Enlarge Photo

photo: Courtesy Le Cheval Blanc

From the Midwinter 2010 issue...

There's only one area in which French hospitality has lagged behind the rest of the world's: the ranking system, which until this year reached only four stars, rather than the global standard of five. Of the first 11 hotels that were awarded the new highest designation, six* (including Le Cheval Blanc, pictured) were in Courchevel – more, on first run, than in Paris. Probably because Paris doesn't contain a single ski-in/ski-out property.

* The hotels now rated as five-stars are L'Annapurna, Les Aurelles, Le Cheval Blanc, Le Kilimajaro, Le Lana, and Le Melezin. Paris has, of late, raised its total to eight five-stars, but several Courcheval properties are still in the application process.