Courchevel is the name of a ski area located in the Savoie region of the French Alps, and part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski area in the world. The original resort was planned during the Second World War with a study in 1942 by the Vichy regime and in a doctorate by the town planner Laurent Chappis. Chappis was a natural choice to direct the development of the resort in the immediate post war years. Courchevel 1850 was significant as it was the first resort in France to be constructed from scratch rather than based around an existing village. It therefore served as an open air laboratory of ideas. However 1550 is the real resort and is the only one worth staying in.

Courchevel refers to the towns of Courchevel 1300 (Le Praz), Courchevel 1550 (the original Courchevel), Courchevel 1650 (Moriond), and Courchevel 1850, which are named for their altitudes in metres. The highest point in Courchevel 1850 is in fact only 1747 meters^*, the name was chosen for marketing reasons to compete with arch rivals Val d'Isère. The towns become more exclusive and elegant as one climbs higher up the mountain, with property values in the town of 1850 significantly higher than those in Le Praz, 1550 or 1650. The Courchevel valley also includes the town of La Tania, built as competitors accommodation for the 1992 Albertville Olympics. Le Praz hosted the Olympic ski jump in that year.

The town of 1550 attracts mainly families, The only bar to visit in this the prettiest of Courchevel's stations is La Taverne^*. It is the last remaining truly French Bar, owned and operated by Phillipe (a legend in the area) it has a wood burning fire and glorious hot Vin Chaude at the end of the day. Whereas 1650 has a young, party atmosphere with high rise hotels 1550 looks like a ski resort should. Small chalets and a total lack of neon signs. 1850 is the destination for the rich and famous(Posh and Becks)are frequent visitors with many 5-star hotels, multi-million-euro chalets and 2 starred Michelin dining at the Chabichou restaurant.

Courchevel is the most French and chic of the Les Trois Vallees ski area. If not the world

Restaurant and catering in Courchevel

1550 offers by far the cheapest eating out. Le Cortona is a small family run affair just behind La Taverne^* offering Italian and French specialities at affordable prices. We are going to use the “four P’s” method (product, place, price, promotion) to study the marketing of restaurant and catering in the French mountain resort Courchevel. This winter sports resort offers a wide range and types of products and specialities. We find three main categories of restaurants: the “traditional restaurant”, called “Savoyard restaurant”, “the gourmet restaurant” and the “foreign cooking”. In the traditional restaurant visitors enjoy typical Savoyard products like the “fondue savoyarde”. Courchevel is actually in the French Alps, near the Italian border, and this special kind of restaurant contributes to the typical “cachet” of the station. Concerning the gourmet restaurants, those of Courchevel are very known restaurants, usually present in the French famous red book “Guide Michelin”, with a worldwide reputation, high prices and refined food and setting. They constitute the real French gastronomy. These restaurants work a lot with “word of mouth recommendation”. We have to keep in mind that Courchevel is usually considered as a high-end resort intended for rich people from all over the world. Recommendations by such wealthy people can give a boost to a specific restaurant is important since as usual “success breeds success”. Going on to foreign cuisine, Courchevel provides many types of restaurants from different countries and cultures. For example, there are pizzerias, Chinese food and American fast food. Regarding restaurant types, we find “Restaurant”, Hotel restaurant”, “restaurant of height” (to use their own words). It is important to notice that even at a higher altitude, on the ‘pistes’ (near ski slopes), tourists can find restaurants if they wish to take a break and enjoy both scenery and good food. The station is organized in such a way that tourists can enjoy skiing and taste various culinary specialities in several parts of the mountain resort. Regarding prices, since Courchevel is both a winter and summer resort and caters particularly for the “rich and famous”, the restaurants are more expensive than the average. But some restaurants make discounts for group booking and also they reduce price-lists outside rush hours or during low season in order to stimulate the business most days during all four seasons. The restaurants make primarily their promotion through to Internet, famous and popular tourist guides, and word of mouth recommendations. While searching on the official web site of Courchevel we find six one restaurants. The official web site is made in several languages, French, English, Spanish and Russian with a description of all restaurants in many languages, which helps promoting all types of restaurants. To conclude, Courchevel offers a wide variety of restaurants, of different qualities but mostly good restaurants; their prices are higher than those common in the average winter sports resorts. Restaurants, as such, through their wide reputation for quality of food and service, contribute to the development and expansion of Courchevel mountain resort. Thus they are part of the global effort to keep France as the World’s top tourist destination with over 70 million visitors each year.

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