Demand for holiday homes at Le Coeur d'Or means that all but five of the 45 properties have been sold.
Owners of the apartments can exchange their weeks to stay in other MGM / CGH résidences in resorts which include Tignes, Ste Foy en Tarentaise, La Rosiere, Plagne Soleil, Peisey-Vallandry, Les Saisies and Les Houches. Others are in Les Carroz, Samoens, Chamonix, Montgenevre and Serre Chevalier.
Summer activities
In summer, when temperatures can reach 35 degrees Celsius, mountain trails for hiking and biking through Alpine scenery and fresh air start in the town. Its low altitude – just 800 metres – suits the health of many older people although ski resorts higher up the mountains are easy to reach in the winter.
Unlimited Skiing
In the ski season Bourg St Maurice becomes a popular ‘hub’ for coach services to centres which include Tignes, Val d’Isere, La Rosiere, Vallandry and La Plagne. A six-minute funicular railway links Bourg St Maurice with Les Arcs 1600 and the 420 km of pistes of the Paradiski skiing area.
Prices
The prices of apartments still available at Le Coeur d’Or – which exclude French VAT at 19.6 per cent, waived under the leaseback scheme – start at €300,000 for a two-bedroom duplex with a floor area of 70 sq m rising to €388,000 for a four-bedroom property of 87 sq m. Prices include underground parking space, cellar and ski locker.
Contact
For more details call MGM on 0207 4940706, email london@mgm-immobilier.fr or visit the website.
BUILT BY ACCLAIMED Savoyard mountain developers MGM Constructeur and managed by its subsidiary CGH, this recently-completed residence offers 42 luxurious apartments combining stylish contemporary architecture with high levels of modern facilities. Within the leisure centre, for example, you can relax and enjoy great views from the free private indoor heated swimming-pool and fitness room.
Bourg Saint Maurice is an attractive market town, located at the foothills of Les Arcs in the vast Paradiski ski area. A seven-minute nearby funicular train ride will whisk you effortlessly to the popular family ski resort of Arc 1600, while La Plagne, Sainte-Foy Tarentaise, Tignes, Val d’Isère and La Rosière are all within 30 minutes’ drive. The Bourg Saint Maurice rail station (just 800 metres away) has direct connections to London, Paris and Brussels thanks to the Eurostar (ski train), TGV and Thalys. Conveniently located less than 10 minutes’ walk from the town centre, these stylish apartments are set in the heart of the most prestigious resorts in the Alps.
The town’s location by the Isère river also makes it a great base for summer activities such as rafting, canoeing or simply cycling the trails and enjoying the wonderful mountain scenery.
Le Coeur d’Or****
Bourg Saint Maurice
LE COEUR d’OR apartments are furnished and equipped to very high standards of comfort and convenience. Living areas have a double pull-out bed (making up two single beds), plus a fully-equipped kitchenette with multi-function microwave oven, ceramic hob, dishwasher, fridge, electric coffee maker, kettle, mixer, pressure-cooker, toaster, etc. There is also a bathroom and WC (separate in some larger apartments). All apartments have satellite TV, telephone, internet access socket and a balcony.
The stylish residence also has a lounge area, laundry room (payable), ski lockers and a luggage room. You may also enjoy bakery delivery services (payable), and Wi-Fi in Reception and in all the apartments.
Loan of cots and high chairs (subject to availability - please request at time of booking), irons and ironing boards, board games plus fondue and raclette sets is available from Reception. The Résidence offers its own covered parking (payable €50/week, max height 1.80m).
Enquiries and bookings for Le Coeur d'Or:
Peak Retreats
0844 576 0170 (UK)
or +44 23 9283 9310
reservations@peakretreats.co.uk
Winter & Ski Home
Property & Living
Le Coeur d'Or, Bourg Saint-Maurice
Town or mountain: why not both?
MountainPassions profiles Le Coeur d'Or luxury apartments in Bourg Saint-Maurice, built by Sayoyard developer MGM Constructeur.
MGM’s new Le Coeur d’Or residence de tourisme in Bourg St Maurice. For details call MGM on 0207 4940706 or visit www.mgmfrenchproperties.com
To anyone surveying the newer accommodation offers in the northern French Alps, one development immediately stands out from the crowd. Le Coeur d’Or, built by market-leading Sayoyard developer MGM Constructeur, is located not in a high-altitude ski village, but on the fringes of the town of Bourg Saint-Maurice. On paper, it’s an interesting, not to say courageous decision, so we decided to take a closer look at the underlying rationale and how it translates for the visitors at whom it has been targeted.
Access superb ski terrain
Ask any keen skier and chances are they’ll be well aware of Bourg Saint-Maurice, whose enviable location provides access to some of the finest ski terrain in the French Alps – within a relatively short onward drive are La Rosière, Saint-Foy Tarentaise, Val d’Isère, La Plagne and Les Arcs. The town also enjoys year-round high-speed TGV rail access from Paris and other major cities, joined during the ski season by
direct from the UK. Things get even greener for those travelling to Les Arcs, with the option of a convenient seven-minute funicular ride direct from the Gare TGV to the ski village of Arc 1600. It's little wonder then, that the town and its 'own' ski station are marketed as one under the banner of Bourg Saint Maurice Les Arcs.
Despite the contemporary external treatment, the apartments share the traditional Savoyard chalet-style cosiness of MGM’s on-mountain developments.
So why stay anywhere but on the mountain?
For skiers the benefits begin with significant savings on rentals here compared with equivalent self-catering apartments at high-altitude, and continue with a much wider range of competitively-priced services close at hand – there’s no on-mountain premium added to supermarket and other shopping prices, so you pay the same amount as the locals. Add the possibility of skiing in a different ski area each day if you wish and the concept becomes even more attractive.
From MGM’s point of view, too, the idea of being here is an attractive one. The Savoyard constructor thinks long and hard when considering potential locations for each new development, and only commits when it has established a meaningful partnership with local communities. Working with more enlightened and dynamic players ensures that those staying in the completed luxury apartments will enjoy a quality experience which extends to the surrounding area. Typical investments focus on improving ski terrain and upgrading to ski-lift infrastructure to meet the needs of new visitor accommodation. In the case of Bourg Saint-Maurice, the town agreed to provide a range of new facilities nearby, including a cinema and a brasserie-style restaurant.
The large heated indoor pool also offers views of the surrounding mountains, and offers gentle relaxation after a day’s skiing, walking or mountain-biking.
Bold design and trademark features
The apartments themselves are as refreshingly out-of-the mainstream as their location, combining bold contemporary exterior outlines with traditional, locally-sourced stone and timber. There are further MGM trademark features inside, where the forty-two apartments range in size from from two-bedrooms to 4-bedroom duplex. All enjoy the same chalet-style cosiness found in the company’s mountain developments: premium quality fixtures and fittings are evident throughout, as are the generous equipment levels which today’s guests have come to expect. Naturally, the 3-star development offers a large reception and lounge area, indoor swimming pool, sauna and hammam plus a well-equipped fitness suite. Charged with managing the apartments and on-site services is MGM's wholly-owned subsidiary CGH. (La Compagnie de Gestion Hôtelière), which has amassed a wealth of experience and convincing reputation during its stewardship of existing premium Résidences de Tourisme operations throughout the French Alps. All of which bodes well for potential purchasers and future guests at Le Coeur d'Or.
© Roger Moss 2010
By car
From Calais, head for the Autoroute A43 Lyon / Albertville, then N90 to Bourg-Saint-Maurice. The journey takes about 9 hours and will cost around 70€ in tolls.
By air
Snowjet offers low cost flights to the nearest airport at Chambery from Gatwick, Bristol and Edinburgh. Transfers are just 1½ hours from Chambery. Lyon, Geneva, Grenoble and Turin are all within 3 hours.
By train
In the ski season
run from late December to early April and take you direct into Bourg Saint Maurice railway station which is a few minutes walk from Le Coeur d’Or.
At other times, trains from Paris Gare de Lyon via Chambéry take around 5 hours.
Le Village de Lessy
MountainPassions profiles Le Village de Lessy, a prestige residence ideally located in the centre of Chinaillon, Le Grand Bornand.
Les Suites du Névada
MountainPassions profiles the latest and most luxurious hotel to open its doors in Tignes: MGM Les Suites du Névada.
