Schuss Time

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Welcome green shoots are showing their heads in the recession-hit ski resorts of Europe, with new hotels and bars opening in a wide range of resorts this season. But make sure you pick a high enough resort to ensure snow-cover in early and late season. Despite last winter's epic conditions, it is important not to forget those drought years. Best advice is to stay high and ideally choose a resort with glacier skiing.

Geneva Verbier
New Swiss chic hotel

Hotel Cordée des Alpes is a luxurious hotel opening in Verbier (just 90 minutes' drive from Geneva) this winter. It has innovative interiors mixing the best of old-school alpine with the very latest in Swiss chic. The decor features vintage ski design from the early 1900s - wooden skis and monochrome etchings adorn rustic walls, and hand-knotted carpets deck the floors.

Comprising 34 suites and guest rooms, as well as 14 residences which are for sale, Hotel Cordée marks the latest offering from local hotelier and restaurateur Marcus Bratter, who was responsible for launching - among other things - the resort's iconic Farm Club.

There's a 15m swimming pool, plus a hi-tech gym, steam rooms and saunas. The restaurant serves a gastronomic menu of local and fresh flavours, while the bar - with its lovely open fire - offers tea and cakes every afternoon and cocktails later on. From CHF350 (€287) per room per night, bed and breakfast, based on two people sharing. cdaverbier.ch

Expanding nightlife

Three of Verbier's most popular nightspots are owned by South African-based entrepreneur Rob Sawyer: the Farinet Lounge Bar, the adjoining Apreski conservatory bar which holds live music gigs, and the Casbah nightclub below them. They have all been gutted and a massive refurbishment is going on.

The Farinet will be much bigger this winter, with sunken fireplaces and windows that open concertina-style to incorporate the Apreski into the lounge bar. The old Casbah becomes a new restaurant with fabulous cuisine and the nightclub moves into the location of the former Public (and before that, Coco Club). hotelfarinet.com

Turin Cervinia
Under the Matterhorn

Just two hours from Turin, there's a gorgeous new addition to Cervinia in Italy's Aosta Valley. Hidden in the trees above the town is the Saint Hubertus Resort - a property describing itself as a 'hybrid apart-hotel', but much more than that.

Owned by the Hermitage next door, it's as contemporary as its neighbour is traditional. The spacious apartments are eco-friendly and stylish, with rough wooden beams, stone fireplaces, designer furniture and wood and stone floors, and a new restaurant is opening in the building this winter. From €187pp per night half board. sainthubertusresort.it

Milan Sestriere
Olympic skiing in the Milky Way

A new Club Med opens in Pragelato near Sestriere in the Milky Way ski area in December. The resort offers ski-in, ski-out access to the second biggest ski domain in Europe - the location for the Turin Olympics in 2006.

Built six years ago, the resort was previously managed by Kempinski until Club Med took over and invested in a complete refurbishment. This includes two new restaurants, a bar and a heated underground passage to take guests directly from the ski rooms to the cable car. From €1,382pp per week, including full board, open bar, lessons, lift pass and evening entertainment. clubmed.com 

Milan The Dolomites
'Slope' food in Corvara

Gourmet chefs with a raft of Michelin stars between them will be busy creating 'slope' food to accompany a glass of wine on the pistes this winter.

Much like the street food that is sold from stalls, trucks and trailers in cities around the world, skiing's equivalent in the Dolomites will be served at selected mountain huts in Italy's Alta Badia region.

The chefs will create slope food using at least one locally-produced ingredient. Led by three well-known chefs from the resort of Corvara (just two hours' drive from Milan), the team will be joined by hand-picked Michelin-star chefs from around Europe to create a unique type of delicious, easy-to-eat food for skiers who just don't want to stop. altabadia.org

Stockholm Are
Vital statistics in Scandinavia

Åre is Scandinavia's top downhill ski resort and also home to some lively nightlife and superb restaurants. To record your holiday in Åre, a free new app called Myskistar lets you log your vertical metres, enter competitions and collect 'badges'. All you need is your lift pass. skistar.com

Basel Gstaad
Off-piste pampering in Gstaad

Although a relatively low-lying resort, Gstaad in Switzerland's Bernese Oberland has a nearby glacier with lifts going up to 3,000m. And to top it all, the swanky resort has a new hotel opening in December.

Hotel Alpina has 56 rooms and is built in traditional alpine style. It contains three restaurants (one of them Japanese), a wine room, a private children's cinema and the Six Senses Spa, with its indoor and outdoor pools. From CHF850 (€699) per room per night, bed and breakfast, based on two people sharing. And just under three hours from Basel Airport. thealpinagstaad.ch 

Basel Engelberg
Welcome to the home of airboarding

The resort of Engelberg in Switzerland is the same distance from Basel as Gstaad. This winter it will be using its 2.5km-long toboggan run as an airboard slope - and there will be six new dedicated airboard slopes to boot. On Friday evenings, airboarders can also use the night-skiing slope at Klostermatte.

For the uninitiated, airboards are hi-tech, inflatable bodyboards that are used on snow. You steer them simply by shifting your weight, giving you the feeling of flying just above the surface of the snow. Developed in Switzerland by Airboard (visit airboard.com for more details about equipment), the bodyboard can be used on many existing toboggan runs, in deep powder, and of course on dedicated airboard slopes. The new sport is easy to learn; all you need in addition to the board is warm, waterproof ski clothing, a helmet, gloves, knee protection and decent footwear. And as you might expect, airboarding is a lot of fun. engelberg.ch

Felice Hardy is co-editor of the ski information website welove2ski.com

FR Aller tout « Schuss »

Felice Hardy vous livre ses adresses incontournables de la nouvelle saison de ski

Genève : Verbier Nouvel hôtel chic et suisse L'hôtel Cordée des Alpes est un nouvel établissement de luxe mixant le meilleur de la déco alpine old-school aux dernières tendances du chic suisse. Avec ses 34 suites et chambres d'hôtes, l'hôtel dispose aussi d'une piscine de 15 m, d'une salle de gym, de hammams et de saunas. Le restaurant sert un menu gastronomique tandis que le bar propose thé et gâteaux les après-midis et cocktails dans la soirée. A partir de 287 € la nuit, petit déjeuner compris, sur base d'une chambre double. cdaverbier.ch Place à la vie nocturne Trois des boîtes de nuit les plus cotées de Verbier ont été totalement relookées. Le Farinet sera maintenant encore plus spacieux, avec ses feux ouverts et ses fenêtres coulissantes qui s'ouvrent sur son bar lounge, l'Après-ski.

Le night club Casbah est devenu un restaurant et la nouvelle boîte de nuit siègera à la place de l'ancien Public. hotelfarinet.com 

Turin : sous le Cervin Caché dans les arbres en surplomb du mont Cervin, le Saint Hubertus Resort est un concept hybride d'appart-hôtel « eco-friendly », avec poutres en bois massif, feux ouverts en pierre et mobilier design. Un restaurant y ouvrira ses portes cet hiver. A partir de 187 € par personne par nuit en demi-pension. sainthubertusresort.it 

Milan : Sestriere Ski olympique sur la Voie Lactée Un nouveau Club Med ouvre ses portes en décembre à Pragelato, près de Sestriere, dans le domaine skiable de la Voie Lactée, au pied du deuxième plus grand domaine skiable en Europe. A partir de 1382 € par personne par semaine en pension complète, comprenant l'open bar, les cours, le pass remontées mécaniques et les soirées spectacles. clubmed.com Les Dolomites Le goût des pistes à Corvara Cet hiver, des chefs étoilés au Michelin innoveront avec des menus "Slope" food. A la manière des plats à emporter vendus dans les échoppes en ville, de la cuisine spéciale ski sera servie dans des refuges de montagne sélectionnés, dans la région de l'Alta Badia en Italie. altabadia.org 

Bâle :Gstaad Conçu dans le style traditionnel des Alpes, l'hôtel Alpina propose 56 chambres. Il comprend trois restaurants, une cave à vin et un Spa Six Senses. A partir de 699 € la nuit, avec petit déjeuner, sur base d'une chambre double. thealpinagstaad.ch Engelberg Cet hiver, mettez-vous à l'airboard - une sorte de luge high-tech, gonflable utilisée sur la neige et dirigée en déplaçant le poids de votre corps. Le vendredi soir, les mordus peuvent dévaler la piste de night-skiing à Klostermatte. engelberg.ch

NL Schuss tijd!

Felice Hardy geeft een overzicht van wat het nieuwe skiseizoen te bieden heeft

Genève: Verbier Nieuw Zwitsers luxehotel Hotel Cordée des Alpes is een nieuw luxehotel met innoverend interieur. Naast de 34 suites en gastenkamers beschikt het over een 15-meter bad en sauna's. Het restaurant serveert gastronomische gerechten en later op de avond kunt u in de bar terecht voor een cocktail. Kamers per nacht vanaf € 287, kamer en ontbijt, gebaseerd op dubbel gebruik. cdaverbier.ch

Nachtleven2 Drie van de populairste uitgaansgelegenheden van Verbier werden in een volledig nieuw kleedje gestoken. Farinet is nu nog groter, de oude Casbah nachtclub wordt een restaurant en de nieuwe nachtclub opent zijn deuren daar waar vroeger Public huisde. hotelfarinet.com 

Turijn: Aan de voet van de Matterhorn Verstopt tussen de bomen bovenaan Cervinia ligt het Saint Hubertus Resort, een hybride apart-hotel met grote, eco-vriendelijke appartementen inclusief stenen haardvuur. Deze winter opent er een restaurant in het gebouw. Kamers per nacht vanaf € 187 per persoon, half pension.sainthubertusresort.it 

Milaan: Sestriere Olympisch skieën in het Milky Way skigebied In december opent Club Med een nieuw Clubdorp in Pragelato, nabij Sestriere in het Milky Way skigebied. Vanaf € 1382 per persoon per week, all-inclusive, open bar, lessen en liftpas, avondentertainment. clubmed.com De Dolomieten Skiën met smaak in Corvara Een aantal door Michelin bekroonde chef-koks koken deze winter bovenaan de skipiste. Heerlijk bij een glas wijn! De speciale skigerechtjes worden opgediend in een selectie berghutten in de Italiaanse Alta Badia regio. altabadia.org 

Basel: Gstaad Hotel Alpina werd in traditionele Alpine stijl gebouwd en beschikt over 56 kamers. Daarnaast heeft het drie restaurants, een wijnkelder en een Six Senses Spa. Kamers per nacht vanaf € 699, kamer en ontbijt, gebaseerd op dubbel gebruik. thealpinagstaad.ch Engelberg Ga deze winter voluit voor airboarding. De airboards werden ontwikkeld in Zwitserland en kunt u gebruiken op tal van bestaande glijbanen en in diepe poedersneeuw. engelberg.ch

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