"Courchevel remains, in many respects, one of the finest ski resorts in the world for pure skiing. With access to the vast Les Trois Vallées — roughly 600 km of pistes linked seamlessly by lifts — the variety of terrain is extraordinary and rarely repetitive. Add some of the finest mountain restaurants in Europe and skiers are genuinely spoiled for choice.
Le Chabichou sits comfortably within this landscape and distinguishes itself through consistently excellent service. From reception and concierge to the ski room, the team operates with efficiency and warmth. The ski room itself is particularly impressive given the size of the hotel — exceptionally well organized and well stocked. During our stay I rented a pair of brand-new ski boots that turned out to be among the best I have used in years. Normally I travel with my own equipment, but luggage constraints — due to a helicopter transfer out of Courchevel — required a last-minute adjustment that the hotel handled effortlessly.
Like most high-end properties in Courchevel, the hotel offers ski-in ski-out access, but its position near the Verdons Gondola is particularly advantageous. Hotels such as Cheval Blanc or L’Apogée — an outstanding but significantly overpriced property where we have stayed previously — require skiing down to the heavily trafficked slopes leading to the Jardin Alpin lifts. At peak times this area becomes one of the busiest bottlenecks in the resort. From Le Chabichou, access to the lifts is more direct and noticeably less congested.
The spa is another pleasant surprise. It includes a hammam, sauna and even a halotherapy room, which is a thoughtful touch after a day on the slopes. The swimming pool itself, however, is relatively small and somewhat dark, with a handful of simple loungers scattered around. It is not really a place where one lingers for long, but it functions perfectly well as a quick recovery stop after skiing. One small caveat: children are not allowed after 5 pm, which means that if your child attends the afternoon ski school sessions — as many do — the pool becomes something of a theoretical amenity for families.
The location also works very well for dining. Several of Courchevel’s most popular restaurants are within walking distance — a welcome advantage when heavy snowfall turns the resort’s traffic into a slow procession of SUVs. Nearby highlights include La Ferme Saint-Amour (owned by the hotel and evolving into a lively party restaurant later in the evening), where we had arguably the best rib-eye steak of our lives — at an eye-watering €600 — as well as Mayabay for Asian fusion, Il Ristorante San Marco for casual Italian, and Le Mangeoire for those seeking a more nightclub atmosphere. Other notable stops include Loulou at Hôtel Barrière and Salto at the new Rosewood, particularly good for lunch.
Where the hotel struggles is space and light. Rooms are compact even by Courchevel standards. This becomes particularly noticeable for guests accustomed to Swiss alpine hotels where elegant evening attire is expected but wardrobes are generous enough to accommodate it. At Le Chabichou, storage space is limited. Even in the junior suite where we stayed we had to request an additional clothing rack to hang ski gear and evening clothes in the small seating area. Opening the wardrobe also requires a degree of choreography, as its doors compete directly with the bedroom door — a maneuver best attempted alone. Low ceilings and dark wallpaper complete the picture, leaving most rooms feeling somewhat dim.
The more appealing rooms sit on the upper two floors, which are also the ones featured in most of the hotel’s photography. These are largely apartments rather than standard rooms or junior suites, and are generally reserved for returning guests.
The brightest and most elegant space in the hotel is the newly renovated breakfast room. Warm décor, generous natural light, an excellent breakfast selection and impeccable service make it one of the most enjoyable parts of the property. In the evening, however, the same room transforms into La Sidonie, the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant. The result is that most guests experience this generous sense of space outside of breakfast perhaps only once during a week-long stay — and then spend the rest of the week rediscovering it gratefully only in the morning. The secondary restaurant on the ground floor is cozy but small and rather dark, offering a limited, though very tasty, menu.
This subdued lighting extends to much of the hotel — and is perhaps the main reason we would hesitate before returning. Even reception sits one level below the entrance with a rather cramped seating area, and because the building is embedded into the slope the arrival experience can feel like descending toward a garage.
There are pleasant communal spaces nonetheless. The games room, located near the bar and informal restaurant, is particularly enjoyable, with a billiard table, video games and several tables for board games — a lively space for families and groups, and somewhat disproportionately large compared to the rest of the common areas. During our stay I even found myself taking work calls tucked away in one corner, quietly hoping that all children were still at ski school — a small luxury that experience suggests rarely lasts beyond mid-afternoon.
Ultimately, Le Chabichou excels in service, skiing convenience and location, but offers limited comfort in its rooms and public areas. It is a hotel primarily for sleeping, skiing out in the morning, and heading out again in the evening — rather than lingering indoors.
For skiers who prioritize great slopes, impeccable service and easy access to Courchevel’s restaurants, it represents relative value in an otherwise very expensive resort. For the rest of us, even with the Swiss franc at record strength, the top hotels in places such as St. Moritz still offer a far more comfortable alpine base."
A Tripadvisor traveler review
Mar 14, 2026
