Le K2 Palace – a Himalayan hamlet above the Cospillot piste

Le K2 Palace climbs the Cospillot piste in Courchevel 1850 like a hamlet of wood and stone, its chalets knitted together by underground passages beneath the snow and facing the Alps across the valley. It opened in December 2011, the creation of investors Philippe Capezzone and Jean Moueix, heir to the Pétrus wine estate, and it went on to earn France's rare "palace" distinction in July 2014 before joining The Leading Hotels of the World in 2017. Tibetan motifs, chosen to evoke the Himalayan peak that gives the hotel its name, run through the building's public rooms and its private chalets alike. The MICHELIN Guide gives it Three Keys, its highest distinction for hotels, recognising a property where ski-in, ski-out access, a cellar built around a family's own Bordeaux estate, and a hamlet-like layout of 29 rooms and suites, Suite-Chalets and chalets combine into something more private than a conventional hotel floor plan allows.

01The house

Le K2 Palace was built as part of a family project: Philippe and Suzanne Capezzone had put up their first chalet in Courchevel nearly twenty years before the Palace itself opened, and that instinct for building rather than simply operating hotels shaped everything that followed. The hotel opened its doors in December 2011, developed by Philippe Capezzone together with Jean Moueix, heir to the Pétrus wine estate in Pomerol, giving the property an unusually serious cellar from the outset.

The interior concept, inspired by the Himalayan peak K2 itself, was developed by the design agency O.Gossart across the Palace and its four chalets, a Tibetan-themed scheme spread over some 14,000 square metres of built space. The hotel earned the official French "palace" distinction in July 2014 and joined The Leading Hotels of the World consortium in 2017, cementing its place among Courchevel's small handful of five-star addresses on the Cospillot slope.

02Rooms and suites

The main hamlet holds 29 Rooms, including 3 Suites, arranged around the hotel's ski-in, ski-out core, with a further 6 Suites-Chalets and 4 private Chalets completing the property. This winter the Rooms and Suites reopen with an entirely new interior scheme by Capezzone Architecture, conceived as contemporary cocoons that blend comfort with Alpine materials rather than overt mountain cliché.

Insider tip

Steps from the Croisette, with a private ski lift onto Les Trois Vallées.

Among the Suites-Chalets, the long-standing K3 is joined by five newer units of around 300 square metres, each built around three bedrooms, including a master suite of roughly 70 square metres with its own steam room. The four free-standing Chalets go further still, with multiple bedrooms, private bathrooms, separate living and dining areas, fireplaces, home cinemas and, in some cases, private pools, backed by butler, chef and maid service for the guests staying in them.

03Where to eat

Dinner at Le K2 Palace runs across what the hotel calls three culinary worlds: the Peruvian restaurant L'Altiplano, the vegetal-leaning Le Sarkara concept, and Le Bottleneck, built around signature cheeses and fondues. L'Altiplano turns on ancestral Peruvian technique and Nikkei-inflected seasoning, served nightly with a live DJ set.

Le Bottleneck takes its name, and its theme, from mountaineering: a bottleneck is the narrow, dangerous passage climbers must cross near K2's summit, and the restaurant treats cooking as a similar act of discipline, built around braised meats, grilled vegetables and an exclusive selection of cheese fondues. Its wine list runs through Le K2 Collections' own cellar, including bottles of Pétrus drawn directly from the property's stock, a direct link to co-owner Jean Moueix's Pomerol estate.

04The bar

Le 8611, the hotel's lounge bar, and Le Winston Klub, its cigar and smoking room, give Le K2 Palace its after-dinner life, rooms built for the kind of quiet, fireside drinking that suits a hamlet rather than a conventional hotel lobby. Both sit within reach of the restaurants and the underground passageways that link the Palace to its Suite-Chalets and Chalets, so guests never need to step outside into the cold to move between them.

05Spa and wellbeing

The Goji by Nescens Spa anchors the hotel's wellness offer alongside a large indoor swimming pool facing the mountains, treatment and massage rooms, reflexology and colour therapy, all set within the hamlet's underground levels. A recently renovated Kids Klub, designed as a vibrant space for younger guests to play, create and discover, sits alongside it, reflecting a property built as much for families taking over a chalet as for couples booking a single suite.

06The neighbourhood

Le K2 Palace sits directly on the Cospillot piste in Courchevel 1850, the resort's most exclusive village, with its own ski lift facing the hotel giving access to Les Trois Vallées, the largest interlinked ski area in the world. The Croisette, Courchevel 1850's cluster of boutiques and restaurants, lies only a short walk from the hotel's door, close enough for an evening out without losing the privacy of the hamlet on the hillside above it.

07Making the most of a stay

Families travelling together should look at the Suite-Chalets or one of the four private Chalets rather than a standard room, given the scale of butler, chef and maid service built around them. Dinner at L'Altiplano runs nightly from 7.30pm to 10pm with live DJ music, while Le Bottleneck keeps shorter hours, open Monday to Saturday for dinner and closed on Sundays, so it is worth booking a table for both early in a stay rather than leaving the fondue night for the last evening.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.