48 Hours in Megève

1pm

I head back, delighted to curl up in a soft bergère armchair in front of the big open fire with a beautiful book I've just bought. Then I pop next door for lunch at Le Relais. In a warm, restful atmosphere of patinated blond wood, I savour a mountain croque and a to-die-for crème brûlée.

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3pm‍

I dash to the Pure Altitude spa. An almost polar softness envelops me instantly, like its white fur-clad walls. I choose the Beauté Glacée treatment, the Lift 4810 anti-ageing treatment – a nod to the summit of Mont Blanc – which combines a lifting facial massage with a body scrub and wrap… I switch off completely.

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5pm

I happily return to the hotel's cocooning lounges. Time to taste the homemade pastries the place is famous for: a mont blanc with a grand cru hot chocolate for some, a coffee éclair, lemon tartlet and signature tea for others.

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7pm

I sip a vintage champagne, a Dom Ruinart 2009, at the counter of Les Enfants Terribles Bar. The lounges, where artists' pieces and vintage finds mingle, are as lively as during the day. Outside, the horse-drawn carriages keep passing and the snowflakes keep dancing.

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8.30pm

Tonight, I decide to give in to the dish I had spotted at lunchtime: beef cheek braised for 8 hours in Mondeuse d'Arbin wine with creamy polenta. Knowing that a tour of Mont Blanc and its cheeses awaits me afterwards, followed by the simply irresistible dessert buffet.