François and Pascale Gauthier both come from industrial backgrounds – he used to work for an automotive plastic supplier in Dijon and she worked for Kodak in Chalon-sur-Saône – but they decided to change careers in 1994. They both enrolled in a business course at the Centre des Entrepreneurs d’EM Lyon, before taking over La Chemenaz, a hotel based in Les Contamines-Montjoie which has been open since 1977. Offering 38 bedrooms, including a 50 m² suite and with further plans to add another four suites in the next three years, a 200-cover restaurant serving quality food, outdoor swimming pool that is heated in the winter months, jacuzzi, sauna, two meeting rooms (the largest with capacity for 90 people) and two break-out rooms, the hotel is the ideal venue for business tourism in this beautiful Val Montjoie setting, one of the gateways to the Mont Blanc mountain range. As well as the stunning natural environment, La Chemenaz uses the impressive sporting opportunities on the doorstep to draw clients.

During the winter period, the property’s location proves to be on of its main advantages – it is just 50 m away from the Lay cable car. Clients can also make the most of other activities including dog sledding, escorted walks after dark, a visit to the ice waterfall at Notre-Dame de la Gorge or perhaps just some simple sledging…

In the summer there are 20 tennis courts nearby at the Club Patrice Dominguez where every July the Gaz de France Open is held. Other attractions include a lake that is heated by a natural lagoon, mini-golf, tree top adventure trail, climbing school with access to a 350 m cliff face, and numerous hiking trails, with the famous Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc passing right past the front door of La Chemenaz… Attracted by the famous Tour du Mont Blanc, there are on average about 250 walkers who pass through the area, which is close to the Col du Bonhomme section of the trail.

“For our seminar business, we encourage clients to push themselves,” confirms François Gauthier. “This might mean testing their limits alongside the Ultra Trailers or indulging in some risk taking with the famous extreme skier, Pierre Tardivel – options that seem to appeal to companies who would like to do some team building with their employees. Following on from the success of these ideas we’re now planning to further develop our seminar business, as are most of the other members of Hôtels Chalets de Tradition (HCT), a Franco-Italian network which boasts about 30 members”. The property is open from mid-December to the end of April and from the beginning of June to the end of September for regular tourists, but La Chemenaz can take corporate clients at any time during the year and is also able to offer exclusive use of the hotel if required. “At the moment we’re handling seven or eight seminars for on average a dozen participants each year, and one or two meetings for about 60 participants,” notes François Gauthier. “However, our aim is to find clients further afield than just companies from the Rhône-Alpes and Geneva regions”.

One of the other advantages offered by La Chemenaz, ideally situated just 15 minutes away from the SNCF station at Le Fayet, is the chance to set up joint packages with other hotels belonging to the HCT group especially if companies are wanting to build some hiking into their programme. Partnerships exist already with Le Calgary in Les Saisies, the Hermitage Paccard and Le Prieuré in Chamonix as well as the Hôtel des Grands Montets in Argentière…

Rates : 92 € per day and per person on half-board basis (double occupancy); 123 € (single occupancy), prices include room hire. Refreshment breaks cost between 5 and 10 €. La Chemenaz uses several partners to provide sporting activities, including Takamaka and the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix.