Hôtel Carlina is a Les Etincelles property in Courchevel
TRENDING
French brand emerges
FOR HIGHEST ALTITUDES
GROWING LES ETINCELLES HAS DRY POWDER TO EXPAND SNOW-SURE RESORT COLLECTIONS , PREDOMINANTLY IN THE FRENCH ALPS .
By JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
Les Etincelles is the new and growing brand name for Guerlain Chicherit ’ s and Nicolas Chatillon ’ s high-altitude , snow-sure resort and residence portfolio that recently raised a fighting fund to purchase more properties in the French Alps . The company has already invested € 380 million in properties and has another € 200 million to invest .
With a collection of more than 35 hotels , chalets and residences , many ski in-ski out less than 200 meters from the slopes , Les Etincelles launched in September 2021 , but its roots extend back to 2013 when one of the founders , Chicherit ( who hails from Tignes and was four times the World Champion Freerider in the late ‘ 90s and ‘ 00s ) built Chalet Quezac in Tignes Les Brévières . More chalets followed leading to the creation of Carte Blanche , a chalet management company . Expected turnover for the winter 2022-2023 season is estimated at € 60 million . Chatillon , today ’ s CEO , joined forces with Guerlain in early 2018 , helping to expand Carte Blanche , before the birth of Les Etincelles , an umbrella company overseeing the management of all the hotels , chalets and residences owned by Whitegold Hospitality , which is the investment and construction arm of the business .
Les Etincelles already incorporates 10 hotels , 15 chalets , 12 restaurants and seven residences in three resorts : Tignes , Le Plagne and Val d ’ Isère . Some of the hotels , such as the new festive brand VoulezVous ( think karaoke , aperitivo , and live concerts ), which launched in Tignes le Lac in December 2021 , and Tetras Lodge , which opened in Tignes Les Brévières in February 2022 , are new builds . Others , including Le Levanna in Tignes le Lac , have already been extensively renovated and the rest are marked for refurbishment in the near future .
Etincelles has acquired the Club Hotel , a hotel residence in Tignes and the McKinley hotel in La Rosière . It is also building a hotel in La Plagne ( 94 rooms and suites ); in
26 hotelsmag . com Nov / Dec 2022