Club Med launches luxury chalet and apartment development in ski-ing resort of Valmorel
Global holiday business Club Med has launched its first ever luxury chalet and apartment development in the ski-ing resort of Valmorel, France.
The company, which was founded with the aim of offering all inclusive holiday packages based on the values of friendliness, happiness and nature, has decided to build luxury villas and apartments and sell them to property investors who can tap into the same kind of values that holiday makers had enjoyed for half a century.
Club Med Villas and Chalets offers a number of financial and tax benefits for real estate investors who can choose between freehold or leaseback purchase.
If they choose the leaseback option their property is managed by Club Med and owners have three weeks dedicated use every year. Owners put their property into a managed rental pool with a yield of 3.6% for 60% occupancy, higher if occupancy rates are higher.
Owners can also use all the facilities at the newly opened Club Med Village in Valmorel which includes restaurants, bars, swimming pools, a spa, ski-ing in winter and entertainment for children and adults.
On top of this leaseback owners can exchange vacation weeks at no costs for other Club Med resorts around the world and have exclusive benefits such as an At Home Butler service and the use of an owners only Club Lounge.
According to Sylvie Ernoult, head of sales and marketing, the benefits add up to almost €50,000 for a family of four. It also means that owners can choose to spend their time in their own homes, or take part in the bustle of the other facilities if they wish to do so.
The first phase of the project is now complete with a total of 27 chalet apartments overlooking the valley, all of which are fully furnished and come with a choice of interior decoration. Each property has its own entrance directly onto the slopes, a private terrace, log fires, private ski lockers, high tech equipment and WiFi.
The company had created a dedicated team to work closely with local and departmental authorities which resulted not only in planning permission being granted in a region of France were authorities are notoriously reluctant to give the go ahead for new buildings, but in a new road being built to the development and a new ski lift to give the village ski in, ski out facilities and to cope with the extra thousands that will be using the slopes every winter.
The team also ensured that the design was sympathetic with the surrounding buildings and built in traditional Savoyard style with local materials and using local workforces.
Phase One of the chalets and apartment project started in May 2011 and the first keys were handed over to owners in December, just seven months later. It is hoped that Phase Two will be ready for December 2012 and if all goes well Phase Three and Phase Four could be ready in 2014.
Valmorel has access to 150 kilometers of slopes in the winter for all levels and is an all year round Alpine resort with fishing, golf, riding, cycling and swimming facilities.