Le Fitz Roy

A heated pool carved into the mountainside tends to set expectations correctly. Le Fitz Roy is a renovated Alpine hotel in Val Thorens sitting at the top of the European ski circuit, and it has the stone fireplaces, cowhide chairs, and wood-beamed duplex suites to match the altitude. The south-facing terrace fills at the first sign of sun, and the wood-paneled restaurant draws the kind of dinner crowd that has opinions about conditions on the north face.