The Lodge — Hotel in Val de Bagnes

To put it succinctly, The Lodge offered the best and most accommodating hotel experience of my life. Everything about the visit was perfectly tailored, the rooms were extremely comfortable, I cannot imagine a more convenient or seamless way to access incredible skiing, and the staff could not have been more welcoming or proactive. Below are many more details, and I can't wait to return.||Planning the Trip: Dee, the concierge, provided an extremely warm welcome when coordinating details ahead of arrival. She made sure that ski rentals and guides were no problem, which included tracking down a fairly niche pair of skis for my friend and finding the perfect off-piste guide (who was safety conscious, taught us about avalanche rescue, and took us to some incredible parts of Verbier). Her emails promised that "we must ensure that you celebrate in style" -- and the Lodge stayed true to her words! Similarly, I was traveling with a friend. Before booking, I emailed to confirm that we could have a room where the beds could be twinned. | Not only did they respond that that specific question, but they sent back several photos of different room options -- proactively noting that some of the bedrooms had a door to the bathroom while others had a privacy curtain, and helping us pick the perfect one.||Arrival: Arrival was seamless. We took the gondola from Le Châble, called The Lodge when we boarded, and a car was waiting as soon as we stepped out. One small piece of advice: we each had a boot bag, roller board, and backpack. This was fine, but a little tight, to each ride in our own gondola. With more luggage, hiring a car from Le Châble might be easier. When we actually arrived at The Lodge, we were given a tour. Even though the hot tub had been closed for the evening, they offered to open it for us. Since we expected to arrive after a full ski/travel day and after dinner started, they offered us a choice of dinner with the other guests, in our rooms, or downstairs in the TV room; we requested downstairs to watch a football match. After some quick showers, we went downstairs and the TV room had been set up beautifully - delicious bread, fresh champagne and wine, nice place settings, and a great dinner.||The Room: We stayed in a beautifully-appointed Large Bedroom. The bedroom had thoughtful amenities (e.g. roll-on sunblock for lips and face), a large and comfortable couch, and a giant balcony accessible from 2 doors; the balcony boasted stunning views of Verbier -- especially when it was snowing! The beds were heavenly and the towels so comfortable that I took a photo of the brand to buy at home. Every night at turndown, new "treats" were put in the room -- over 4 nights, a giant Toblerone, water bottles, candles, and local Verbier chocolates. Every time we left the room, it felt like housekeeping noticed and slipped in to exchange water, freshen up, and even fold any clothing we had left out. Laundry was also complimentary. One minor note: the room ran a bit warm, even with the heating turned to the lowest setting. As soon as we mentioned this, Dee found an extra Dyson cooling fan and we started propping open the balcony at night (which worked perfectly!).||The Property: As reviews constantly mention, staying at The Lodge feels like staying with your most generous friend and using their house however you want. The main "living room" area on the first floor is spacious, with a large fireplace, beautifully set dining table, bar, games, and reading corner. The basement has a large TV, pool / ping pong table, another bar, and pool/hot tub/steam room. Outside there's a giant hot tub and a small cold plunge area. Of particular note: The hotel's dog loves to play fetch. Sitting in the hot tub while it's snowing, having a glass of champagne and warm chocolate chip cookies, and playing fetch with an adorable and tireless dog is bliss. The hotel is about a 5-10 minute walk from town and the ski lifts, but the hotel has two vans and will also always drive you to/from town and the lifts.||The Food and Drinks: The Lodge has 4 or 5 chefs, constantly providing delicious food for guests. Breakfast is great: a small selection of fresh juices, granola, cereal, pastries, and meats and cheeses (great if you're trying to get out the door quickly) + a large menu of cooked-to-order specialties. Dinner is a three-course affair after canapes. While there is only one option per course, you see the menu at breakfast and can easily make changes. For instance, my friend was a bit of a picky eater, and we subbed chicken breast for the protein most nights. As usual, service was proactive: one night we mentioned not wanting the appetizer, and since we didn't see an easy substitution we asked to skip it; The Lodge kept suggesting more involved substitutions to find one that worked! There's a choice of 24 complimentary wines, including Beaumont des Crayeres champagne. The bar is full of top-shelf liquor (Monkey gin, Grey Goose vodka, three types of Casamigos, Laphroaig 10 and Lagavulin 16, etc). The hotel will make you anything you want, and the downstairs bar is completely open to make yourself anything too.||The Skiing: Incredible skiing is seamless at The Lodge. They coordinate ski rentals and passes ahead of arrivals, and will drive you to/from the lift (it's also possible to ski back to The Lodge at certain points of the season, but not while we were there). There's a great boot room with boot heaters and there are baskets of hand/toe warmers, chips, granola bars, sunblock, etc to take with you while skiing. Verbier has stunning skiing, including well-groomed trails and amazing off-piste skiing. Our guide (Ben Proudlove) knew exactly where to take us. When Ben noted we would need avalanche backpacks for the skiing we wanted to do, the hotel simply drove by the rental store en route to skiing and ran in to grab them for us while we waited in the car; when we got back, The Lodge first brought us back to the hotel and then returned them for us.||The Other Guests: While we were at The Lodge, several other guests rotated in and out. They were a mix, including families, retirees, and young couples. All were fun, warm, and welcoming. It's easy to mingle (at canapes, dinner, in the hot tub, etc). It's also easy to be a bit more solo (skipping the group dinners or taking advantage of the giant property).||Flexibility and Service: Everything about The Lodge is tailored. When we wanted to go out to the Farinet bar to see a band from 6:30-9pm, The Lodge planned an early 5:30pm dinner; before leaving, they suggested we take a shot; while driving, they suggested several other places to go after 9pm. We asked when the latest we could call for a pickup from the town, and they say "any time you want." When we were hungry late at night, snacks and a ham and cheese toasty appeared. On our last night, I asked about a gift shop and mentioned liking the blue rubber duckies around the hotel; when I got back to my room, 2 extra rubber duckies were waiting!||Overall, my only disappointment was having to leave! We stayed as hotel guests, and I can only imagine the fun and warmth of getting to use The Lodge as an exclusive rental (where, it sounds like, the staff do even more tailoring, and can plan menus in advance from multi-course delicious meals to curry and Nobu sushi nights!). If you have a chance to visit,...

I booked a stay with my family (which includes four young kids) and our babysitter. It was during one of the weeks where you can book one or two rooms at the Lodge (without booking the entire thing). It was a huge undertaking (flying to Switzerland from the U.S.). A few weeks before my stay (after I had made all arrangements and booked flights, taken time off work, paid a large deposit, etc.), The Lodge contacted me to let me know that they were canceling my stay, because there was a group that wanted to reserve the entire Lodge for 10 days - "This was a tough business decision, and we apologize". They offered to put me up in a hotel (that frankly looked mediocre in comparison) instead. Obviously I canceled the vacation. To be fair to The Lodge, they refunded the deposit, and a few thousand dollars in flights that I had paid (which obviously was a very tiny fraction of the new revenue they were now receiving from the new party).|Although I understand their predicament, it is important I post here, so that any of you that think you are reserving a room or two rooms (during the weeks they take individual room bookings) know that (in my experience) THIS IS NOT RELIABLE - if they receive a better offer, there is a clear precedent here that they will cancel your reservation - (and you will find that all the other vacations you were thinking of taking are probably now sold out!!!!).|So my advice - don't book The Lodge unless you want to reserve the whole thing - a reservation (even with deposit) is not really a reservation - it is a placeholder - per my experience, the rug can be pulled out from under you. Basically it is more akin to an Airbnb reservation (where the owner can just cancel if they want) than a legitimate hotel reservation - in my experience. I have read the service is great (I had actually hoped to book the entire lodge for a 40th birthday party if this trip had gone well) - so to be clear this is not a comment on the experience. Despite this I would not return (and obviously will be reserving a different chalet for 40th birthday), simply because my view is this is an unethical way to treat customers (presumably increasing the probability of other mistreatments...

📍 Swiss Alps, Verbier ❄️

🏠The Lodge is just a five-minute walk from the town of Verbier, and only 250m from the main lift station. The chalet is 1,200m2 in total split over five floors all connected by an elevator. With nine spacious, beautifully designed bedrooms including two Master Suites, The Lodge can accommodate up to 18 guests plus an additional six children in the specially designed Bunkroom. During the winter months, The Lodge is hired on an exclusive use basis for a minimum 7-night stay. You can take individual rooms during the winter if the property hasn’t been booked within six weeks prior to arrival. ⛷

During the summer season, The Lodge is turned into a beautiful boutique hotel where guests can book individual rooms throughout the season. Rates are per room per night with the option to take exclusive hire of The Lodge. It’s perfect for spending time with family and friends. The nearest international airport is in Geneva, about a two-hour drive from The Lodge. Private planes are able to land at Sion Airport which is only 45 minutes by car from the chalet. Zurich airport is about a 3-hour drive to The Lodge. We can arrange helicopter
transfers on request from Geneva, Zurich and Sion Airports. You can also take the train directly from Geneva Airport to Martigny, a town about a 30-minute drive from The Lodge or onward to Le Châble, which is a 15-minute...