My stay in a five-star hotel in the ski resort rated the 'best in the world'. Here's what it's like - and my score
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With its panoramic window with resort and mountain views, mezzanine double bed and standalone bathtub, there is something almost cinematic about our quarters in the five-star Scandi-chic Altapura hotel in Val Thorens. Certainly, there is enough acreage in the living room area for a film crew (see video).
![[Pictured above is the hotel's inside-outside pool, which is part of a 'magnetic' spa complex]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/14/93425679-13461173-Pictured_above_is_the_hotel_s_inside_outside_pool_which_is_part_-a-33_1734962769596.jpg)
So it is a big tick for the bedroom. And big ticks for just about everything else at the hotel. The property occupies a prime slice of ski-in, ski-out real estate at the 2,300m- (7,545ft) high resort - Europe's loftiest and declared the world's best ski resort nine times, including for 2024/2025 - and is something of a mini wonderland, a feeling helped by the actual tree trunks soaring from the ground to the ceiling by the ground-floor lifts.
![[The outside section of the hotel's pool, which is great fun for young and old alike]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/14/93425675-13461173-The_outside_section_of_the_hotel_s_slopeside_pool_which_is_great-a-34_1734962773662.jpg)
Then there's the beautiful lounge, liberally festooned with comfy 70s-style chairs and sofas – and punctuated by an enticing circular bar – for post-piste limb restoration and the exchange of mountain-themed tales of derring-do. The spa is also magnetic, drawing in guests with its stunning inside-outside pool and ice-filled igloo room.
![[Altapura occupies a prime slice of ski-in, ski-out real estate at Val Thorens, declared the world's best ski resort nine times]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/14/93425671-13461173-Altapura_occupies_a_prime_slice_of_ski_in_ski_out_real_estate_at-a-35_1734962777793.jpg)
For my daughter, this part of the hotel is possibly the property highlight, even trumping the kids club. Ted Thornhill checks in to five-star hotel Altapura in Val Thorens, France. Pictured above is the hotel's inside-outside pool, which is part of a 'magnetic' spa complex.
![[The hotel's enticing circular bar, 'for post-piste limb restoration and the exchange of mountain-themed tales of derring-do']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/14/93425667-13461173-The_hotel_s_enticing_circular_bar_for_post_piste_limb_restoratio-a-36_1734962783275.jpg)
The outside section of the hotel's pool, which is great fun for young and old alike. The dining options, meanwhile, are stellar. There's swish Italian Casa Alta and a brilliant Alpine-themed eaterie, La Laiterie – the hotel's nerve centre for raclettes and fondues.
![[The 'beautiful lounge is liberally festooned with comfy 70s-style chairs and sofas']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/23/14/93425661-13461173-The_beautiful_lounge_is_liberally_festooned_with_comfy_70s_style-a-37_1734962788377.jpg)
