42 Best Hotels in Lyon and the Alps, France

This centrally located budget hotel offers comfortable rooms equipped with the full range of modern amenities. There's also the adjoining restaurant, George Blanc, which has been glamorously taken over by the great chef of the same name. As expected, it is rising to the top of local gastronomical charts.

On an elegant square opposite the Théâtre des Célestins, this chic hotel has a sense of theatricality—logically enough because it has long been popular among stage and screen artists (many of whose photographs adorn the lobby walls). The guest rooms are smallish but modern and comfortable, and the friendly reception staff and great location appeal to all comers.

This gargantuan hotel set in a majestic 17th-century building that once housed Lyon's maternity hospital (half the city's population was born here) benefits from soaring volume and gorgeous architectural details, though sometimes the contemporary decor feels dwarfed in comparison. Nevertheless, in typical InterContinental style, the hotel doesn't skimp on luxuries, including the lofty gastronomic restaurant Epona (also where breakfast is served) and the spectacular Le Dôme cocktail bar, the place in Lyon to see and be seen. There's also a Cinq Mondes spa, a 24-hour fitness room, and complimentary sauna and steam room. The hotel benefits from a prime placement on the city's western bank facing the Rhône River, as well as the upscale shopping and gastronomy all contained within the massive Hôtel Dieu complex.

Across the lake from the town center, Annecy's leading hotel has spacious, high-ceilinged guest rooms in subdued contemporary colors behind its Belle Époque exterior. The hotel has been undergoing extensive renovations, which will eventually include the lobby, casino, and restaurant, and see the addition of a new spa. Ask for a room facing the public gardens on the lake; if you have one of those rooms, waking up to breakfast on the terrace is a great way to start the day. Fine cuisine is served in La Voile and the stylish new La Brasserie, with a lovely outdoor terrace facing the lake. The luxurious new Hip Bar offers an extensive list of cocktails and Champagnes, and live lounge music evenings Tuesday to Saturday.

Set in a 150-year-old mansion in the heart of Annecy, this charmer of a hotel features stunning views of the lake, castle, and mountains on one side and a peaceful garden on the other. Between those two vistas, a dozen bright and spacious guestrooms, each with its own original theme (Green Forest, New York, Moody Blue, Oscar Wilde, etc.) are done up with a pleasing whimsy in the utmost taste. The cozy library is a delight on cooler days and the breakfast room is the perfect spot to linger over fresh croissants with delicious homemade jams.

Spectacularly situated at the edge of the pistes and at the heart of the three valleys, this classic chalet-style hotel has playfully appropriated all the Alpine motifs for a contemporary but no less luxurious alternative to the region's more established grand dames. Earthy jewel tones in the rugs and plush furniture harmonize with rustic wood-clad walls and endless views of snowy peaks and blue skies from the private balconies. The hotel's three restaurants (the Beefbar, the Italian Biancaneve, and Le Fumoir) cover all your dining needs (including fondue!) and the on-site ski room, fabulous indoor-outdoor pool, and Tata Harper spa will outfit and pamper you in the glamorous style to which everyone in Meribel aspires. Areas for kids and teens, as well as adjoining rooms and two private chalets, make this a good choice for families.

On the shores of Lac d’Annecy in Talloires, this contemporary chalet-style hotel set on a tree-lined property provides the perfect getaway for relaxation. Pastel colors, pale wood floors, and tasteful modern furnishings create an atmosphere of homespun repose, with the lake and the surrounding mountains visible from your private terrace. A spa, heated outdoor pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, and a choice of spa treatments complete your stay. The cheerful bar offers snacks and drinks throughout the day.

On the main drag running through Méribel, Le Savoy has a traditional stone-and-wood facade that leads to a rustic restaurant with wide-plank floors and rough-hewn beams that call to mind an old-time ski lodge. That's where things take an unexpected turn, with a bar where the furnishings are every bit as brightly colored as the creative cocktails. The guest rooms are completely contemporary, with nice details like bedside alcoves where you can leave the book you're reading or charge your iPhone. Each room has a private locker in the ski room where your boots are kept nice and toasty. The sauna and steam room are great places to relax after you hit the slopes.

“Mama loves you" is this Philippe Starck–designed hotel chain's motto, and, to prove it, guests are wrapped in the angular embrace of minimal, gadget-happy rooms that make up for their minuscule size with artsy touches and a general atmosphere of too-cool-for-school fun. From the guitar-and-pool-floatie-adorned restaurant—where you'll enjoy the chain's excellent buffet breakfast—and the Island Bar to the Mama Shop (handy if you've forgotten your toothbrush), the ambience is unrelentingly hip, in a friendly way. The hotel recently converted eight top-floor suites to a partly sheltered rooftop bar for drinks and bar snacks that's open to guests and non-guests alike.

This little hotel overlooking the River Saône has a winning combination of handy location, charming staff, tasteful rooms, and moderate prices. Its modern style is gracefully juxtaposed with its 16th-century ceiling beams and Renaissance facade. Some rooms have fireplaces, and the smallish but cozy upper-floor rooms are charmingly built into the eaves and rooftop dormers.

Located on the edge of Val Thorens, this five-story hotel uses fur and other eye-catching materials in its design, including wooden walls with horizontal planks for a rough-hewn look, cream-color stone lining the bathroom's separate showers and soaking tubs, and furnishings upholstered in rich leather and suede. For modern conveniences, every room has a flat-screen TV with satellite programming, a streamlined desk where you can access speedy Wi-Fi, and in-room electronic safes. You might overlook all of this and head straight for the step-out balcony, where you're treated to views of the surrounding mountains. The ski room, accessed directly from the slopes, is done up in gleaming white. After a day on the slopes, head to the state-of-the-art exercise room, the pair of indoor pools, the sauna, or the steam room.