Chalet & SPA Les Cerises

The history of Chalet & Spa Les Cerises

How did you become the owners of Chalet Les Cerises?

Laurent : I love this question; it's the beginning of our new life. Agnes usually answers it more briefly than I do, but I'll try to be concise...

Summer 2016. On the way back from vacation, we had booked a night in Cordon. Agnès knew that Brigitte Bardot had fallen under the spell of this little village in 1964. I never expected to be literally captivated by this magnificent view of Mont Blanc.

To extend our stay a little, I insisted that Agnes call her boss. Once… Twice… In the end, we stayed three more days. A small victory!

The following summer, we returned for a few days, but the weather wasn't great. Disappointed, we returned to Paris. But, a few days later—a Thursday—Agnès told me that the sun was going to shine in Haute-Savoie. Without hesitation, we decided to return to Cordon for the weekend, and take the opportunity to visit one or two properties. I should point out that we had never intended to have a second home, it was just curiosity. Of course, it turned out very differently. The location was so exceptional that even before entering the Chalet Les Cerises, we had decided to make an offer to purchase.

Agnès : To sum up, between the time we had considered visiting a chalet and the time we signed, less than 48 hours passed. We had no savings and we also had to borrow the notary fees. And, I still don't know how it could have happened, but the bank followed us, we even had a loan offer signed before the compromise. The notary told us that he had never seen that before!

Have you done any work to improve the Chalet?

Agnès : Oh yes, far too much! When we took possession of the chalet, it was in its original state: varnished paneling from floor to ceiling, green and pink carpets... A real time machine going back to 1970.

Laurent : I had the feeling that I was going to run into Jean-Claude Dusse [from Les Bronzés] at any moment in his yellow and white ski suit.

Agnès : Between rental seasons and inter-seasons of hard work, the renovation took place over 8 long years. We put everything we had into this work... And especially everything we didn't have. But the current result is far beyond our expectations. You can't imagine the pleasure we feel in showing this gem to our tenants! Laurent loves his new job as a "renter of weeks of happiness."

What is the spirit of the place?

Laurent : "I have the simplest tastes in the world, I am content with the best" or "perfection is made of details, but perfection is not a detail" I hope I have not paraphrased Oscar Wilde and Leonardo da Vinci too much.

Agnès : We wanted a warm and elegant chalet, where you feel at home. Not a static museum, nor a rustic chalet. We avoided anything flashy or offbeat "arty." We chose noble, patinated materials and timeless design pieces. Understated luxury, without ostentation or compromise.

But what makes Les Cerises truly unique is its wellness : a private spa with sauna, two hammams, a massage salon, a yoga shala... and a network of practitioners to take care of our guests.