CHALET
VANDRA
The Story
Chalet Vandra, named after Vandra Jean Cussins, grew from a family's wish to honour her lifelong love of the great outdoors. Morzine felt like the natural place to anchor that memory - a friendly and authentic french alpine village with space, light and an easy rhythm. The penthouse was created as a calm, design-led home for gathering children, cousins and friends, carrying forward Vandra’s spirit of hospitality, adventure and togetherness in a place the family loves.
Site History
The street takes its name from Morzine’s early tourism landmark, Le Grand Hôtel (opened 1925 by François Baud), which helped shift the village from slate to hospitality and later sat beneath the Pleney cable car (1934). Through the mid–late 20th century the plots around Pleney filled with modest homes and small residences; at No. 84 the land belonged to branches of the Grorod, Premat and Méchoud families and remained residential, with additional buildings added in 1979 by Antoine-Joseph Méchoud.
In May 2020 Promoteam cleared the former petrol station to redevelop the site for housing. The approved scheme comprised three buildings with 67 apartments and two ground-floor retail units.
The address now forms Résidence ÉLAN -an ensemble of three contemporary chalet-style buildings, including two branded Sika and Dama - clad in timber and stone, with shared underground parking and improved pedestrian access, a short walk from the Pleney and Super Morzine gondolas.
Today, Morzine is a year-round gateway to the vast Portes du Soleil—combining authentic village charm with quick Geneva access, huge linked ski and bike terrain, and a nonstop calendar of alpine events.
Tourism underpins Morzine’s economy - supporting local jobs, funding lifts and infrastructure, sustaining shops, restaurants and services year-round, and preserving the village’s alpine identity.
Vision behind Chalet Vandra
Chalet Vandra is named after Vandra Jean Cussins - a much-loved wife, mother and friend to many. Raised in Alnmouth, Northumberland, she studied archaeology and began her career at London Weekend Television. A gifted horse rider and lover of the great outdoors, she met Peter in her teens and together they raised Abbe, Alix, Jabin and Lydia.
The family lived at Morwick Hall near Warkworth, later moving to Knightsbridge (the children educated at Hill House School) and then to Purley Hall in Pangbourne, travelling to the Far East and Turkey every holidays. In 1996 they returned North to Bitchfield Tower in Belsay as Peter, a leading property developer, expanded Cussins Property Group in the North East, which went on to deliver more than 55,000 quality new homes in the North East
In the late summer of 1998, while celebrating their wedding anniversary in Bodrum, Vandra suffered a catastrophic brain aneurysm while sailing and passed away soon after, with her family by her side. Chalet Vandra carries her name in honour of her independence, strength and joie de vivre.
May her light continue to lead us home.
