Les Echos Limited Series

Rare are the places faithful to their legend. Les Fermes de Marie is part of it. As soon as we arrive, we enter an enchanting and warm world where everything is as imagined.

At this dinner time, all tables are taken. Families, young couples, regulars and new customers... all amazed. “It's a luxury boarding house”, perfectly summarizes Jocelyne Sibuet, founder of Fermes de Marie with her husband, Jean-Louis. An establishment born from the vision that the young couple, then at the controls of another hotel in Mégevan, had of the ideal hotel.

“Our hotel Au Coin du Feu worked very well, it was a three-star hotel with an exceptional clientele, but we aspired to something else and Jean-Louis had this idea...” recalls Jocelyne.

Jean-Louis the builder looked for land not far from the center and sourced all the materials that today make up this hamlet located a six-minute walk from the church of Megève. He negotiated with the farmers, their old chalet, barn and mountain hut damaged and unused, to recover every plank. He dismantled and then reassembled each of these farms and rebuilt and restored them in harmony in a contemporary spirit. For the rest, it will be up to Jocelyne to play. Will she relentlessly hunt for country furniture and peasant objects? Then, it will create subdued atmospheres. Her taste as well as her attention to detail are legendary. And its “mix and match” decoration, often copied but never equalled. “I decorated the Farms like my own house,” she summarizes. Moreover, the Chalet des Fermes is one of those that form the hamlet, a jewel of 5 rooms with its private gym that benefits from hotel service is the one where his children grew up. It is rented all year round.

Jocelyne also invented a new generation of spa, long before fashion hit all hotel establishments. She created her own brand, Pure Altitude, with treatments designed just as well for fans of extreme skiing or for those of well-being in all its forms. Jocelyne is testing various massage, detox and retreat programs all over the world. And comes back with new experiences to offer. This season, a Tibetan bowl treatment is offered à la carte, Thai massage is still in high demand and facials are overbooked. Customers leave the spa loaded with homemade products whose effectiveness is well established.

Gastronomy is in the spotlight and the breakfast buffet is undoubtedly one of the prettiest and best attended that I have ever seen. The dessert buffet is also exceptional. The day is punctuated by highlights: breakfast, tea, swimming pools (two including a swim lane) and finally, dinner. And this throughout the year. Les Fermes de Marie is a luxurious and authentic place whose soul is embodied by the Sibuet family. Although separated for fifteen years, Jocelyne and Jean-Louis continued to work together for their two children Nicolas and Marie. They have opened other addresses where their customers find the Sibuet spirit: in Provence, Ramatuelle and Saint-Barthélémy. Jean-Louis left the company recently and, today, Jocelyne says she wants to distance himself. Their children are ready: at the age of 34, Nicolas, the eldest son, worked in the group in all trades and is now the CEO. As for Marie, a young mother, is the managing director and also in charge. But their mother continues to bring her taste and energy into the house. Leaving the Farms is not easy...