La Vallée Hotel & Spa

Lourtier and the Val des Bains were cut off by road when flash floods and landslides struck on 4th July and "Le passage est fermé pour une durée indéterminée", as the local press put it. This has had a catastrophic impact on the hotel and its owner, Jean-Marc. When we visited one month later in early August, the bridges and road were still impassable. Access was by foot only - a 2.8km hike on a gravel trail up and down a hill with 240m of vertical ascent from Champsec, where the road access stops, with barriers and bulldozers and piles of riverine debris and landslip material. This is not easy if you are carrying heavy bags or if you have wheelie bags or suitcases - you need a bring a rucksack with all your possessions, and you should expect a 50 minute walk from the parking to the hotel. Note that you cannot access on foot from Sarroyer, where the bridge was also destroyed, even though Google Maps makes this seem nearer and closer; you can only arrive from Champsec, where there is parking. It was a hot, tiring and most frustrating trek to reach the hotel, although Jean-Marc had sent a map by email. Leave anything extraneous or heavy in the car and check the weather - the walk is on a path through a forest up and down a hill, with shelter provided only by the trees. The hotel itself is a charming old building with a spa and jacuzzi in the basement with massages available for 120 CHF - note the masseuse has to walk from Champsec as well so book in advance. We rented two rooms in the top floor known as the apartment (no lift), very good value and very spacious, but the shower and loo were shared by both rooms. It was clean and very quiet apart from some helicopters from time to time in the day. Wifi worked well. Everything is being flown in by helicopter to Lourtier and the 240 cut off residents of the valley, until the road is restored (which will hopefully happen in mid to late August 2024), so the restaurant, which is excellent, did not have full menu - but the food and service were superb. There is still a bus up and down to / from the Mauvoisin dam on the cut off side of the valley, which stops from right outside the hotel and the hiking is superb. However, you should bank on staying in the Val des Bains until the roads and bridge are restored - the logistics of just "popping out to Verbier for a meal" or "picking up a friend from Martigny station" don't really work with the big hike in the middle. I hope the road and bridges are rebuilt soon and we would love to return when access is easier.