Big-screen glamour of Bear Lodge makes Les Arcs a ski paradise
A new ski lodge in the heart of the Savoie gives a small resort village a shot of glamour
The view from the Misha penthouse balcony at Bear Lodge
Bear Lodge lit up at night
Arc 1950 is a car-free village, which makes it perfect for ski holidays
While some ski resorts launch their winter seasons with music or food festivals, Les Arcs – in the Paradiski region of France – takes a cinematic perspective, kicking things off with an annual film festival.
Festival organisers didn’t choose Les Arcs randomly. They chose it for its location in the heart of the Alps and its sublime views of Mont Blanc and the Savoie region. Movers and shakers from the French and European movie industry stay in Arc 1950, bringing a touch of big-screen glamour to a small village that’s normally devoted to families.
During the festival in December (lesarcs-filmfest.com), films are screened at every altitude with guests shuttled between the different resorts of Les Arcs – Bourg St Maurice, Arc 1600, 1800, 1950 and 2000 (the numbers represent the altitudes) – to attend screenings and meetings, and to party in bars like O’Chaud.
The film festival might go largely unnoticed by skiers intent on getting their first turns of the season, but its glamour is replicated at Bear Lodge (also known as Bear Resort), a VIP Chalets property perched on the edge of Arc 1950.
Last December, I was the first guest through the doors of Bear Lodge, arriving as staff carried out final preparations for opening day. A quick tour revealed a private cinema, spa, swimming pool, hot tub, exercise room, sauna, kids room and Intersport ski rental store.
While the property is extremely spacious, it’s home to a lodge of just 30 bedrooms catering for a maximum of 80 guests, plus 12 luxurious suites situated on the upper floors. Having admired views of La Rosière from the lodge bar, I was taken to the seventh floor where penthouse Misha, the largest of the suites, awaited.
Set over two floors, Misha impressed with spacious open-plan living and views of Mont Blanc with room for 12-14 people and six en-suite bedrooms.
As the first one in, I bagged the best bedroom (this is a tradition amongst ski chalet guests) and chatted to friendly staff as they prepared canapes and a welcoming meal for our first evening.
Bear Lodge lit up at night
VIP Chalets offers a modern version of the archetypal chalet holiday, something which was originally brought to the Alps by hunting groups (you learn something new every day). Think classic dinner-party vibe, or a more personal version of Club Med and you’ve got the idea.
Each day, chalet staff prepare breakfast, afternoon tea and the evening meal, with canapes and champagne offered on the first and last night of your holiday. Delicious three-course dinner menus are followed by a cheese course (of course, you are in the Savoie).
By taking a suite at Bear Lodge, guests enjoy the privacy and cosiness of a deluxe chalet holiday with friends and family, while also enjoying the facilities of a ski-in ski-out hotel.
Set on the side of the Baptiste Giabiconi blue piste and directly opposite the Marmottes and Bois de l’Ours chairlifts, guests simply have to make their way through the ski room (complete with concierge service), click into their skis and step straight onto the slopes for some of the best skiing in the world.
Children’s ski classes at Bear Lodge are kept to a maximum of six – a bonus for little ones getting to grips with skiing for the first or second time.
With 425km of pistes and excellent off-piste terrain, the Paradiski region links Les Arcs with La Plagne and Peisey-Vallandry via the famed double-decker Vanoise Express which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
Set on the edge of the Vanoise national park, Paradiski is the second largest ski region in the world (after Les Trois Vallées) and offers snow-sure high-altitude skiing from mid-December to the end of April, with 70pc of its slopes above 2,000m.
Car-free, Arc 1950 is a resort that prides itself on treating children like kings and queens of the slopes with a Cariboo club, Yéti camp, family-friendly entertainment programmes and even a Santa on the slopes at Christmas.
Arc 1950 is a car-free village, which makes it perfect for ski holidays
There’s something really lovely about skiing through this little village at the end of the day to Bear Lodge, just in time for a feed of cake and afternoon tea – no buses or dragging ski equipment through resorts, just the ease of skiing to your doorstep.
I was shown around the slopes by ESF instructor Axel Joiris who knows all about skiing Les Arcs as a child. He grew up in these mountains – and, inspired by his father, became a junior speed ski champion, clocking 226 kph in a winning race and setting a world record at the age of 16. Incredibly, he did his first speed race at the age of six.
We moved rather more slowly around the slopes as Axel showed me a variety of blue and red runs that will keep families happy. Meanwhile, more expert skiers will want to ski from the Aiguille Rouge at 3,226m down to the village of Villaroger, a thigh-burning 7.4km run with a big vertical drop.
There are also two snow parks, six boardercross areas, one halfpipe, three toboggan runs and 153km of cross-country slopes to enjoy.
One area on the mountains that families will love is just above the Varet telecabine at Arc 2000 where a lot of fun awaits. Alongside a viewing platform, you’ll find the Aiguille Rouge zipline that allows adventurous souls to fly in either a seated or prone position (fly prone for a more exhilarating experience). You can also fly solo or alongside a friend, reaching speeds of 130kph as you whizz along the line.
There’s an animal museum featuring alpine species, organic cafe BOB and the very charming illuminated murals experience which depicts the four seasons of Les Arcs in a clever light show which takes place in a building used to store gondolas at night. The kid in me wanted to see this show over and over again.
Skiers who love après ski often ask if little mountain village resorts offer enough nightlife. The beauty of Les Arcs is that you can move between resorts in the evenings via gondola, for example, taking the Cabriolet cable car up to sample a couple of bars at Arc 2000 after dinner at night.
Arc 1950 caters mostly for families who tend to fall into bed early after a day on the slopes – but even for couples or small groups, there’s enough to entertain with a total of 40 shops, bars and restaurants and a Deep Nature spa for those who like to relax and unwind after skiing.
La Vache Rouge restaurant offers buzzy fine dining while Chalet Luigi and A La Table des Lys are excellent spots for lunch or even a spot of film festival people-watching in mid December.
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