18 | Hospitality Today | Oct/Nov 2015 EUROPEAN FOCUS Les Contamin


In the first of two contrasting reports from ski resorts looking to develop their tourism and hospitality offering, we look at Les Contamines, a relatively little known (in the UK) ski resort which has a strong domestic tourism following in France, and a family focus.


Les Contamines may not have the glamour (nor the high prices) of Courchevel or Val d’Isere, but it can boast a bold and innovative approach in its tourism marketing – last season saw its first “Artist in Residence”, Canadian Nikki Heddle (inset), whose “Land Art” has caused a stir on the slopes and turned heads on the chairlifts.


Some of the installations Nikki has created use materials she has brought to the slopes (such as the Pom-Pom field below), but most are either created from found objects like stones, or even created from the snow itself. These snow artworks can look spectacular, but are the most ephemeral, often lasting just a few hours, until erased by skiiers, covered by fresh snow or melted by the sun.


. . Art


Coline Mattel is the poster girl for Les Contamines after taking bronze in the ski jumping at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. Her cousin Morgane is one of the local ski instructors at the resort. Les Contamines seems to have a knack for producing champions, as another village local, Marie Marchand-Arvier, also represented France at the Games.


Its authentic, unpretentious mountain restaurants are another attraction of the resort - the Refuge Auberge de Colombaz offers a warm welcome for those coming in from the cold in the shape of huge, steaming plates of boeuf en daube served with winter salad and crusty bread. At La Roselette, a rustic mountain restaurant, the Tartiflette and fondue are typical and authentic.


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