 Poster: A snowHead
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[UPDATE request] First, huge thanks for the recommendation of many to my original question!  I've now got my leave officially approved for the week of March 28-April 5! 
I've narrowed the candidate resort list down to either
- Laxx/Films, or
- St Moritz,
with Wengen & Zermatt at a distant third/fourth. (Davo got dropped due to excessive drag lifts)
It will come down to lodging choices (cost vs convinience).
Would appreciate some recommendation of lodging options in any of the above resorts. Love to hear what others find to be good value options without breaking the bank nor sleeping in a snow cave. So my critiria are (roughly in that order):
1) Proximity to lift.
-- 1a: Ski-in/out NOT neccessary (rather, not willing to pay premium for the convinience) within 5 min walk (in ski boots) to lift would be excellent! alternatively,
-- 1b: close to bus stop would be acceptable if it produces significant saving, as long as the bus service is frequent and not overly crowded.
2) Proximity to town. Within walking distance is fine. (10-15 min, not 1/2 hr walk) Prefer NOT involve buses after sun down.
3) Reasonably quiet: not a party animal, early to bed type
4) Have my own bathroom!
5) I'm NOT cooking in my holidays. So a good resturant nearby or in premise would be nice (in the latter case, half board might be handy).
Basically, anything clean at reasonable location will do.
[End of update]
===================================================================
On random checking, I found very reasonable flight to Zurich. So am exploring possibility of another week of sliding last weekend of March to 1st weekend of April, within a few hour of train from Zurich.
Given the good snow record so far, I probably don't have to worry too much about the amount of snow itself for that time frame yet. Though if all things are equal (which they never are), I'd like good snow quality as well. That time of year, either freshies or sweet corn snow would both do. Slush (and re-frozen slush) I'd prefer to avoid though...
I'm not really a big piste cruiser. But I'll be on my own so paying for guide service would be totally out of the question. So area that has easily accessible off-piste potential would score high on the list. The sort I can see/get to with low avi danger. Low angle snowfield between piste is perfectly fine. Can lots of itineries be the next best thing? I seem to recall the Swiss has something called the "freeride zone"??? (or am I mixing things up with Austria?)
I'm a tourist on skis. So good scenery would really appeal. I would also like to fit some x-c skiing in if possible.
Totally un-interested in apres nor drinking. Though good food and sweet is alwasy a plus.
The list that comes to my mind:
- St Moritz (+s: supposedly beautiful/lovely, extensive x-c skiing. -s: long transfer, a bit expensive)
- Jungfrau (+s: scenic, fair amount of harnless pleasent off-piste. -s: poor lift layout/connection, zero x-c skiing)
- Davos/Klosters (?)
- Laxx/Films (?)
Any of them I should eliminate, based on 1) scenery, 2) (un-guided) off-piste, 3) snow quality at end of March?
Any area that has all the above requirement that I missed?
What are the strength and weakness of Davos/Kloster & Laxx/Film?
Zermatt always come high on the scenic scale, but it's a bit far from Zurich... but perhaps worth the journey?
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 9-03-09 3:13; edited 2 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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From your description, Laax was my immediate thought. Obviously I'm hardly impartial but in its favour are a) of all of the resorts you mention it's the closest to Zurich (and has a resort shuttle bus to and from the airport) and b) has a whole load of avy-controlled freeride areas. 70% of the resort is over 2000m altitude but who can guess what the weather's going to do in a month's time. However there is a base of 270 cm at the top at the moment and it's still snowing as I write, so chances are conditions should hold up. Hairy Boy has just been there for a week and has written a resort report on the resorts board. And, just to put you off totally, I could come and join you for a day since it looks like I'm about to cancel my week there earlier in the month owing to being billy no-mates 
Some pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/skilaax/LaaxMidDecember2007#
http://picasaweb.google.com/skilaax/LaaxWinterImpressions251120071220#
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| abc wrote: |
| Zermatt always come high on the scenic scale, but it's a bit far from Zurich... but perhaps worth the journey? |
Zermatt's a bit far from anywhere ... but ultimately worth it.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Three and a half hours by train directly from Zurich Airport to Zermatt with one change in Visp. I thought it was good last week on the way back but pretty overcrowded on the way out. The express from Zurich to Visp is very comfortable and the scenery is spectacular.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| abc wrote: |
| Is the resort shuttle run frequently on a schedule? Or is it more of the "once in the morning and once in evening" affair? |
http://www.laax.com/flash/index.php?l=en#/de/resort_info/resort_info_laax_a_z
There you go - you know as much as I do! You might want to PM Cathy as she used it last season I believe. Failing that, there's a train directly from Zurich airport to Chur, from where there's a postbus straight up. Depends to an extent on your flight times of course
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| laundryman wrote: |
| Zermatt's a bit far from anywhere ... but ultimately worth it. |
Can I refer you to the thread elsewhere on relative merits of Zermatt? My friends who went were certainly not impressed at all
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nbt, it gets so boring adding 'IMO' everywhere.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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abc,
I have not been to St Moritz but have been to the others. Out of the ones I have been to Davos would probably be the one I would go for then. I loved Laax Flims but went early season. A large part of the skiing faces south and that would put me off planning ahead for end March beginning of April, thougheng_ch, obviously knows the resort a lot better than I do and you may get fabulous corn snow if the weather is right.
Davos is not an attractive town but the valley in which it is set is really attractive. There is extensive x country at 1500m plus which I would have thought would be reasonable when you are going it certainly looked great mid march last year. There is quite a lot of obvious reasonably safe off piste , A free ride area up at Pischa and several good itinaires. The lift system is not the most modern though I regard that as only partially a negative point as it keeps the numbers down particularly off piste.
PS Davos is on the pricey side for Switzerland though.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks for the link to saikee's thread,eng_ch.
T Bar, I'm indeed a bit concern about the south facing aspect of Laax. End of March could potentially have warm days. I usually look for a resort that has a variety of slope facing. For example, on two side of ridges facing two direction, or a big bowl shaped valley with skiing on 3 aspects. That way, one can deal with different weather condition by choosing where to ski at different time of day.
And just in case I get lucky with constant snowfall all week (for end of March ), some portion of pistes below treeline would mix up well with the above treeline terrain for an ideal combination.
A quick look at the Laax piste map turn up a large collection of double and triple diamond freeride zones!  While I'm a confident skier both on and off piste and do "rise up" in challenges, jumping off cornices into 40+ degree slopes all day long for a week doesn't a fun "holiday" make. I would prefer a good mix of mellow and challenging terrain. I'm at a lost trying to get a sense of how difficult these slopes are. How does Laax compare to the rest of the offering in difficulties?
So Laax, Davos, St Moritz and Zermatt all have things appealing to me, now I need 4 weeks instead of one in order to do them all!
I' off to request my time off. Keep the opinions coming!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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abc, Andermatt seems to tick all your boxes, its lovely.
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abc, some bits of the freeride areas get steep, others look doable to me. And quite aside from those, there are plenty of cuts between pistes e.g. down to Falera - if you want to, you can cut off the piste and not touch it except to cross it again and it's only a blue pitch. Also the glacier goes up to over 300m altitude. They normally keep the valley runs down to Laax open right through to closing day in mid April - we tend to avoid that late, but the southern aspect doesn't seem to have too bad an impact. You can get slush anywhere at that time of year if you're unlucky. It's not difficult to stay reasonably high either
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You know it makes sense.
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So, I've got my leave approved!
I've decided to drop Davos from the list due to excessive drag lifts. That left Laax/Flims and St Moritz, with Wengen and Zermatt at a distant back of the list.
Now, I need to sort out some lodging options. I think St Moritz might be more expensive than Laax/Flims but this being somewhat towards the end of the season, I'll leave my options open so I might be able to snatch a good deal?
So my critiria are (roughly in that order):
1) Proximity to lift.
-- 1a: Ski-in/out NOT neccessary (rather, not willing to pay premium for the convinience) within 5 min walk (in ski boots) to lift would be excellent! alternatively,
-- 1b: close to bus stop would be acceptable if it produces significant saving, as long as the bus service is frequent and not overly crowded.
2) Proximity to town. Within walking distance is fine. (10-15 min, not 1/2 hr walk) Prefer NOT involve buses after sun down.
3) Reasonably quiet: not a party animal, early to bed type
4) Have my own bathroom!
5) I'm NOT cooking in my holidays. So a good resturant nearby or in premise would be nice (in the latter case, half board might be handy).
Basically, anything clean at reasonable location will do.
I don't have a set budget, as long as I get good value for the money spend.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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abc, as far as I know, our place is available that week - I can check with the agent over the weekend if you like, as we'll be there. If you don't want even the facilities to cook, there are two 4* hotels in the centre too which I'm sure will be doing packages for the end of the season - the Laaxerhof and the Signina hotel. If you check out Hairyboy's resort report, he was staying in one of the apartments run by the Signina. Our place certainly meets all your criteria apart from possibly the proximity to town. It's central and has all the facilities but it is the facilities of a base station rather than an actual town (the villages of Flims and Laax are a bus ride away). Having said that, the centre has everything you need - supermarket, coffee bar, burger bar, bar bar, sports shops, hotel restaurants...
Can't help you with St Moritz, I'm afraid!
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Poster: A snowHead
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eng_ch, thansk for the info.
Haven't got much luck with the central tourist site. They're website are either quite slow (over the weekend) or not returning anything (today). There're packages, but some search result returned are automatically converted to Sun-Sun, which doesn't quite work for me. My leave puts me on a Sat-Sat schedule.
I've also send off a couple of inquiries directly to the hotels you mentioned instead. Will wait and see...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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abc, I've only been to St Moritz once, it is however more expensive than places like Wengen, you know it's going to be pricy when you walk into a place and see a lot of designer lables, however I believe it should still be possible to stay there for a reasonable price.
Of the 3rd and 4th choices Wengen and Zermatt both have spectacular scenery although they have a different atmosphere, I'd certainly reccomend visits to both at some time in your life, Zermatt has the bigger ski area but I think Wengen is still slightly prettier though the ski areas are not so well linked as more modern resorts, it is mainly intermediate area, however Wengen does have one major advantage, if you stay on the high street both the station and the cablecar station will be less than 5 mins walk in ski boots, plus it's possible (easy) to ski back to the village center, it's also a quiet resort, they actually have noise police who will have a quiet word with anyone being too loud in the high street after 10pm, might be worth checking out the Wengen-Murren web site http://www.myjungfrau.ch/en/welcome.cfm? to see the offers available, some good deals arround where hotels include ski pass as part of the deal
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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abc, I found out this weekend that 28 Mar - 5 Apr is actually the British snowboarding champs in Laax, so accommodation may be in shorter supply - our place is booked I'm afraid.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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D G Orf, I've "been" to Wengen. So as a box to be ticked, it's already done.
To be honest, I wasn't all that "charmed" by the "atmosphere" per se (well, after day 3, that is, the "charm" had worn off ). On the positive side, the scenary is simply breathtaking and very much the ONLY thing I remember. The ski, while adequate, is nothing special. And I'm very much deterred by the disjointed lift networks (actually, the problem was only the train components of the network, which is ironic since that's what makes Wengen "charming" ). So, while I enjoyed it well enough and will be happily going back, it's not on the top of my list. That said, I'm tempted to go back due to the late'ish season, with hope of more daylight and sunshine. Last time it was snowing most days, great for skiing, didn't get to see the mountain too well!
Zermatt and St Moritz both has a long'ish transfer. In this case, St Moritz has the advantage of having easy access to x-c skiing, which could work rather well on transfer days by fitting in a few hours of kicking and sliding. Both place, however, are quite large and spread out, making hotel selection rather a confusing and frustrating process!
Laax/Flims has short enough transfer, a full day skiing can easily be fit in even on transfer both transfer days (my flight gets into Zurich at 6:30am!). Though the x-c skiing seems less well positioned than St Moritz. The other positive, according to eng_ch and a couple other triper, being the easy access (easy to see and get to) of off-piste terrain without employing a guide.
The timing of this trip is such I do like to give special attention to scenary (more sunny days than Jan/Feb, longer daylight too) and x-c skiing (guarantee snowpack at lower elevation)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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The snow wont keep in Laax in to April the its basically south facing, you will only get spring skiing,
Is the Engadin you still have a good chance of some powder. Even into april.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I was very pleased with what I found in St Moritz. We booked to stayed in Station Hotel in Pontresina because we had been alerted by SH here one could do a day trip to Livigno from St Moritz and so we chose a hotel close enough for that move. It proved to be a mistake because the mountain pass from Pontresina to Livigno does not open in winter. We actually managed on the day we moved from Davos to St Moritz to ski Livigno, which we consider to be too small to stay a few days there. As it turned out Livigno was a lot larger and prettiier than we thought and its skiing didn't disappoint us at all. The only way to ski Livigno from St Moritz is via Zernez.
Pontresina is slightly cheaper than St Moritz Bad or St Moritz Dorf. If we go again we would probably try accommodation near Silvaplana.
Geographically St Moritz has 3 main skiing areas of Corviglia, Corvatsch and Diavolezza. The main hub is in Corviglia which is directly above the most expensive place St Moritz Dorf. Access is best via Celerina. Access to St Moritz Dorf is very restricted because it is a very expensive place lined with design shops. In fact residents from St Moritz Dorf can drive to Celerina but not the other way round on the same road! Parking in St Moritz Dorf is paid up to late in the evening. You need very deep pocket to be able to ski in and ski out in St Moritz Dorf.
I didn't have to use the public transport but I think Celerina has a train station nearby. The other main access to Corviglia is in St Moritz Bad which appears to have bus access only and is next the the main road.
Corvatsch is quite large too but I hate too many T bars there. Access is via two cable car stations in Surlej and Furtschellas which are accessed by buses.. Surlej has the highest peak at 3451m. View is stunning from Corvatsch because you can see the full splendour of St Moritz with the frozen lakes.
Diavolezza is a bit of an odd ball because it can be classified as two poorly linked resorts of Lagalb and Disvolezza with 1 and 2 lift respectively. The two facilities are so close together but probably hellish to walk from one to another. One can try to ski from Diavolezza to Lagalb cable car station but the return journy is by bus only. The good news is Diavolezza can be reached by train. Skiing wise Diavolezza is limited on groomed piste but could be heaven for off piste. It is a weird to ski, especially in Lagalb because the only lift is the cable car so after the run one must take off the skis, walk up the stairs, wait for the cable car for the next run. Snow is guaranteed because the base level here starts at 2093 and 2107m respectively.
St Moritz is very white with plenty of snow. It is a bit out of the way from the motorways and I have never been able to organise a trip there until now because it seems to be hidden in west corner of Switzerland. It is a very nice place to be though. Food is expensive but very classy too. One must spend an evening or two in St Moritz Dorf and feel its opulence, preferably have a candle lit dinner with the partner. It is what dreams are made of.
Like I mentioned in my thread I found the majority of visitors to St Moritz were on cars with Swiss plates. The general atmosphere is people are affluent, well manner, well behave and there is no need to rush.
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saikee, thanks very much for the detailed information of St. Moritz. I'm most interested.
Without a car, where would you gather to be the most convenient location to stay? Taking into account the need to walk in ski boots (10 min max). Do you see a lot of buses going about? I'm trying to get a sense on how frequent they run...
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You need very deep pocket to be able to ski in and ski out in St Moritz Dorf.
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Oddly enough, I'm finding reasonably affordable accomondation within St Moritz Dorf still available. Not ski-in/ski-out, of course. I can walk fine anyway. But apart from the glitzy shops, is there any pratical advantage staying at St Moritz Dorf? On casual glance, I see cable cars going up from all over the valley. Would St Moritz Bad just as easy to access the majority of skiing (via buses some of the times)?
Of the outlaying villages, which is the most convenient ski access wise? How about places to just walk about after skiing (and maybe a cup of coffee & sweet post-dinner)?
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We've stayed in Celerina in the summer and there's some very nice accommodation there along with the convenience of the station - not convinced that the station in St Moritz itself is exactly convenient for the skiing, though, if you're in ski gear
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I concur with eng_ch that Celerina may be a better bet for public transport because the train can take you to St Moritz Dorf (the bottom) and Diavolezza in additional to the bus services.
My Corviglia pist map indicate that there is only two lifts down to St Moritz Dorf. The funicular does go to the central position of it but the Chairlift L is pretty far away. I did ski down to the the funicular mid station because there is a very memorable black run called Olympia ending there. The piste map marks this black run 1928+1948, presumably that was used in the two winter Olympic. It is one of the steepest black in St Moritz but not steep by the modern standard and it is a groomed piste too. It is quiet so can be very enjoyable. My guess is that you will be able to access Corviglia well if you stay at St Moritz Dorf. I would think there must be bus services to other two unlinked areas of Corvatsch and Diavolezza but I have no knowledge of their frequencies. I did see buses regularly turning up at Corvatsch and Diavolezza.
When I was in Davos I was so impressed with its public transport system that I stopped using my own car. St Moritz is not in the same league as Davos when it come to buss and trains. As far as I can make out from my pist maps (and also from memory) only Celerina (for access to Corviglia) and Diavolezza are linked by trains. For my money and without a car I would choose St Moritz Dorf if I can get accommodtaion close to the funicular. Before you book check the accommodation address with Google map. St Moritz Dord is a proper tourist place even in the evening.
Remeber St Moritz does sell you ski pass to ski all three areas so there must be facilities to enable the clients to enjoy them. I feel guilty for not using them because the Station hotel in Pontresina was just outside the hotle. The car does enable us to vist quickly two places in succession and it is handy to drop into St Moritz Bad supermarket Co Op for a coffee.
I had the St Moritz tourist office sent me the piste maps before I went because there doesn't seem to be any decent St Moritz map in the Internet. You may be able to achieve it. If not PM me with your address and I can send a set as I got plenty.
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saikee, aside from not able to drive over the Bernina pass as you originally planned, what's the disadvantage of staying at Pontresina?
Celerina seems to be no less expensive than St Moritz. Or rather, most available accomondation I found are of the more expensive kind (4*+).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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abc,
Station hotel charged 115 CHF per double room B&B per night which was the cheapest we could find at the time but the dearest for our 3-week Swiss trip. It is handy for trains so going to Diavolezza and Cerlerina should be great. It is a bit out of the way but the town does have some nice restaurants. Station hotel, a recent re-build so the accommodation is brand new, is very convenient as it has its own pizza restaurant which serves other meat dishes at affordable prices (relatively in St Moritz!).
I suppose if you are prepared to visit St Moritz Dorf in the evening by train then it should work out because Celerina is the best access point to Conviglia except according to the piste map it seems to be some walking involved ( about 8 detached houses distance to Celerina car park according to Google Map) I don't know how the buses are connected but I would say using a combination of trains and buses you should be able to ski the remaining area of Corvatsch, as there must be link buses at train stations of Celerina or St Moritz Bad to it.
The St Moritz Dorf must be visited to justify the trip, especially in early evening while the shops are still open. Just leave the credit card at the hotel and you should be alright.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I'm still trying to get my head around the layout of the Egadin valley.
It appears to me the lifts for the 3 different ski areas starts from different villages. So no matter where I stay, I'll end up having to use the buses some of the days anyway. It's only a matter of how many days I'll be able to walk to lift and how many days I have to walk to the bus stop. And balance that with a good local village for the evening after the lifts closes.
Add to that mix, whether I want to drag my luggage from the train station to the bus stop vs dragging it through the street of St Moritz!
So it seems Celerina has the advantage of both a train station and lift close by since it seems smaller than St Moritz? How does Pontresina compare in that regard? Are those the only two villages that have both train station and lifts besides St Moritz Dorf?
Of the rest of the villages that requires a bus ride, which village has better lift access?
Also, are there villages I should avoid due to being ugly, poor layout (lots of walking in ski boots) or dead after dark (no place for a stroll)?
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We actually stayed in 2 places in the summer (05 I think it was). The first was:
http://www.chesa-nick.ch/
Not the cheapest, but pretty convenient and very personal
The other was:
http://www.hotelmisani.ch/index.php?id=1
Has a nice bar but was a little less personal. It's usually one of the venues for the Jazz festival in August
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You know it makes sense.
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Pontresina has no skiing lift at all nearby, except by train going up the Bernina Pass to Diavolezza/Lagalb. Going downhill you will get to Celerina. Thereafterward the train seems to terminate at St Moritz Dorf. The station is along the main road and is actually outside the St Moritz. It would be hellish to walk uphill to the funicular but I expect a ski bus service must be available for such access. In the evening one doesn't mind a bit of walking up into the town in comfortable shoes. For access to ski lifts the train can get you to Celerina and Diavolezza directly.
The layout of the resorts is quite long.
Starting from Furtschellas's Sils Maria cable car station, which is the furthermost, you have to pass Surjej the other half of Corvatcsch. The road distance is 4.7km.
Surlej is directlt opposite to Silvaplana a town where there is a road to Davos via the Julier Pass. Surlej and Silvapana is separate by a large lake which is 2.1km apart.
Continue onward with the main road you will hit St Moritz Bad with which you can access Corviglia by the Signal cable car station. St Moritz Bad is 5km from Silvapana. Corviglia is on the opposite side of the valley to Corgvatsch.
The road further is St Moritz Dorf with the town uphill and away from the main road. There is a distance of 1.4km between St Moritz Bad and Dorf.
The main road passes a junction on the left to Celerina. From St Moritz Dorf to Celerina is 3.5km.
From Celerina it is only a short distance to a roundabout branching off to Bernina Pass. Pontresina is at near the bottom of the pass and is 4.1km from Celerina.
The distance from Celerina to Diavolezza is 16.2km.
Since the St Moritz safari has a piste from Convatsch to St Moritz Bad I would image there should be a bus link between the two. How this link is extended to cover St Moritz Dorf and Celerina I could not confirm. The driving distance from St Moritz Dorf to the funicular, which is situated high up in the hill, is 0.9m. To enable skiers to ski Diavolezza it would make sense to me that the bus would stop and even terminate at St Moritz Dorf as skiers can access Corviglia by the Signal cable car (a pretty big place on the main road) thus the only need for skiing Diavolezza is to get to the nearest train station at St Moritz Dorf.
Main accesses to skiing lifts
Corvignia - Celerina, St Moritz Dorf funicula and Signal cable car at St Moritz Bad.
Corvatsch - Furtschellas cable car at Sils Maria or Surlej Cable car -only Buses to these 2 areas, no train accaess.
Diavolezza - Diavolezza cable car and Lagalb cable car - only by trains (bus uncertain but exists between the two cable car stations as there isn't a convenient stop for Lagalb.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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saikee, very much appreciate the detail info!
How does St Moritz Bad look? Is it a pleasent place for strolling about after skiing? One can always take the bus up to St Moritz Dorf, but I don't want that to be neccessary for every day.
BTW, for the time you were at the area, did you spend evening near where you were staying or did you purposely go around to "sample" the other villages?
Your comment in earlier post:
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The general atmosphere is people are affluent, well manner, well behave and there is no need to rush.
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I quite like the sound of that.
(That's the same impression I got at Wengen. And that's the way I like my holidays. I reserve my dare devil skiing to the American Rockies when I go on trips with the Epicski "bears" -- the N. American snowheads)
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Poster: A snowHead
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St Moritz Bad has some nice hotels and is really an extended part of St Moritz Dorf. The supermarket Co Op there is quite large and modern with an attached cafeteria.
With a car we like to sample various areas in the evening. We were bit surprised to find a restaurant in the bottom of Via Traunter Plazzas that serve every kind of meats including bison, deer, kangaroo and Ostrich. We didn't go into Celerina in the evening as it looks like a quiet residential area. We were entertained by live music when we ate at a restaurant in Pontresina. If you are mentally prepared that it is a classy and expensive place to dine and choose carefully then you will enjoy it. I don't know why I should bring up the place is expensive but the shop owner I met in Livigno and a local resident all said so.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Celerina is quiet (in the summer at least) but has some very nice restos as I recall
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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eng_ch, chesa-nick looks quite lovely! (and they have a package rate that's not too outrageous)
Do the rooms have shower/tub? It said WC but I'm not sure if that means just a washbasin or a full bathroom?
Their website is in German so I'm left guessing. How far is it from the train station and/or lift?
The other (Misani) web site looks a bit funky. If that's an accurate reflection of the style of the hotel itself, it's not quite my taste.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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abc,
You can cut and paste any text in a foreign language and get Babel Fish to translate it into English.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Mon 16-03-09 13:17; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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abc, the room we had had a shower, not sure all of them do, but guess you could request it. It says it's 2 minutes to the station and 2-5 minutes to the ski lift. Might be a little optimistic but probably not by much as I recall. It's also tucked up a little side street so it's fairly quiet.
Yes, the Misani is funky; I wouldn't want to spend a whole week there, I think, but it was fine for a couple of nights at the jazz festival. As I said, it has a nice bar
saikee, "English"
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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abc,
That looks interesting and quite tempting I must admit. I didn't walk into the restaurant at the top of Diavolezza as I ate elsewhere. I checked the piste map and quite rightly there is a bed sign indicated at the top restaurant and the Berghaus Diavolezza does indicate accommodation available at 3000m for overnight stay.
It was very lonely while I skied it as I reported going down the black run I was the only piste user there. Returning back to the red runs I only met 2 to 3 others. I did linger a bit at the top of Diavolezza to try the only chairlift there. Queues did not exist at that time in the afternoon of Jan.
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I won't be staying at Berghaus Diavolezza this trip. Got a nice weekly package offer from one of the nice 4* hotels that fits my schedule exactly.
I'll definitely ski the area and will poke my head inside just to check it out as a potential for future trip...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I'll do a proper report when I get my head level, hopefully with picutures.
I'm with saikee, Diavolezza is my favorate. Well, Lagalb too if I have more time. "Two poorly linked areas" is an understatement. It's pushing it to ski both area in the same day! But the view on top of either peak are breathtaking (in more ways than one )!
I did the 10km ski route off the back of Diavolezza. I highly recommend it. The scenary is fabulous! Just make sure you ONLY do it on a good visibility day! The skiing is on the level of a proper black (or harder black) since it's un-pisted and some good sized bumps formed. Though it's only on a few sections, none too terribly long. The rest are "almost" flat. So on a warm spring day (which is, incidentally the only time of the year the route is openned), the going can be a bit slow.
Having to wait for the train back at the end of it means it takes a good couple hours for the run. That left little time to go over to Legalb and give IT a good work over... It's really best to ski one area each day. Do NOT use the train to get to Legelb. I ended up walking in deep snow for 50 metres! Hardest work of the whole week!!!
The famous "sun of St Moritz" was a bit stingy this past week. So I have only exactly 3 clear days. I devoted each to one area: Corviglia, Corvatsch, Diavolezza. The rest of the week was either a mix of sun and cloud (more cloud really) or completely clouded in. There're some tree-lined runs lower in the mountain but they get slushy in the spring warmth. So a lot of short days due to vertigo and/or slush. Fortunately, St Moritz is probably one of the best place to get clouded in...
My favorate in the following order: Diavolezza, Corvatsch, Corviglia. Scenary are good on all three area, each has its own special charm.
I'll get the photos sorted and write a proper report. A lovely place overall. (and a lovely hotel)
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