Art Hotels · six hotels

The store

Skis and boots wait in a warm room at the door that opens toward the piste

What is kept

Skis, poles and ski boots belong to this part of the house, and they stay there through a guest's whole visit. Boots sit in warmed racks so that the leather and liners lose their damp overnight. Gloves and helmets are set down beside them, on the same shelving, in the same warm air.

Where it is kept

The room sits on the ground floor of the chalet, off the entrance that faces the slope rather than the street. It is a short walk from the lift, so people cross it in ski clothes and leave in ski clothes. Warm flooring runs under the whole of it.

Who gets it out

Guests handle their own skis here, and the room is arranged so that nobody has to carry anything far. Staff who look after the ski side of the house set out boots to dry and put returned equipment back on the racks.

The store

Equipment and boots have a room of their own on the lower floor of the house

What is kept

Touring gear, downhill equipment and the boots that go with both are held on this floor. Jackets and gloves come down with them at the end of the day. Nothing about the sleeping part of the house has to take in wet fabric or cold metal.

Where it is kept

The room is below the main floor, reached by the stair that guests use on the way in from the village. St. Anton sits high enough that snow comes indoors on everything, so the whole level is given over to drying and to shelving rather than to living space.

Who gets it out

Guests carry their own equipment down and collect it themselves in the morning. The house keeps the room in order through the day, turning boots the right way up and moving anything left in the middle of the floor onto a shelf.

The store

Bags stay at the valley station because the only way up to this house is the cable car

What is kept

Suitcases, rucksacks and anything else too heavy to carry on a lift are gathered at the bottom. Cars stay down there too, since they cannot go any further. What travels up with a guest is usually a single small bag and a coat, and the rest follows later on the same line.

Where it is kept

The store is at the foot of the mountain, beside the lift that runs up from Lana. The house itself stands on the ridge above, with no road reaching it, so the lower building does the work that a hotel entrance hall would normally do.

Who gets it out

Staff move luggage between the two ends, because guests travel light on the lift and their bags follow separately. A guest who wants something from a bag before it comes up should ask at the valley end rather than at the upper station.

The store

Wine has a cellar under the house, cut into the hillside the building stands on

What is kept

Bottles are the whole subject of this room: the cellar holds the house list and the wines opened at its tables. Cases rest on their sides in cool air that changes very little between summer and winter. Nothing belonging to a guest is stored here.

Where it is kept

The cellar lies below the main floors, in the part of the building set into the slope, where the ground itself keeps the temperature steady. Gstaad is high and dry, and the rooms above are warm all winter, so the cool level sits deliberately apart from them.

Who gets it out

This is the sommelier's ground rather than a guest's. Bottles come up when they are ordered, and they go back down when they are not. Visitors sometimes see the cellar in company, as part of a tasting arranged by the house.

The store

Beach equipment and sunbeds live in a building set down at the edge of the water

What is kept

Loungers, parasols, mats and the towels that go out with them are held near the sea rather than in the main house. Swimming equipment belonging to the hotel is kept in the same place. Everything there is meant to be carried a few steps and put down again.

Where it is kept

The building stands on the shore side of the property, between the terraces and the rock, on the stretch of coast that runs from Saint-Raphaël toward the red cliffs. It is close enough to the sea that salt reaches it, and the store is arranged with that in mind.

Who gets it out

The beach staff set the loungers out in the morning and take them in at the end of the day, so guests rarely handle any of it. Anyone who wants a parasol moved asks the person working the terrace.

The store

Saddles and harness stay in the stable part of the farm, close to the horses

What is kept

Riding tack fills this side of the building: saddles on their racks, bridles on hooks, girths and pads set out to dry after a ride. Outdoor clothing that has been on a horse is left there as well, rather than carried through the main house.

Where it is kept

The tack room belongs to the stable end of the manor, on the working side of a farm that still keeps Icelandic horses under the same roofline as its guests. Southern Iceland is wet and windy, and the room sits where wet things can be hung without crossing a guest floor.

Who gets it out

The people who work with the horses handle the tack, since saddling is part of the ride rather than something a visitor does alone. A guest going out is shown what belongs to the horse they are riding and brings it back afterwards.