Le Hameau Albert 1er

About Le Hameau Albert 1er

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Le Hameau Albert 1er began in 1903 as Joseph and Lydie Carrier’s Pension du Chemin de Fer and is now run by the fifth generation, a Relais & Châteaux hamlet a stone’s throw from the centre of Chamonix. It has rooms and suites in the historic Albert 1er, Le Fenil and La Ferme, private chalets in the garden, Le Bachal spa with a heated indoor-outdoor pool, the Albert 1er restaurant, La Maison Carrier and the QuartzBar.

A family hamlet since 1903

Joseph and Lydie Carrier opened the Pension du Chemin de Fer in 1903. The next generation added heating after the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix and renamed the hotel in tribute to King Albert I of Belgium, a keen mountaineer who often came to the valley. In 1997 Pierre and Martine Carrier built three traditional farmhouses beside it, with the architect Bernard Ferrari, and Le Hameau was born; today Perrine Carrier, the fifth generation, runs it.

Le Bachal

The spa takes its name from the Savoyard word for a stone or wooden water trough once used as a washhouse. It opens wide onto the garden and the Mont Blanc range, with a heated indoor-outdoor pool, a hot tub, a hammam, a sauna, a relaxation room, a herbal-tea room and, for the brave, an ice-cold shower. The three treatment rooms are designed like a boat’s cabins. The therapists, long-standing members of the team, use Anne Sémonin skincare and blend essential oils by season, with a deep-muscle Trailer massage, Kobido facials and treatments for expectant mothers. Treatments run daily from 10am to noon and 3pm to 8pm, and the pool and hot tub are for hotel guests only. A fitness room sits across the garden in the Albert 1er.

A deeply personal approach to mountain living, in the house’s own words.

Rooms, suites and chalets

The historic Albert 1er has 21 rooms and suites, where furniture by leading designers sits beside antique Alpine pieces and folk art from the family’s collections; the finest have a fireplace and a balcony facing Mont Blanc. La Ferme holds suites in original wood panelling, with private balconies or gardens framing the range; Le Fenil adds contemporary suites, one with a fireplace, a balneotherapy bath and a private hammam. In the garden, private chalets offer a house of your own.

Eating and drinking

The Albert 1er restaurant is led by chef Damien Leveau, self-taught and seasonal, inspired by the kitchen garden and local producers, in a grey-blue dining room with polished steel screens; it serves dinner from 7.15pm, closed Wednesdays and Thursdays. The cellar holds 19,000 bottles and more than 1,000 references. La Maison Carrier, in a rebuilt farmhouse, serves Savoyard family recipes, from fondue to farçon, with a carousel of grandmother’s tarts; it opens Wednesday to Sunday. The QuartzBar, with a bar of rock crystal designed by Bernard Ferrari, pours Alpine wines, Chartreuse and custom cocktails, with live music.

Our advice: book a room with a fireplace and a Mont Blanc balcony, swim out into the garden pool at dusk, and divide your evenings between the Albert 1er and La Maison Carrier.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Le Hameau Albert 1er before you go.