| Chalet in the French Alps |
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Page 1 of 2 Skiwear mogul Paul Goldstein scoured shady Val d’Isère to find the sunniest spot for his secluded French Alps ski chalet 
The fairy tale castle as chalet
Paul Goldstein, clocking the slow, spring thaw
Tucked into a shady canyon in the Savoy region of the Alps, Val d’Isère is a mishmash of wood-shingle roofs, historic church spires, and blocky modern condos, all framed by ski slopes rising steeply from both sides of town. Perched on a hillside on the outskirts of town, Goldstein’s multi-million-dollar chalet overlooks it all. From the end of the driveway, which bears a sign reading "Boulevard Paul J. Goldstein," the chalet looms: a multistory, Swiss-style stone mansion with timber balconies jutting from different levels and giving the structure a fanciful, asymmetrical quality. Goldstein’s La Chalet du Sommet is a mazelike 5,700 square feet spiraling out from a serpentine, wooden staircase. The four floors house a checkerboard-tile indoor swimming pool, a wooden steam room, a movie theater outfitted with six burgundy La-Z-Boys, and quarters for three staff members, whom Goldstein employs seasonally to make his breakfast and run him to and from the ski resort. Stainless steel adorns the kitchen, which has views of Val d’Isère’s main chairlift, as does the hot tub. “This Russian guy came to town to try to buy one of the premier chalets in Val d’Isère,” Goldstein divulges. “I only let him in because I wanted to know what he thought it was worth. He offered me $24 million.” It’s a winter getaway some 35 years in the making. At age 21, Goldstein ventured into the ski-apparel industry when he was hired to rep the Anzi Besson outerwear line, named for two Italian ski racers. Goldstein says that when the company failed to pay him, his dad urged him to go to Hong Kong and start a rival company. He followed the advice and two years later, Nevica—the brand that’s infamous for bringing neon colors to the slopes—was born. |
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