Twenty minutes from Aix-les-Bains. That’s all it takes for the world to change texture.
At the end of the path is your lodge. Wood, soft light, silence. The hot tub steaming gently outside. The scent of wood inside.
You have just driven twenty minutes from Aix-les-Bains. You are in the heart of the forest and it feels like you are a thousand kilometres from everything.
That is exactly the point.
Le Nouveau lodge, perched on the hillside among the greenery.
Two lodges near Aix-les-Bains, total privacy and romance: stunning view, hot tub, sauna and brazier
Everyone knows Savoie: the ski resorts, Lac du Bourget, the thermal baths of Aix-les-Bains. But between those famous postcards and the forest of Saint-Paul-sur-Yenne, there is a whole world.
Cocoon Wood is nestled in the Avant-Pays savoyard, away from the tourist crowds, on land its creators transformed with their own hands over several years. No road passing by. No neighbours in sight. No urban background noise. Just nature, dense and soothing, doing its work from the very first minutes.
For an unusual night near Aix-les-Bains, the location is rare: close enough to reach from the station by taxi, remote enough for a total, immediate disconnection.
The bed and panoramic windows of Le Nouveau lodge.
What you feel before you even unpack
Some places you visit. Others you feel.
When you step into the lodge, something happens. It’s hard to name precisely. Perhaps the quality of the silence. Perhaps the warmth of the wood stove welcoming you. Perhaps the view of the trees from inside, a natural frame that imposes itself without you looking for it.
The hot tub is ready. So is the sauna. The candles have been set out. The record player is waiting. Soi de Soi skincare products are in the bathroom, French linen is on the bed. Everything has been thought of before you arrive, so you no longer have to think about anything.
That is the detail that changes everything about an unusual night: nothing to manage, nothing to organise. Just be there.
Le Nouveau lodge and its barrel sauna in the garden.
The story behind the lodges
Behind Cocoon Wood are Guillaume and Anaïs.
In 2018, they looked at this forest in Saint-Paul-sur-Yenne and decided to make something of it. Building work began in 2022: Guillaume bought a mechanical digger, dug 450 metres of trench to bring water from the village and laid 120 metres of electric cable. Anaïs, a well-known naturopath in Aix-les-Bains, brought her vision of well-being: the conviction that your surroundings affect your inner state as much as any treatment.
Their children, Théo and Jade, grew up in the middle of the building site. Today the whole family brings the place to life, from breakfast prepared every morning to the flower bouquets arranged by their florist in Yenne.
This is not a lodge run by a hotel chain. It is a place built by people who know what it means to need a break. And you can feel it.
The L’Original lodge and its terrace among the trees.
An unusual night, with all the comfort you don’t always dare to treat yourself to
Unusual does not mean uncomfortable. Far from it.
The lodge combines the authenticity of wood and nature with the comfort of high-end accommodation. The bedding is carefully chosen. The balneo bath is there for long evenings, the sauna for late afternoons, the outdoor brazier for stargazing without getting cold.
In the morning, breakfast is delivered to your door: local produce, flavours of Savoie. Eat at your own pace, in your pyjamas if you like, as nature wakes up around you.
And if you want to take the experience even further, a plancha barbecue in summer, a raclette or Savoyard fondue in winter, a bottle of Mondeuse or Roussette chosen from our partner winemakers: we take care of everything on request.
The balneo bathtub on Le Nouveau’s covered terrace.
Lac du Bourget and the Mont du Chat as your playground, Aix-les-Bains nearby, the lodge as your base
What makes an unusual night near Aix-les-Bains so special is the richness of the surroundings.
Lac du Bourget is ten minutes away: the largest natural lake in France, with its preserved shores, waterside restaurants and walks. Hautecombe Abbey stands on the west shore with a presence you wouldn’t expect. Chanaz, nicknamed the “little Venice of the Alps”, deserves an hour’s wander along its canals. Chambéry and its historic centre are twenty minutes away.
For the more active, the Dent du Chat offers a demanding hike with a panoramic view over the lake and the Alps that justifies every metre of climbing. And our Moustache electric bikes, available free of charge from the lodge, open up four marked routes to suit your mood and level.
But here is what many guests end up telling us: they had planned to go out, explore and visit. And in the end, they never left the lodge. Not for lack of motivation, but because staying was exactly what they needed.
The bed of the L’Original lodge, seen through the open bay window.
What our guests really say is that they leave truly rested. Not just less tired: rested. That is the difference between a night in a good hotel and an unusual night at Cocoon Wood: you go home rested not only in body, but in mind.
An unusual night near Aix-les-Bains, in a lodge in the heart of the Savoie forest, with a hot tub, a sauna, a crackling fire and no one else around but the two of you. Some things are worth experiencing at least once. Most of our guests come back and make it a habit, especially couples. Discover our lodges or, for groups, our group house.
Places to visit near Aix-les-Bains and the lodges
The Dent du Chat
Lac du Bourget
Chanaz
Royal Abbey of Hautecombe, on the shore of Lac du Bourget
Lac d’Aiguebelette
Guillaume & Anaïs