Verbier: Megabucks a possible threat to its ‘shabby chic’ charm

This is a place for people who have money to burn. People who have made a fortune and shamelessly spend a fortune in partying and enjoying themselves. One of the most expensive places on earth, this ski resort in the Swiss Alps is a popular holiday destination for well-known faces and royalty thanks to its brilliant skiing and vibrant nightlife, and some have even made it their permanent home. To name a few, Hugh Grant, Posh Spice, Jemima Khan, Princes William and Harry are regulars. Coupled with the stars there are those City boys with huge bonuses, millionaires, grand old British families, and of course the Russian oligarchs who ensure the steady huge influx of money and maintain the high level of wealth here. One has to shell out at least £50 for cocktail, champagne ranges from more than £100 to £11,000 a bottle and renting a chalet would mean parting with £15,000 to £20,000 or more. Colin Barber who runs one of the resort’s best known bars says that the place has really developed and doubled in size in 19 years. The debut of three new venues – Coco Club, the first luxury VIP club in the Alps, Richard Branson’s expensive ski lodge named The Lodge and Gul Coksun’s art gallery would probably create an ineradicable change in Verbier.
Surprisingly, many people in Verbier are not exactly in favour of these changes as they feel that these developments would rob Verbier of its simplicity and charm. It has always been a place which has welcomed people who spend money like water as well as the ski bums and is a lot less snobby than its rivals such as St Moritz, Courchevel and Gstaad. Charlie Berman, a millionaire city banker says that it is shabby-chic and has always had a jeans and T-shirt ambience. Casual and friendly are the genius loci of the place where a multi-millionaire gets along with a ski bum but all that is under threat now thanks to the opulence and ostentation. But people are particularly apprehensive of the Russians with all their money as they believe in the dictum- Money talks! People believe that skiing is not their prime concern and they have got a horrible attitude of showing off their wealth and being dominating. Courchevel has already become a victim of these Russians, where they reportedly say to the owner,
I’ll give you 500 Francs to get rid of him.
Now that’s not really being friendly, is it?
Source: Dailymail
Image credit: Magicswitzerland
Tags: Verbier, Skiing, Ski resort, Coco Club, Hugh Grant, Posh Spice, Jemima Khan, Prince William, Prince Harry, Russians, Courchevel, Travel, Related : Cheap Holidays