Chalet Cristal, a Penthouse in the Heart of Val d Isere

Most large chalets in Val d’Isère read the same way on paper: five bedrooms, ski-in ski-out, a view of the mountains. Chalet Cristal does almost the opposite of that — which is exactly why it deserves a look on its own terms.

Start with the address. Nearly all the big chalets sit up in Le Fornet, set apart from the village. Cristal doesn’t. It is on Avenue Olympique, the main street, 300 metres from the snow front. Restaurants, boutiques, bars and the lift are at the foot of the building — not a twenty-minute drive away.

Then the second thing: it isn’t a standalone house. It is “a chalet placed on the roof” — a penthouse on the top floor of Résidence Valsnow, reached by a private lift with badge-and-code access. Technically the top floor. In feel, a private timber-and-glass chalet floating above the village.

A Chalet on the Roof · Val d’Isère

Architecture, Not Just Square Metres

315 m² over two levels, four en-suite bedrooms — which is one fewer than the neighbouring properties in Le Fornet. Not a shortfall, but a decision: four suites instead of five make for a more private house for eight, without the feel of a small hotel.

What is genuinely unusual inside:

• a jacuzzi under a heated glass roof — a winter garden over the water that works in any season;
• a professional back kitchen for the chef, alongside the central kitchen-bar, so receptions run out of sight of guests;
• a private lift with badge-and-code access — your own floor, your own quiet;
• sauna, a WaterRower-equipped gym, home cinema, wine cellar and two parking spaces.

The project once featured on TF1’s Sept à Huit — not as self-promotion, but as an illustration of what a one-off chalet in the very centre of a legendary resort can be.

Inside the Living Space

The Room That Does the Work

The main living area is where the penthouse makes its case. Volumes are generous, the windows are floor-to-ceiling, and the perspective opens across the village and the whole of the Espace Killy domain. Noble materials, bespoke finishes and current-generation equipment sit together without competing — the kind of room that reads as calm rather than loud.

Around it, the plan is worked out with unusual care:

• the master suite comes with its own dressing room and a bathroom with both bath and double walk-in shower;
• three of the bedrooms have an ethanol fireplace and open directly onto a terrace, so the living space carries on outdoors;
• several rooms — and even the gym — include a discreet desk area, for the guests who never quite switch off.

Two Terraces · Two Different Holidays

One Address, Two Points of the Compass

The north terrace faces the peaks — wild mountains, a sense of leaving the world entirely. The south terrace looks over the village and onto a slope that has become part of history: the Face de Bellevarde hosted the men’s downhill at the 1992 Olympic Games and World Cup rounds. That run is in full view from the south terrace — a rare case of a view built into the history of the sport.

Both terraces are heated; the south one has an outdoor dining table for twelve and a barbecue. And a note on timing: the terrace is at its best from late February, when the days lengthen — lunch outside, sun over Bellevarde, the village below.

Getting There

Closer Than the Altitude Suggests

Val d’Isère sits at 1,850 metres, with snow reliably held from November to May and 300 km of pistes across the Espace Killy — 154 runs of every level, the Bellevarde descent among them. For a resort this high, it is surprisingly easy to reach:

• around 3 hours from Lyon and Geneva airports;
• 40 minutes from the Bourg-Saint-Maurice TGV station;
• roughly 1h45 from Chambéry, 2h30 from Grenoble.

Which means the last leg — the transfer we arrange — is short, and the door of the chalet is 300 metres from the snow front once you arrive.

The 2026 Season Is Now Open

The practical point matters as much as the description. Chalet Cristal is available to rent, and the winter 2026 calendar has just opened. Weeks in a house like this don’t go in sequence — the marquee dates go first: Christmas, New Year and the February half-terms. If those are the dates you have in mind, it makes sense to start the conversation now rather than in November.

What we handle: private chef, butler service, ski fitting, housekeeping, laundry and concierge. Price on request, quoted against your specific dates and party.