New Club Med luxury resort opens in the French Alps

CLUB Med is opening its newest resort in the French Alps said to be the first of the iconic holiday group's "new generation" destinations.

French Alps

CLUB Med is preparing to open its newest resort, a luxury property in the French Alps said to be the first of the iconic holiday group's "new generation" destinations.

Club Med Valmorel, in the famed Savoie region of France a two-hour drive from the international airport at Geneva, has taken 18 months to build and cost €86.5 million ($113 million).

The alpine retreat, described Club Med's ''flagship upscale snow resort'', will accommodate 1000 guests in 446 four and five-trident suites when the first holiday makers check in on December 18.

Club Med Valmorel is unique because it's the first of the group's European resorts with a full collection of children's clubs catering to every age from babies to teenagers, and it features four-trident rooms, five-trident suites and luxury chalets in the one location.

Club Med uses the personalised trident system to class comfort levels in its holiday resorts, with the comfortable five-trident family suites at Valmorel the same standard as those in a five-star hotel.

The resort is preparing for its ceremonial opening later today and Club Med executives, local dignitaries and journalists from around the world have been invited to stay a few days to get a sneak peak at the mountain estate and test the early-season snow that's finally falling in the French Alps.

When the first real guests arrive just in time for Christmas there will be 140 GOs -- they're the frontline Club Med staffers charged with guaranteeing guests enjoy their visit -- from 10 countries and 90 ski instructors ready to serve.

French Alps

Designed and built to blend into its mountain surroundings, with lots of stone and wood used in the construction, Club Med Valmoral is an hour from Albertville where the 1992 Winter Olympics were held and at the top of a winding alpine road like those we see during the mountain stages of the Tour de France.

It's a sprawling complex with an indoor swimming pool, fitness centre, day spa, the four kid's clubs, free in-house movies and internet access, two restaurants and several bars set to keep guests entertained -- and that's just inside, with a vast collection of ski runs that cater to every ability literally on the doorstep.

Hudry Laurent, technical director at the Club Med Valmorel ski school, says the resort is in the heart of the alpine region that's accommodates around 60 per cent of the skiing that happens in the French Alps.

"Valmorel is one of the youngest ski areas in France, it was only established 36 years ago, and it's in the Vallee de la Tarentaise which is home to famous resorts like Three Valleys and Val d'Isere,'' Mr Laurent explains.

''Our guests can use all the runs at Valmorel as well as the neighbouring resort at St Francoise Longchamp, which is just over the mountain and accessible by gondolas and chairlifts from here, and the Col de la Madeleine is an hour away.

Club Med Valmorel

"Valmorel is in a circle (of peaks), so when the snow is coming the clouds stay in this area longer, we get more snow than some of the other areas nearby and that is a peculiarity of Valmorel.

"Three days ago it was completely green here, because France just had the warmest autumn for a century, but it started snowing earlier this week and we had 70cm in just two days so we are ready to open the mountain when we open Club Med Valmorel."

For more information on Club Med Valmorel see the group's website.