Press Release – Under Embargo until midnight March 5th 2018
 
Le Sommet
Hauts de Plumachit
Crans Montana 3963
Valais
Switzerland
 
 
5-STAR HOTEL SET TO OPEN IN THE SWISS RESORT OF CRANS MONTANA
 
Located on a sunny mountain plateau above Crans Montana, high in the Swiss Alps, Le Sommet is the brainchild of Swiss property developer Lucas Caron.
 
After eight years of extensive planning and construction, one of the town’s oldest sanatoriums is set to reopen as a luxury hotel.
 
The main building was designed in the early nineteenth century by Caron’s great-grandfather, Pierre. It became renowned worldwide as a center for treating tuberculosis before the advent of antibiotics forced its diversification.
 
More recently, it gained international recognition for its innovative architecture, earning the elder Caron a posthumous Swiss Arts Award in 1942. Combining clean lines with large panoramic windows, flat roofs, and unadorned geometrical shapes, one judge described the building as ‘groundbreaking’ – custom designed to fulfill its function as a hospital, while also creating a seamless transition between the interior and exterior landscapes.  
 
Lucas Caron said: “It was time we breathed new life into this building. We were confident that with the right vision, we could create a sensitively restored hotel that would pay homage to its rich past.”
 
Under the guidance of Swiss architectural firm Lemaitre SA, a team has been assembled to renovate the building and also add a state-of-the-art spa and event center.
 
Subtly refurbished, Le Sommet will make innovative use of natural, local materials such as wood, slate, and stone. The hotel’s elegant, modern interiors will not only echo the powerful topography outside, but will draw on the building’s past to create a new narrative.
 
Philippe Volkem, CEO of Valais Tourisme, said, "This will doubtless be the jewel in the crown of what is already one of the finest winter resorts in the world."
 
For press enquiries, please contact Leman PR, Lausanne.
 
For general enquiries / bookings please visit www.lesommetcransmontana.ch.

CHAPTER ONE

January 2020
Day One

The funicular from the valley town of Sierre to Crans‐Montana scores a near‐perfect vertical line up the mountainside.

Slicing through snow‐covered vineyards and the small towns of Venthone, Chermignon, Mollens, Randogne, and Bluche, the route, almost three miles long, takes passengers up the mountain in just twelve minutes.

In off‐peak season, the funicular is usually half empty. Most people drive up the mountain or take the bus. But today, with the roads almost station‐ ary thanks to heavy traffic, it’s full.

Elin Warner stands on the left in the packed carriage, absorbing it all: the fat flakes of snow collecting on the windows, the slush‐covered floor piled high with bags, the lanky teenagers shoving through the doors.

Her shoulders tense. She’s forgotten how kids that age can be: selfish, unaware of anyone but themselves.

A sodden sleeve brushes her cheek. She smells damp, cigarettes, fried food, the musky‐citrus tang of cheap aftershave. Then comes a throaty cough. Laughter.

A group of men are jostling through the doorway, talking loudly, bulg‐ ing North Face sports bags on their backs. They are squeezing the family next to her farther into the carriage....