Airelles Courchevel, Les Airelles

Les Airelles stands in Courchevel 1850's Jardin Alpin, a nineteenth-century Austro-Hungarian fantasy of a mountain château.

It was born in 1988, on the eve of the Albertville Olympics, as a 'château des neiges' inside a 1960s hotel, and was recast after 2007 as an imperial residence in homage to Empress Sissi.

In 2011 it was among the first eight hotels in France to receive the Palace distinction.

Its 48 rooms include 15 suites; there is a private ice rink, and the house opens four months a year.