a hot
and cold stone treatment in the Lodge's mini spa run by Hannah Lightbown,
who previously worked on Necker. Treatments are not included in the headline
price but costs are not inflated - £42 for a basic facial and £65 for a
full-body massage.
After that, I popped outside with some of the other guests to try my hand at
curling on the Lodge's own ice rink. It's too small and rough for adults to
skate on, but kids with helmets and knee pads will love it. I contented
myself instead with traditional curling fuelled by yet more champagne. After
proving that ice rinks, champagne and staying upright don't go together, I
descended into the heart of the chalet, the basement “party area”. You can
while away many an hour here, thanks to a pool table, an enormous flatscreen
TV with a Wii, a huge selection of DVDs and a bar where you can help
yourself to anything - more champagne, Jäger bombs, fresh juice.
The touches that make this not just any chalet are everywhere but it is the
Lodge's staff - and its excitable chocolate labrador Bam Bam - that are its
greatest asset. The ten-strong team is headed by Virgin veterans Paul Allen
and Hannah Bowen-Jones. Paul worked as a tennis coach and Hannah as a
watersports instructor on Necker, Sir Richard Branson's official home in the
British Virgin Islands. There are still a few teething problems - one guest
arrived to find the bin overflowing with rubbish left by the previous
occupant, my in-room safe failed to work, and cleaning products were left in
the bathroom. Nothing that can't be fixed, but it is these tiny things that
the Lodge will be judged on by its demanding clientele who have paid so much
to stay.
So, do I like it? What's not to like about having such service, space and
facilities so close to the heart of the resort I have visited countless
times for its superb skiing. Is it worth it? I think it's overpriced, but it
seems that others don't agree. The Lodge is booked up for all but two weeks
of this season, and it's this popularity that has prompted the increase in
prices for next winter. So expect the Lodge to become Necker on ice.
Need to know
Virgin Limited Edition (0800 716919, www.virginlimitededition.com)
offers The Lodge for exclusive hire in winter from £36,250 a week. It
accommodates up to 18 in nine rooms and suites, plus up to six children in a
bunk room. In summer three-night stays are offered from £1,332 per double
room. Flights not included.
