Chalet Heinz Julen Penthouse, Zermatt, Switzerland

Zermatt's internationally acclaimed architect, Heinz Julen, designed this extraordinary double-level 260 square metre luxury penthouse. With concepts such as a hanging fireplace in the middle of the living-room window, and original hand-made furniture (including Julen's famous chandeliers and chairs), it has featured in several designer magazines.

Very airy in feel, due to the extensive use of glass roofs, the chalet has a unique bird's nest view of the village and the Mischabel mountain range. Access is a two minute walk from the top of the Omnia Hotel lifts, for which you will have a private key. The village end of the lift delivers you to the heart of Zermatt, in the main street close to the church.

On the main floor there is a large living room with three separate seating areas, a dining section, the open-plan kitchen and two terraces. There are two bedrooms with high beamed ceilings at each end of this floor. Each bedroom has an en-suite shower and wc, TV and a balcony. The top floor consists of the master bedroom with a free-standing round Jacuzzi bath, sloping glass ceilings, stunning views, and a separate en-suite shower and wc. On the ground floor you will find the fourth double bedroom with en-suite massage shower and wc; your private glass-fronted sauna, an exercise room with a treadmill and two loungers to relax in. All three floors are accessed by your own private elevator and/or stairs. Superb, stylish and clever, the Heinz Julen Penthouse vies with the Loft for the prize of Zermatt's most original chalet style property.

With its world famous Matterhorn Mountain, fantastic on piste dining, and wonderful resort ambiance travellers from around the world have made sure that there is always a demand for luxury chalets in Zermatt. The ski area is huge and combines with Cervinia in Italy to create a wonderful interlinked ski domain. Zermatt has invested many millions over recent years creating a lift system that rivals any resort in the world and getting from one area to the other is no longer the problem that it once was. Zermatt always had a certain magic and that magic is now set to continue well into the 21st Century.