Where to Stay in Faraya: Hotels, Clubs and Chalets Compared

"Where to stay in Faraya" is really a question about three places stacked up one mountain: the resort base at Mzaar, the village of Faraya below it, and the Faqra plateau in between. Each has a type of stay it does best. This is the honest map, including where our own chalet fits and where it does not.

Resort hotels at the Mzaar base

At the top of the road, hotels such as the InterContinental Mzaar sit at the lifts, ski-in/ski-out, with restaurants, spas and the après scene at the door. This is the choice if walking to the chairlift is the whole point, you want breakfast and a reception desk, and you are happy to pay resort prices and sleep above the busiest part of the mountain on a Saturday night. In summer the base is quieter and some hotels keep pools open.

Hotels and guesthouses in the Faraya village

Faraya village has a run of hotels, boutique stays and chalet-style hotels around the roundabout and along the road: convenient for shops, bakeries, ski rental and the restaurants that stay open all winter. You are ten to fifteen minutes from the lifts. Rooms are typically priced per room with breakfast, and it is the easiest option for a large group that wants to eat out every night.

Club compounds and private chalets on the Faqra plateau

Between the two, at around 1,600 metres, the Faqra plateau holds Faqra Club, a private members' club with small slopes, pools and restaurants, and the residential compounds around it, including RedRock, a gated eco-village with shared infinity pools, a bio-farm and a deer reserve. Stays here are private chalets and apartments rented by the night: your own door, kitchen, patio and parking, with no reception and no breakfast service. Eight minutes to the Mzaar lifts, three to Faqra Club, quiet by design.

Hotel or chalet: the honest trade-offs

• Hotel: breakfast, daily housekeeping, a desk to call, ski-in/ski-out at the base. You pay per room, and a couple pays resort prices.
• Chalet: a whole place to yourselves, a kitchen, a garden or patio, a garage, and usually a lower price for two. You cook or drive to eat, and check in with a PIN rather than a person.
• Groups of six or more: a two- or three-bedroom chalet or several hotel rooms. Couples: a one-bedroom chalet is almost always the better deal.
• Power: ask. Battery-backed 24/7 electricity is not universal, and generator schedules vary.

By trip

• Ski weekend, couple: a one-bedroom chalet on the Faqra plateau with an indoor garage, eight minutes from the lifts.
• Ski weekend, group of friends: a duplex at Faqra Club or Mzaar, or hotel rooms at the base.
• Summer week: a chalet with pool access at Faqra; the village is hot at midday and the base is quiet.
• One night, midweek, cheap: a chalet with a one-night minimum in low season, or a village hotel.
• Remote work for a month: a chalet with two internet connections and a monthly discount.

Where The Nest fits

The Nest is the one-bedroom chalet inside RedRock at Faqra: king bed, private lawn and fire pit, free indoor garage, 24/7 battery-backed power, WiFi plus 4G, and a smart-lock PIN for every stay. It is the lowest-priced way into RedRock for two and the wrong choice for a family of five. See the rates, the photos, or how Faqra, Faraya and Mzaar compare.