It's a chalet-style duplex with ski-in/ski-out access, featuring a vaulted living room and a south-facing terrace overlooking the slopes of Méribel, in the French Alps. In this luxurious 265-square-meter apartment, visitors stroll from the open-plan kitchen to the five bedrooms with as many bathrooms, passing by the sauna, TV lounge and children's room, where each bunk bed has its own screen built into the wall. On the first floor, residents have access to a 25-meter-long swimming pool and a spa with a cryotherapy lounge.

There's a valet service, a butler, a private store for equipment rental, masseuses, beauticians and nannies available. In the ski room, staff help you put on your boots, which are kept in heated lockers. "We can also arrange for breakfasts to be delivered and chefs to be brought in to prepare meals," said Albane Tourlière from the Vallat real estate group.

Welcome to Antarès, a complex with 55 luxury apartments, built by Vallat on the site of a former Club Med resort. To rent the 265-square-meter duplex, you'll need to pay €20,000 a week this winter. Other apartments are slightly smaller, with an average rate of €17,000 per week, said Joffray Vallat, head of the group of the same name and a Savoie native himself.

Far from being an exception, Antarès is emblematic of the new chalets and residences springing up in France's top ski resorts. This is particularly true of the "Big Five" (Val-d'Isère, Méribel and Courchevel in Savoie, Megève and Chamonix in Haute-Savoie) as well as in a few resorts that have been rapidly moving upmarket over the past two decades: Alpe-d'Huez in Isère and Tignes, La Rosière and Val-Thorens in Savoie.

Continued investment in ski areas

You have 83.72% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.