AIKOA: Regenerative Mountain Hideaway, Chamonix Lux Ecolodge, spa, pool, sauna

Having lived on and off for 25 years in this part of the Chamonix valley, when the opportunity came to build our dream chalet, we jumped at the chance. Chalet Aïkoa is the summum of all our wishes for life in the mountains - along with the ocean, our great passion. We (Anne-Cecile and Mark) are ski lovers, mountain fanatics and sailors - and we have both worked out entire lives in the sports business, running our own businesses and working for sporting events all over the world. We have two children (6 and 13), and have equally kept that in mind when designing Aïkoa as a place for adults, and for children and teenagers to keep them happy!

Its difficult to explain just how great a location this is - the most sun in the valley, the best views, and high enough to still have a proper winter with snow on the ground for 4 or more months. We built Aïkoa for us - not to run as a business - but the project went beyond our original plans and now we must share our dream home with others to pay for it! The hamlet of Les Frasserands is where we have been since 1998...its peaceful and quiet, yet close to everything that this famous valley has to offer. Our core objective has been to build the most sustainable in ecological terms, yet offer a premium product with spa facilities. We have invested way more than any engineer would suggest is reasonable in solar power and geothermal - to the point we are close to autonomous in heat energy terms (still waiting for the photo-voltaic planning permission though). We made lots of choices (like organic paint, bio-cotton sheets, curtains from fashion offcuts, rope from recycled PET bottles etc) that cost us more, but make Aïkoa one of the best options you could make in terms of minimising impact.