A Perfect Sunday in Arolla

There is an art the mountains teach better than anywhere else: the art of doing almost nothing. At 2,070 metres, time slows of its own accord. The air is lighter, the hours stretch, and you rediscover the forgotten pleasure of a day with no programme — or rather with just one: letting yourself drift. Here, as we like it, is the outline of a perfect summer Sunday in Arolla.

Morning: coffee in the garden, yoga in the forest

The day begins unhurried. Around ten o’clock, you settle in the Jardin des Arolles, the hotel’s garden, for coffee in the sun, your gaze resting on summits still cool from the night. Then, from half past ten to half past eleven, you head to the nearby stone-pine forest for a yoga session in the shade of the great trees. Beneath the vault of resin and light, the postures take on another quality: you breathe to the rhythm of the wind in the branches, grounded in soil that has watched centuries pass.

Midday: the terrace facing Mont-Collon

At noon, you lunch on the panoramic terrace. Before you, Mont-Collon closes the horizon with its pale mass; on the plate, a seasonal cuisine that follows whatever the valley gives from week to week. It is one of the house’s simple pleasures: to eat outside, slowly, letting the landscape carry the conversation. The meal stretches happily into a coffee, with no eye on the clock.

Afternoon: the forest and La Chotte

Around half past two, the afternoon calls for a contemplative walk. You set off on foot into the forest, with no fixed destination, simply for the pleasure of walking among century-old larches and stone pines. The natural stop is called La Chotte, our high-altitude cabin: a quiet point apart, where you sit a while, where the silence can be heard, before ambling back down towards the hotel.

Evening: a massage and a quiet hour in the lounge

Around five o’clock comes the body’s rest: a therapeutic massage at the hotel spa, to loosen what the walking has awoken. As evening falls, you no longer wish to go far. The house’s historic lounges, its library, its armchairs worn smooth by generations invite a quiet hour — a book, a conversation, a last glass. For those who blend work with rest, Wi-Fi remains on hand; but the place itself rather whispers that it is time to set everything down.

Then comes the gentlest of decisions: not to leave. The house keeps the atmosphere of the alpine hotels of old, and it would be a shame to part with it at nightfall. An “Arolle” room can be booked from CHF 135 a night depending on the season, breakfast included — an indicative rate we will confirm according to the period.

A Sunday like this is not really planned; it is allowed to happen. And should you feel like slowing everything down for a day, reception will gladly help compose yours. #LostinTimeinArolla