Luxury in the French Alps

In the heart of the French Alps, where winter never surrenders and snow paints the valleys with Swiss precision, a new spark has ignited the classic concept of mountain luxury. Its name: Les Etincelles.

Guerlain Chicherit, freeride legend and Tignes native, built his first chalet with his own hands. He called it Quezac, and with it formed a collection that would soon grow. Years later, Parisian Nicolas Chatillon, with decades of experience in the financial world and a deep passion for snow, joined the project. Together, with opposing yet complementary ideas, they shaped an ambition that today dominates the luxury hotel landscape in high-altitude resorts.

Luxury shaped by snow

Les Etincelles now operates in six of the most renowned destinations in the French Alps: Tignes, Val d'Isère, Val Thorens, Les Arcs, La Plagne, and Alpe d’Huez. With a portfolio that includes over 35 establishments, including hotels, chalets, and residences, the group has redefined the skiing experience. All its accommodations are in areas with guaranteed snow, and their architecture blends contemporary audacity with alpine warmth.

From Carte Blanche chalets with suites dedicated to Banksy or environments designed for Daft Punk music videos, to hotels like VoulezVous in Tignes, which fuse hospitality and entertainment in vibrant spaces, Les Etincelles speaks the language of a generation seeking intense emotions without sacrificing excellence.

Hospitality that is felt

Here, luxury, beyond marble or design, is comfort. It's avoiding lift queues thanks to digital check-in, having a chef at home after a day of skiing, or being able to book a private concert without leaving the hotel. It's leaving children in supervised activities while adults enjoy the wine cellar. It's rediscovering skiing as a complete experience.

And it's also predictability. "Those who work all year deserve guaranteed snow," says Chatillon. Hence their obsession with choosing only destinations with high snow resilience: up to 23 white weeks a year.

Transforming to elevate

What differentiates Les Etincelles is not just its design or operational capacity, but its strategic vision: to transform mid-range destinations into premium benchmarks. Tignes, La Plagne, Les Arcs, and Val Thorens are just the beginning. The goal is ambitious: 30 hotels, 100 chalets, and 20 residences by 2026. But what they truly seek is not quantitative growth, but to elevate the mountain experience to a new emotional category.