The History of La Bouitte in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville
Savoyards and mountain folk
Our connection with nature is part of our daily lives, part of who we are.
René and Maxime
A hamlet at the end of the world clinging to the peaks - the island-like feel of a village made from stone and wood suspended above the valley.
Centuries ago, this is where the first mountain dwellers chose to live, those madmen who dared climb higher, wresting life from a hostile environment.
The harshness of winters where nothing grows, the isolation, and the slope that inexorably drags the earth downwards, eroding everything in its path.
Indomitable Savoyards.
The Meilleur family are the descendants of these industrious mountain settlers. And they have retained all their resilience, continuing to tirelessly work and construct, as if to honour a memory, and in turn, lead the way.
For the Meilleur family, being Savoyard is all about keeping your origins firmly rooted.
A hotel built by our own hands
A field of potatoes exchanged for some carpentry work to turn it into a modest tourist tavern and then, almost 50 years later, a luxury hotel and Michelin-starred restaurant in Savoie.
Epilogue to a wonderful story.
When they opened La Bouitte - meaning "little house" in local dialect - in the winter of 1976, René and Marie-Louise Meilleur treated skiers to simple and generous Savoyard dishes. Then came a turning point for René in 1981, when he discovered Paul Bocuse's signature cuisine in his eponymous restaurant in the town of Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or.
A culinary epiphany and earth-shattering moment. For this dreamer and poet at heart, cabinetmaker and sculptor, but above all strong-willed Savoyard, this encounter served as the inspiration for a more creative style of cuisine at La Bouitte, where he was joined in 1996 by his son Maxime, a former top-level biathlete.
Self-taught and therefore free from all the usual culinary constraints, the duo have invented their own unique style. Cooking has become their disarmingly sincere language of authenticity.
The father's poetry and the son's quest for excellence form a Ying and Yang, a fusion of opposites: symbiosis at its best.
Then in 1998, Maxime's partner, Delphine Dagonet, took up the mantle of the restaurant's maître d', infusing La Bouitte with a new lease of life.
The Savoyard restaurant was awarded its first Michelin star in 2003, its second in 2008 and its third in 2015.
Since the year 2000, La Bouitte has been welcoming guests into its home with the construction of its cosy cocoon-like hotel, which was extended between 2011 and 2015.
The opening of a mountain spa in 2017 and a bistro in the heart of the village of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in 2018 complete this work of art created by the indefatigable Meilleur family.
Our Family establishment
La Bouitte has the feel of a happy family home, with generations coming together and merging: René and Marie-Louise the parents, Maxime the son and his wife Delphine, and one day no doubt their children, Oscar and Calixte. All have inherited the tradition of hospitality and generosity.
Theirs is a truly life-affirming legacy. Down-to-earth, caring and rooted in Savoie, the Meilleur family lay their hearts bare because everything is better with a little tenderness.
The sense of family also extends to the guests of La Bouitte, who are welcomed as members of the clan. A touching complicity.
Seeing themselves as guardians, the Meilleur family run their establishment with true passion. Talking to Marie-Louise and René is like being swept up in a flurry of humanity; while chatting to Maxime and Delphine is to realise that nothing is impossible with a Savoyard mindset.
In a world of luxury hotels and haute cuisine, the sincerity of La Bouitte is quite disarming.
Like a hand-sewn labyrinth, La Bouitte is a collection of intertwined living spaces, antique objects, traditional Savoyard art, family portraits and period furnishings, all positively oozing in charm and attention to detail.
A superlative hideaway that has the power to reconnect you with your inner child. As if somehow familiar, these spaces beckon, drawing us into their world.
Having set themselves free from the constraints of passing trends to embrace sincerity and a zest for life, the Meilleur family have created one of the most unique and charming family establishments in the Alps.
Hard work and good agricultural sense are a heritage and way of life
These values are the foundations of the Maison Meilleur, a bond as solid as the local stone used in the walls of La Bouitte.
The Meilleur family are first and foremost Savoyards, and those who understand their history appreciate the importance of belonging. Savoyards and down to earth, with their feet planted firmly in the rock and soil of this land. A land carpeted in snow in winter, and in summer just that little bit closer to the sun.
To work is to elevate yourself, and when you are already at altitude, aiming higher seems like the obvious choice.
From his days as a top-level biathlete, Maxime has retained a strong taste for competition, and with a name like "Meilleur", meaning "Best" in French, it would seem the desire to surpass himself is part of his very DNA.
And then there's that human touch that really strikes a chord, so sincere that it can be felt throughout: in the warmth of the furnishings, in the unique collection of Savoyard art, in the hospitality of the family and in the natural complicity they create with their guests.
At La Bouitte, life unfolds unfiltered, with authenticity at the heart of everything they do.