FM newsroom – property. Chalet La Fenice is probably the most luxurious property in the Italian Alps. It was built in 1936 and was reputedly visited by the Italian Royal family. Now the reborn chalet overlooking the Matterhorn is for sale for a record price.
John Harrison, former partner and managing director of Amplitude Capital, learned about the Cervinia ski area in the Italian Alps in the mid-1990s. Later, he started coming here regularly on vacation with his wife and four children. One afternoon in 2015, while skiing, he noticed a platform with a “very nice ruin”. His ski instructor told him one day that the ruin was for sale, so Harrison jumped at the chance and bought the building as well as the neighbouring land.
The Phoenix
The chalet is not overlooked by any other building and enjoys complete privacy and tranquillity. Harrison named the property Chalet La Fenice, which translates from Italian as “phoenix mountain chalet”. The name well suites the place that has been reborn from its ashes. The reconstruction took five years, but when asked, the businessman refused to disclose exactly how much the reconstruction and the purchase of the land cost him but added that it was a “significantly high” amount. When not spending holidays there, Harrison rented the “phoenix” out. The price for six nights was 65,000 Euros in December last year.
Views of the Matterhorn
Now, after 11 years of owning this magnificent property Harrison is selling it through the real estate agency Savills for 24 million euros, Reality.trend.sk quotes Bloomberg.
First time to the market since a complete rebuild, La Fenice has to be one of the finest chalets in the Alps today – Savills claims. The chalet has been created from the original stone-built building on the same site, dating back to 1936. In its day, the chalet was known for its fabulous views of the Matterhorn and was reputedly regularly visited by the Italian royal family.
The almost 1,200 sqm of living space includes seven bedrooms, a wellness area with an indoor pool, a ski room, a foyer with Swarovski chandeliers, a helipad and a hot tub with views of the Matterhorn. According to real estate agents, this is the most expensive offer in the Italian Alps.
Photos: Savills.com
