The M De Megève lodge within the French Alpine city is likely one of the fanciest accommodations you might hope to go to
Milo visited the M De Megeve (Picture: Milo Boyd)
White Lotus is returning for a fourth season, this time to the Château de La Messardière – a literal palace-turned-hotel that sits on 32 lush acres of jasmine, cypress bushes and parasol pines in France’s Saint-Tropez.
Whereas there is no such thing as a doubt that the present will proceed to dazzle, thrill and shock on the Mediterranean, the present’s genius creator Mike White has missed a chance. There’s a resort 300km to the north that gives a far richer tapestry of the historic glamour and new cash intrigue that’s foundational to the HBO smash, whereas additionally offering an excuse to drop a yodelling theme tune. That place is Megève and the particular lodge, the M De Megève.
The small ski resort is tucked 1,400 metres up the French Alps, within the shadow of Mont Blanc. Though the village of three,000 may be much less well-known than Tignes or Val d’Isère, it’s beloved by the mega-rich and French aristocracy. Actually, Megève’s very monied roots date again to the late 1910s when Noémie de Rothschild – uninterested in bumping into German arms sellers in Switzerland’s Saint Moritz – determined to place the tiny and rural settlement on the map.
Within the 100 years since dozens of ski lifts have popped up throughout 400 km of interconnected pistes; a number of Michelin-starred cooks have settled into Alpine life there; and high-end accommodations rivaling these proven off in White Lotus have welcomed within the world elite.
The lodge sits within the coronary heart of the French village (Picture: M De Megeve )
This January, I snuck in alongside the worldwide nice and good for a weekend at M De Megève, a 5-star joint that could be a member of the distinguished Small Luxurious Inns of the World membership. It’s a really spellbinding place.
Upon getting into, a bellboy whisks your luggage away and a drink is offered as you’re led to the roaring hearth within the entrance corridor. A welcome mixture after using from London on Eurostar’s Snowtrain, regardless of the sleek and nice nature of the journey. Drink downed and baggage hauled upstairs, it’s time to start out exploring.
The M De Megève is made up of 42 rooms centred round an extended reception space that breaks out right into a bar space by the door, a bistro on the again and a fondue restaurant to the aspect. Cheerful employees, a lot of whom spend their winters working within the Alps earlier than returning to Cannes or Marseille for the summer season season, are readily available to help, chat or just smile hey.
Within the cosy Grand Crus de Fondue, they’re prepared to supply some extra particular recommendation. “How do you want your cheese,” the lodge’s sommelier-like Cheese Chef requested my companion and I, earlier than rustling up a pot of effervescent, gut-bustingly sturdy fondue that almost knocked us on the market on the desk. Who is aware of what would’ve occurred if we’d opted for the Champagne or pear cider base, moderately than wimping out with a traditional white wine combine.
Equally scrumptious and extra typical fare is served on the bistro, the place we gorged on phenomenal dishes of French onion soup, mushroom risotto and sea bream, washed down with a glass or two of Pommery Champagne. M De Megève has a particular relationship with the Reims château, because it does with Clarins. Company are plied with free face lotions and balms from the upmarket French skincare model, and lathered with its entire vary down within the spa. I actually marvel if my masseuse, who had me floating on clouds and glued a weeks-long spell of dangerous pores and skin, was performing wizardry.
The magic continued within the wood alpine lodge-style rooms, the place curtains are operated by a bedside button and the bathrooms are enjoyably interactive. “Our Asian and Center Japanese friends insist on it,” a member of employees advised me.
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Milo Boyd takes a ski journey to the ski resort of Megeve
The lodge attracts some critically fancy friends (Picture: M De Megeve )
White Lotus producer David Bernad not too long ago squashed hopes of a ski season when he claimed “Mike doesn’t just like the chilly”. Fortunately for him, the M De Megève’s sauna, hammam and scorching tub are a lot steamy sufficient to heat his joints and, in fact, ship sufficient ‘actors in swimsuits’ display screen time to maintain the followers completely happy.
However it’s in a distinct form of swimsuit that Megève’s friends are at their finest. Head out onto the cobbles of the village and also you’ll discover high-fashion manufacturers galore. We’re speaking Dior, Hermès, Rolex. We’re speaking a mean month’s wage to deck out every of the piste poseurs in a white ski-suit, label of alternative encrusted in diamanté on the again.
“Megève is a spot to be seen,” a Canadian inheritor defined within the queue for a drag elevate. And he’s proper. What’s so intriguing concerning the lodge is that, regardless of sitting simply 100m from the Chamois lifts, many friends don’t ski. As an alternative, they arrive to buy, to parade by the village on horse-drawn carriages, and to telecabin up in platform Uggs to a hillside grill flogging £200 steaks and £9 bottles of Evian.
I like snowboarding. For the unrivalled bodily thrills it delivers on days full of snow-crisp pleasure and breathtaking views. And for the prospect to peek into a distinct world. A world of Brits discussing in the event that they’d get away with expensing a €5,000 membership desk whereas digging into the aforementioned steak; of an Alpine village that performed host to Emily in Paris; of sharing ski lifts with trilingual households leaping between Italian, French and English. It’s a world of glamour and intrigue, merely screaming out to be White Lotused.
E book it
Rooms may be booked at en.mdemegeve.com from £479.
Eurostar Snow prepare tickets for the 2025/26 season begin at £99 every means (£198 return) in Normal class, working weekly from Dec 20, 2025, to Apr 5, 2026, from London St Pancras to the French Alps through Lille. Go to eurostar.com/uk-en/prepare/ski-train.
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