Tomorrow, we reopen — chronicle of a summer evening in Lavancher
With 24 hours to go before the opening of the 2026 summer season, final touches and the first lights are being switched on at the Chalet Hotel Jeu de Paume.
In a house preparing to reopen, there's a strange hour. The silence is no longer quite silence—it's already anticipation. The tablecloths await unfolding. The knives have been sharpened. The first herbs from the herb garden were picked early this morning and are resting in a damp cloth in the kitchen. In twenty-four hours, on June 12, 2026, the Chalet Hotel Jeu de Paume reopens its doors for the summer season. A chronicle of the previous day, in the heart of the hamlet of Lavancher.
In the kitchen, the last few hours
Mathilde Walisko arrived early. She is one of those who open the days, like unfolding a tablecloth. Ten years of cooking in Lyon — the temple city — before heading up into the mountains. European runner-up in offal productsShe laid down her apron at the foot of the mountain range a few seasons ago, and never left.
The new summer menu of restaurant The Rosebud It wasn't conceived in a few days. It was written beforehand, in long conversations with the valley's producers, in farm visits, in the choices imposed by the strict seasonality and the animal wellbeing. The macaron Eco-friendly Awarded in February is not a medal hung on the door: it is a framework within which each dish is constructed. "100% of our suppliers have been audited.", the leader reminds us — a figure that can be said in two words, and which is earned over several months.
What Mathilde likes is that "Each guest should be a friend"The formula might sound conventional; for her, it translates into a service that observes, adapts, and remembers. The lunch menu of the Lunch & meal deal Spa has been designed for this summer season as a short journey — starter, main course, dessert — which highlights the herbs from the hotel's aromatic garden and the spices that the chef brings back from her travels.
Au spathe filling with water
Meanwhile, at the end of the wooden corridor, the spa is still holding its breath. The heated indoor pool was refilled yesterday. The hammam has returned to its normal temperature. The sauna has been tested. In thespaIn this restful spot, the deckchairs facing the Aiguilles du Mont-Blanc await their first occupants. Tomorrow, at opening time, the silence of the place will be their first offering.
La massage menu It too has been redesigned. The titles have been clarified, the descriptions enriched. Last year's signature treatments are back—Californian, Balinese, Abhyanga, Lomi Lomi, Thai, Shiatsu—along with new offerings: a hydrating facial and a signature massage rooted in the house's ancestral techniques. For those coming to catch their breath after a Mountain hikingTargeted massages — back, legs, rolling massage — remain a classic late afternoon treatment.
In Lavancher, summer is written in the margins.
The hamlet of Lavancher is a handful of houses nestled ten minutes from the center of Chamonix, yet a world away from its hustle and bustle. A few stone roofs, a stream flowing down from the glacier, an old wooden bridge—and beyond, the Mer de GlaceThe Aiguilles, Mont Blanc. Here, summer doesn't impose itself: it settles in. Slowly. At marmot height.
This is the starting point for several hiking trails - the Flegère Aiguillette of Posettes, Col de Balme, the sources of the ArveyronAnd for regulars, it's the place they come back to — for the Sunday brunch on the terrace, for an aperitif by the brazier in the golden light of the evening, for the simplicity of a game of pétanque in the hotel gardens.
A season subtly marked by commitment
The eco-responsible commitment The house is not limited to the Écotable macaron. Jeu de Paume obtained certification Green Key Starting in 2024, and with each new season bringing its own projects: a gradual transition to renewable energy, a productive herb garden, partnerships with local producers in the valley for short supply chains, and meticulous water and waste management. The IMPACT scientific platform now measures the restaurant's carbon footprint down to the individual plate.
The stated ambition for 2026 is clear: "To make Rosebud the most eco-responsible restaurant in Chamonix"The summer season that opens tomorrow is, in essence, a new step on this path — a cuisine, a treatment menu, formulas designed to fit into this trajectory without sacrificing anything in terms of pleasure.
Tomorrow
Twenty-four hours to go. Tomorrow, at opening time, the silence will give way to ritual — the first coffees, the first pastries, the clear clatter of cutlery. For to book a room, a formula ou a table at the RosebudIt's online or by phone at +33 (0)4 50 54 03 76.
