The story of an old family farm gradually transformed into a comfortable hotel...

 In early summer 1947, the Hotel Soleil Gay received his first customers.  But this was not the Gay Sun we know today...

 In 1823 the farm was built by Pierre-Joseph Mermoud to accommodate his large family.

 Born in 1796, he married twice, had four children from first marriage and ten ones the second.

 Which may explain his bulimia houses, he built since a total four houses!



The old photos give us a clear idea of what the farm was to become the Gai Soleil: a building firmly pulled on the walls of 80 to 90 cm thick, upper east and west facades of wood on two levels, a "suite" on the west facade and a roof ancella (plate’s carved spruce wood in the thread).

 Few still Contamines houses that have it as an elegant gateway, just built from the 1820s, with two pilasters in tuff, crowned with an arch "basket handle" with a key carved scrolls.  Father Lacombe said that these houses, such as "la Clé des Champs" have been built respecting the volumes and angles of the roof determined, giving a harmonious whole.

History of Gai Soleil began in 1920 with our grandfather Albert, grand-son of Pierre-Joseph, born in 1871.

There is a farmer-rancher; summer, it has the pastures of the “Bûche-Croisée” and “Roselette” and practices also the livestock trade.

He is open to the modern world, to the point of being one of the first to have a car at les Contamines-Montjoie village...

Seeing that the top of the valley are interested in more tourists, he built two rooms on the farm for summer rental.

But there was no question of abandoning the agricultural and pastoral.