Luxury ski chalets: The Chic Chalet Guide to Hidden Dragon, Veysonnaz, 4 Vallées, Switzerland. Full independent review.

Hidden Dragon
Veysonnaz
Sleeps - 12 (can go up to 18)

From £24,500 exclusive chalet per week

Mountain temple to tranquility
tucked high up in the 4 Vallées

usp
Hidden Dragon is the lifelong dream of a delightful brother and sister team who are half Japanese. It is a creation that oozes meticulous attention to detail, Oriental style, and feng-shui tranquility. This is a truly special place, to replenish and relax the mind as well as the body, and is perfectly located for some world-beating, traffic-free skiing.

location
The chalet is properly ski-in ski-out, located high up in Veysonnaz, in the 4 Vallées, and looking out across to the Haut de Cry peak on the other side of the valley. It is super-discreet, ‘hidden’ away at the top of a long lane that winds its way through a pine and fir forest. You go through some anonymous wooden double gates and then the chalet reveals itself to you. Veysonnaz is the perfect back-door resort for Verbier and the 4 Vallées, too, giving you full access to this immense ski area but also offering some fabulous skiing itself. Locals and fans of the area shake their heads in disbelief that folk still frequent Verbier when there are the pretty, tree-lined, empty slopes of Veysonnaz to ski in.

style
Infinitely tasteful and sleek Asian in feel. There are some beautiful pieces, sourced from London and around the world, such as huge sofas and throws, Italian art, giant vintage chests, an antique piano and stylish retro Rocket chairs, plus there are subtle Asian twists throughout. The chalet is all inspired by nature and is a celebration of nature – there are lots of organic materials used all over such as wood, stone, shell, bamboo, cord, eelskin, hide and leather. It has a beautifully calm, uncluttered feel to it, and lots of pleasing, feng-shui’d symmetry and carefully placed mirrors. ^

rooms
There are two master suites, one with a huge bathroom area, one with the best views, looking north across to the Haut de Cry. All the rooms apart from one have balconies, and all are charmingly named after celestial auspicious animals such as Snow Lion and Black Turtle. The colour schemes correspond to the feng-shui colour that is relevant to the room (eg black for the north-facing, red for those facing south). There are other lovely Asian touches too – we had a Buddha in our room, and a sachet of lavender sewn into a bag made from kimono silk in the wardrobe. The door key, too, had an omamori key fob made of kimono silk (the owners’ grandmother traded in kimono silk), the dressing gowns were made of silk rather than towelling – and there was even an origami fold to the bottom of the loo roll. ^

food & drink
Hidden Dragon wants to be a gastro destination. The valley it is located in is famous for fruit, wine, and the race d’Hérens cow which yields exquisite, melt-in-the-mouth meat. Given the fact that there is this natural kitchen on its doorstep, the chalet uses produce that is sourced as locally as possible. John the super-enthusiastic, immensely talented chef also makes a lot of his own stuff, such as the jams at breakfast – he pickles, preserves and even plans to butcher a cow himself. As for the dishes, Hidden Dragon aims to return people back home to England feeling re-energised, refreshed, healthier – but not fatter. Hence there are not great troughs of calorific fodder each night, rather much lighter meals that might be Asian-inspired with clean flavours, fused with French cooking techniques. That said, John can do you fried chicken or knock up a mean tartiflette should you so wish, or delicious pop corn ice cream to tuck into while watching a movie. All food requirements are discussed with you before your stay.

The house wine is all local, too, and there is an open, abundant spirits bar, stocking slightly unusual brands. Fine wine-loving guests can also upgrade if they wish – there is an impressive cellar in the chalet basement, stocked with fantastic Bordeaux and Burgundies and all the big guns in various sizes, such as Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Yquem. ^

service
Many of the staff at Hidden Dragon have been poached from Descent International, as was, and they are professionals. They will do everything, from bring you tea in bed in the morning to unpack your bags for you. Attentiveness is 100%, eagerness to please 150%, and yet they manage to be friendly and less stuffed-shirty than Descent required. The staff, in fact, were a genuine high point of our stay. ^

spa facilities
True to its desire to be a hideaway retreat, the spa facilities at Hidden Dragon are fabulous. There is a private treatment room, a hammam, an outdoor sauna and whirl pool in a separate hut, a yoga deck and a meditation stretching room inside. There is also a wonderful rain shower and all kinds of massages, beauty and body treatments are on offer from the full-time dedicated therapist. Hidden Dragon is both a lodge and spa, hence the emphasis on all these facilities. ^

children
The chalet feels rather too adult and tranquil to have little ones running around it, but it is perfectly set up for them. The bedrooms are all big enough to take a cot, the chalet can organise high chairs and all nature of baby paraphernalia, from sterilisers and nappies, to save transporting them from the UK. Nannies can also be flown out from the UK for the week, at far less cost than hiring them on site in Switzerland. Crucially, though, there is space for the ultra-busy CEO to bring his family and still have nooks to escape to. ^

extras
Hidden Dragon has every form of office facility in the den, a cosy hideaway corner tucked up in the eaves on the first floor. There is also a funky, stylish ‘gentleman’s club’ ski room – instead of the usual smelly basement ski room, it is on the top floor and is decked out with gorgeous, battered leather armchairs, a Union Jack leather ottoman, drinks cabinet and TV – complete with Wii. Inspirational skiing and snowboarding DVDs play in the mornings to fire you up as you head off to the slopes. There is a luxury cinema too, with a 1000 DVDs and raked sofas to maintain the homely living room feel rather than replicate a home cinema effect. ^

for skiers
The chalet works with the local ski school, and an instructor comes up on arrival day to discuss ski needs with guests. A local shop does in-house ski fitting too, and the instructor will pick guests up at the chalet and bring them back into the boot room at the end of the day. ^

for non skiers
There is plenty for the non-skier. There are heli leisure tours from the nearby heli-pad (guests can have a champagne picnic at the bottom of the Matterhorn, for instance), dog sledding, snow-shoeing and great shopping in Lausanne or Crans-Montana (each around 45 minutes away). ^

best thing
Just about everything. The tranquil mountain vibe and the food, in particular. ^

worst thing
The rather dim lighting in the bedrooms – tricky for digging things out of drawers or for men to shave by in the bathroom areas. ^

getting there
Sion is just 15 minutes away, Geneva is 1hr 30 mins, and both Zurich and Milan are 2hrs 30 mins. All transfers are extra. ^

bottom line
The chalet costs from £24,000 per week, working out at a starting from price of £2000 pp per week based on a full chalet with 12 guests staying. The price includes food and drink, and the chalet can only be booked on an exclusive basis. ^

bookings & enquiries
If you would like to make an enquiry or a booking, please email enquiries at chicchaletguide.co.uk. Remember, we have visited all the chalets we feature so can give you totally unbiased, independent advice on all of them. The prices we quote are also the list prices quoted by the chalets themselves, so there is no advantage in going to the chalets direct.

Scores out
of ten

Chalet - 10
Service - 10
Room - 9
Food & Drink - 9
Luxury - 9

Chic Chalet Guide tip

Book the best restaurant in Switzerland, the three Michelin-starred Hotel Terminus in Sierre, run by Didier de Courten, for chef’s night off – an unmissable three-hour gastronomic event.

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