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Ultima Collection Crans-Montana Review

The spa of the Ultima Crans-Montana covers 1,000m² of the property, and has an on-site lake surrounded by alpine woods

This private luxury chalet, previously owned by Bernard Arnault, from the Ultima Collection is located in Crans-Montana, a sunny gem on a high shelf in the Valais Alps of Switerzland. The 16-bedroom chalet offers guests the opportunity to take advantage of winter sports and other activities in this beautifully located village, as Fabienne Amez-Droz discovers

In the heart of the Valais Alps, Crans-Montana offers a slightly more understated charm compared to other Swiss ski resorts like Gstaad or St. Moritz, which are internationally more well-known. But it definitely has the same glitz – plus epic and scenic skiing.

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This sunny village, made up of the towns of Crans and Montana, attracts many golfers in the summer, with the Omega European Masters and welcomes ski enthusiasts and families in the winter, who come to explore the mountains air and enjoy ski touring.

The spa area features sauna, hammam, fitness gym, and heated outdoor pool

Just 2 hours and 20 minutes from Geneva Airport lies the former ski retreat of Roger Moore. Bridging the gap between the luxury hotel and luxury home genres, the Ultima Collection with its properties in places like Gstaad, Courchevel, Megève and many more, targets elite travellers with an eye for luxurious details and services.

Read more: Grace Hotel St. Moritz review

In 2018, the Ultima Collection acquired two luxury chalets in Crans-Montana, which were originally built by Bernard Arnault in the 1990s. The properties were renovated and the interiors completely redesigned – although there is a new owner since this year who wants to redecorate all the Ultima properties again with for example more classical art on the walls.

The two chalets offer 16-bedrooms in total and are connected underground

Today, affluent ski enthusiasts can rent the two private chalets, connected by an underground passage, featuring a total of 16 bedrooms, on a weekly price basis. The Ultima in Crans-Montana is particularly popular among Russian and Middle Eastern guests, in winter as well as in summer where people enjoy the fresh air and some hiking.

Football legend Lionel Messi and other celebs have visited the residence in recent years. Sven Flory, Chief Commercial Officer of the Ultima Collection, mentioned that these kind of guests really enjoy the privacy of the chalets and that there are no other guests around.

Situated in the heart of the Crans-Montana region, the two chalets are set in between natural lakes and woods

The chalet’s architecture combines traditional Swiss with contemporary elements, featuring natural materials like wood and stone paired with sleek modern furnishings.

The chalet’s wellness facilities offer non-skiers a good alternative programme. Guests can indulge in the spa that includes an outdoor pool, hammam, snow shower and treatment rooms, where you can book an appointment – from massages to facials, tailored to individual preferences.

The spa team can personalise detox and immune-boosting treatments to a persons exact needs

The wellness area also features a gym equipped with all necessary equipment. Yoga-lovers can book a private teaching session with their in-house yoga instructor. Especially after having done the first ski day of the season, muscles might be sore and a good stretch might help to prepare you for the rest of the week.

For the real skiers, the Ultima Crans-Montana provides experienced ski guides to assist guests in exploring the area’s slopes and off-piste trails. The chalet of course does have a ski room, equipped with heated lockers and all the necessary facilities to keep your Fusalp or Moncler ski gear safe and warm. I enjoyed rocketing down from the high lift station at Les Violettes, from where you can see a spectacular view of all the Valais Alps including the Matterhorn. The skiing is a mix of high mountain and forest trails, and suitable for all grades.

The two chalets can accommodate up to 38 guests. Both of the buildings have access to the retreat’s spa and outdoor pool area

From a cozy cheese fondue, beef wellington to a barbeque outside – a private chef will be available at all times to create menus tailored to guests’ tastes, using locally sourced ingredients. Pair the dishes with the local wines from the Valais, grown in the vineyards below the resort, like a floral Petite Arvine (white) or spicy Cornalin (red) – which seem to be quite unknown in the world of wines, as we Swiss like to keep the good things to ourselves.

The two chalets feature a cinema room, cigar lounge, an office space and a Billiard room

The Ultima Crans-Montana is more than just a place to stay; it is a destination in itself. For those seeking the ultimate alpine luxury, plus seclusion and being away from the crowds of people you know in Courchevel or St Moritz, the Ultima Crans-Montana is a compelling choice.

Find out more: www.ultimacollection.com

Reading time: 4 min

Latest Stories, Online Exclusive Slider, Summer 2020, Travel

How Andermatt Swiss Alps is tackling climate change

The Göscheneralpsee reservoir west of Andermatt is fed by the Dammastock glaciers.

Climate change is creating challenges for mountain resorts the world over. In Switzerland, a new luxury resort is leading the way in incorporating ecologically sound design into every aspect of their development. Jenny Southan discovers the innovations and advances being made in Andermatt

We all know that climate change is a problem, but for ski resorts, which rely on consistently sufficient snowfall, the challenge is particularly pressing – as snow, especially at lower altitudes, decreases, many will be forced to shut down (hundreds have already been abandoned across the Alps). And as the number of ‘snow-certain’ destinations dwindle, there is the added problem that by 2050, half of Switzerland’s 4,000 glaciers are forecast to have disappeared.

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However, the good news is that humans are incredibly innovative, and if serious steps are taken now to combat carbon emissions, the negative effects of climate change could be mitigated. Leading the way in Switzerland is the Andermatt Swiss Alps (ASA) development project, which is one of just a small handful of resorts that is taking serious steps to up its eco credentials and ensure its longevity as an outpost for winter sports.

Stefan Kern, head of PR and communications for ASA, says: “The project is heavily dedicated to sustainability. This is a core value of all our activities – from energy consumption to construction and gastronomy. We are proud to be on the way to being a fully carbon-neutral holiday destination.”

Looking down into the Ursern valley from Schneehüenerstock. Image by Valentin Luthiger

Demonstrating its commitment to the cause, ASA teamed up last year with the Swiss branch of American NGO Protect Our Winters (POW), which is helping it to devise sweeping, longterm initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint, as well as consumption of single-use plastic (none is sold at resort sites). At the beginning of 2020, ASA also launched Andermatt Responsible, a platform that “looks at the whole company’s footprint from heating to energy to water,” as Nicholas Bornstein, head and founder of POW Switzerland, explains.

A political scientist with a Ph.D in Swiss environmental policy, there are few people better equipped than Bornstein to discuss combatting climate change in mountainous regions. He says that POW “allows me to combine my love of the outdoors with meaningful action”. He explains that his organisation works to “mobilise our community to implement climate change protection measures” via groups of local activists, professional athletes, companies and mountain guides, who act as ambassadors.

The Andermatt golf course. Image by Martin Wabel/Bildsektor.

How is climate change affecting Alpine ski resorts? In addition to making ski seasons shorter, Bornstein says: “The snow line has risen approximately 300 metres in the past 40 years, and is predicted to go up a further 500 to 700 metres by the end of the century, and this is putting a lot of ski resorts out of business.”

He also notes that conditions are becoming more dangerous. “We have seen avalanches in mid-winter of the kind that we would expect in April and May. They are becoming harder to predict.” Why? If the ground isn’t cold enough when it starts snowing, an insulating layer is created by the snow where heat is trapped and snow can slide off more easily. “We call these ‘fish mouth’ avalanches,” says Bornstein.

ASA has identified key contributors and is taking steps to reduce their impact. Bornstein says that approximately 50 to 70 per cent of CO2 emissions in Andermatt are from people coming to the resort by car so they are putting on extra trains from Zurich at weekends, offering discounted ski passes for people who don’t drive (driving in general here is restricted and there is a good bus system for those who don’t want to walk, including an electric bus). Andermatt Reuss is for pedestrians only.

Andermatt seen from the Gütsch ski lift

Food production and logistics are also big polluters, especially in Switzerland which imports a lot of goods. Bornstein says that POW has been working with restaurants in ASA to
put a more regional and vegetarian cuisine on menus. Andermatt’s gourmet restaurants are also reducing the amount of plastic-wrapped ingredients they buy.

Even more impressive is the fact that the entire SkiArena of Andermatt (from homes to ski lifts) is 100 per cent powered by hydroelectric and wind-powered energy supplied by Ursern electricity works, which exclusively serves the Gotthard region. (On the Graubünden side of Andermatt, Energia Alpina also provides 100 per cent renewable energy.) Not only that but all the buildings are heated in a totally carbon-neutral way through the burning of locally sourced wood pellets and surplus heat captured from Swiss army computers buried deep in secret bases in nearby mountains.

“People want to see companies stepping up to the challenge and we believe it is going to become more important to position yourself with a ski resort that cares about the future of the environment,” says Bornstein. Even during the summer when people play golf surrounded by green meadows, ASA has ensured that its 20-plus species of birds have plenty of areas to nest around the course – in fact, there are more birds here today than there were before the course was built, demonstrating that being responsible can benefit both nature and mankind.

RING IN THE NEW

Arve Chalet Apartments

Arve Chalet Apartments
Arve is a five-floor block of 17 residences (73–116 sq m in size), each with open-plan living and dining spaces, and window seats offering views of the mountains.

Enzian Alpine Apartments

Enzian Alpine Apartments
Enzian is a modern, three-floor Alpine villa housing 12 apartments measuring from 62 sq m to 136 sq m. Some come with saunas, private roof terraces and gardens.

Find out more: andermatt-swissalps.ch

This article was originally published in the Summer 2020 Issue.

Reading time: 5 min

Latest Stories, Online Exclusive Slider, Travel

Why Crans-Montana is the perfect early-season ski resort

Crans-Montana sits on a high shelf above the Rhône valley with panoramic views of the Alpine peaks. Image by Denis Emery

Looking for the perfect early-season ski break? Crans-Montana has it all, from sunny slopes to spectacular views across the Swiss Alps – and an epicure’s delight of a Christmas market as LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai discovers

Matterhorn; Mont Blanc; Weisshorn; Dent Blanche: for Alpinists these are among the superstar peaks of Europe, rising 4500m or higher above sea level. When you go skiing, you are usually tied to a vista of one or two of these celebrity peaks: think Zermatt and the Matterhorn, or Chamonix and Mont Blanc.

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In this Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, though, you are treated to a panorama of all of them, at once. The resort sits on a high, sunny, tree-lined shelf above the deep Rhône valley which runs from Lake Geneva towards central Switzerland. From the top lift station, Plaine Morte, you have in front of you a vista that encompasses the peaks of every ski resort from Saas-Fee, in the east, via Zermatt and Verbier, to Chamonix, in the west. Even the view from the village itself is exceptional, sweeping across the vineyards of the Rhône valley far below and over towards Italy.

The ski resort is split into two main villages, Crans and Montana.

The view in itself would be a reason to visit this most established of Swiss resorts, but right now there are numerous others. The resort is split into two main villages, Crans and Montana, a kilometre or so apart on the high shelf. We visited last week when Crans had just opened its annual Etoile Bella Lui festival on its high street. Stemming from a local myth, the festival features more than a dozen restaurateurs (some of them Michelin-starred) setting up shop in wooden huts along the high street, selling one food dish each – ranging from venison burgers to foie gras, via the most delicious fillet steak/balsamic glaze/garlic chip and truffle brochettes we have ever had.

Christmas food stalls in Alpine village

The Etoile Bella Lui festival in Crans sees restaurateurs set up shop with wooden huts along the high-street

The stalls each also sell a pair of local wines by the glass. And you can dismiss your memories of gauche Alpine vino right now: the vineyards in the valley below Sion make some of Europe’s most celebrated “small producer” wines, from white grapes such as Petite Arvine and Heida, and rounded Pinot Noir based reds. Our favourite is Cornalin, a Swiss red grape variety; we were served an example suffused with spicy, plummy zinginess at one of the stalls and couldn’t bear to leave. These are wines to match the Michelin-starred food huts.

Rides on the Ferris wheel boast 360 degree views of the surrounding landscape

Below the high street is the Lantern walk, an enchanting night-lit path illuminating the story of they local legend, and a Christmas market with a Ferris wheel with a difference: ride to the top, and you have an enhanced 360 degree view of the valley below, mountains beyond, the lakes around Crans, and the ski pistes above.

One of the resort’s spectacular red runs: the 4500m high Weisshorn is the razor-edge peak directly under the sun

Ah, and the skiing. The snow fell big last week, with more (hopefully) scheduled for next week. Crans-Montana is one of Switzerland’s most established ski areas, although it is better known among the Swiss and French than the international crowd that visits nearby resorts like Verbier or Gstaad. The runs are mainly a mixture of reds and blacks, and they are a delight: long, winding, interesting, starting at nearly 3000m and dropping down to resort level at 1500m, through a variety of landscapes from glacial rockscapes where mountain goats balance precariously on rock towers above you, to wide, sunny runs through the woods. The whole mountain is south facing, making ideal for now, when any sun is a welcome respite from winter temperatures. And everywhere, you have the views: from the top station you can see the three highest mountains wholly inside Switzerland (Dom, Taschhorn and Weisshorn, since you asked), the highest mountain in Europe (Mont Blanc) and the most famous (Matterhorn), all towering across distant valleys. From the village the view is hardly any worse, and there is a feeling of light and space and panorama everywhere you go.

The perfect resort for an early-season ski trip? We think so, and we are going back.

The Etoile Bella Lui festival runs until January 5. For more information visit: crans-montana.ch

Reading time: 4 min

Latest Stories, Online Exclusive Slider, Travel

Why you should go to St Moritz now for perfect snow

The Alpine village of St. Moritz offers more than just an exclusive social scene; the winter sports are first rate too, say Darius Sanai

With snow already falling in the Swiss Alps, LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai looks forward to another first-class ski season in St Mortiz

The first Alpine snowfall of the season has already happened – there is up to 30cm of fresh powder across Switzerland, particularly in the south of the country, due to a weather system recently pushing up from Italy. So naturally our thoughts are turning to St Moritz. Think St Moritz, and you probably think lavish New Year’s Eve parties, long evenings drinking Masseto in friends’ houses, and early evening aperitifs at Pavarotti’s.

It’s easy to overlook the winter sports when you’re so familiar with the social element – and St Moritz has such an engrossing social, cultural and artistic life that you’d be forgiven for never having snapped on a pair of Rossignols while there. Forgiven, but mistaken.

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So here’s a snapshot of what you could, and should, be doing as soon as the lifts open in a few days: it’s our perfect day in St Moritz. We started our day on the slopes at Piz Nair, the top station on the Corviglia mountain, one of three big ski mountains in the area, and the one directly above the village.

It was snowing lightly when we entered the funicular station in St Moritz; we travelled through a layer of thick cloud, fearing a whiteout day, and then, suddenly, we emerged upwards into a blue and white high mountain peaky wonderland.

Cable car on the way up a snowy mountain side

The Signal cable car is the first stage of the journey towards Piz Nair, the peak at the top of Corviglia, the most celebrated of the many ski mountains around St Moritz

At Piz Nair I shuffled over to a snow shelf to look at the view properly. In every direction, triangular peaks were poking out of a soft, uniform blanket of cloud below us. There was no end to the sea of peaks: St Moritz is famous for its “champagne air”, supposedly the purest in the Alps, as it is so well surrounded by high peaks on every side.

The mountain has a superb selection of mainly red runs, suited to good intermediates; we particularly liked the long run all the way from Piz Nair down to Celerina, below St Moritz, which ran through two valleys and finally descended through the trees, with fantastic views of the Piz Bernina mountains, higher than 4000m, opposite. The clouds melted away during the morning, with more panoramas revealing themselves.

The White Marmot restaurant with panoramic views of the mountains

And then – lunch. Lunch on the slopes in St Moritz is almost a religion: you are judged by where you go, and where you sit, so here’s some advice: book a table, as soon as you know when you’re going, at White Marmot. This is the restaurant at the Corviglia mountain station, three quarters of the way up the slopes and directly above the town itself. You can easily access White Marmot without skis, by taking the funicular train up, and many people do. Huge picture windows give you an unremitting panorama, and the decor – bare wooden tables fully dressed with huge Riedel wine glasses, 20th century modern design elements, colourful throws, magnums of Dom Perignon sitting on ice – makes White Marmot look like there’s a party going on even before the party has started. The cuisine is beautiful too, varying from Swiss mountain specialities with a contemporary twist to modern Italian haute cuisine.

The Suvretta House is a palace hotel overlooking forests and lakes, with its own ski lift

After lunch, we took a final lift up to Piz Nair to take in the view of what seemed like all of Switzerland again, and headed down, via a series of lifts, to Suvretta House. One of St Moritz’s classic luxury palace hotels, it sits amid a forest on its own ski slope, with its own ski lift. Having skied to the door, we sat in its grand drawing room, looking out over the forest and the valley, sipping on local Pinot Noir, and preparing for the second feast of the day, at Suvretta House’s celebrated Stube restaurant.

The Stube has an informal atmosphere, plenty of Alpine pine, and serves a perfected selection of Swiss, Asian and contemporary American specialities. The chicken wrap is to die for. And all you have to do after dinner is wander up to your room, with a view over the forests and frozen lakes, and prepare for a reprise the next day. Book for early December, and you’ll have fresh snow this year and no crowds.

For more information visit: engadin.ch
Book your stay: suvrettahouse.ch

Reading time: 4 min

Try again

Ultima Collection Crans-Montana Review

How Andermatt Swiss Alps is tackling climate change

Climate change is creating challenges for mountain resorts the world over. In Switzerland, a new luxury resort is leading the way in incorporating ecologically sound design into every aspect of their development. Jenny Southan discovers the innovations and advances being made in Andermatt

RING IN THE NEW

Why Crans-Montana is the perfect early-season ski resort

Looking for the perfect early-season ski break? Crans-Montana has it all, from sunny slopes to spectacular views across the Swiss Alps – and an epicure’s delight of a Christmas market as LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai discovers

Why you should go to St Moritz now for perfect snow

With snow already falling in the Swiss Alps, LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai looks forward to another first-class ski season in St Mortiz

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