Saving face: you’ll get most kudos here for being serious about your
skiing, so sign up for a week’s tuition at the Warren Smith Ski Academy (www.warrensmith-skiacademy.com;
£329pp) and talk loudly over champagne in the Farinetabout how Wozza helped
you nail your powder turns.
ST MORITZ, SWITZERLAND
Posh: the cresta run and polo matches on the frozen lake are just two
of the winter sports that attract Europe’s elite – as does a blue-blooded
pedigree that stretches back to the 19th century. Badrutt’s Palace hotel is
the beating heart of St Moritz’s sleb-infested winter season. It costs up to
£9,750 a night.
Penny-pinched: the best skiing in the area is a shuttle-bus ride away,
on the other side of the valley from town, on a mountain called Piz
Corvatsch – and you can stay at the bottom of the slopes, in a village
called Surlej, for a fraction of St Moritz’s prices. Rooms at the three-star
Süsom Surlej hotel (00 41 81 828 82 12, www.nigglis.com),
at the bottom of the lifts, start at £40pp a night, B&B. To get
there, fly to Zurich (from £107 return with Swiss; 0845 601 0956, www.swiss.com),
then jump on the train, with a prepurchased £67 Swiss Transfer ticket from
the Switzerland Travel Centre (020 7420 4900, www.stc.co.uk).
Saving face: the only place to be seen on the slopes is in La Marmite,
on Corviglia (00 41 81 833 63 55, www.mathisfood.ch),
the temple to truffles and caviar run by Reto Mathis. It hardly looks the
part, but don’t be fooled – on a good day, Reto can sell 3½ kilos of Iranian
caviar.
LECH, AUSTRIA
Posh: Lech and its near neigh-bour Zürs are blue-blood central.
Princess Di holidayed here. Princess Caroline of Monaco and the Jordanian
royal family still do. The five-star hotels here are probably the best in
the Alps, and basic double rooms go for £768 a night in high season.
Penny-pinched: tucked away round a corner in the valley, a mile away
from the main resort, is the hamlet of Stubenbach, linked to the lifts in
the centre of Lech by shuttle bus. The royals wouldn’t be seen dead here,
but we can book into Total’s Chalet Hotel Sonneck (01252 618333, www.skitotal.com)
for as little as £559pp per week, half-board, including flights and
transfers. The hotel even has a pool.
Saving face: come the cocktail hour, dress to the nines and hit Fux (www.fux-mi.net)
– then swing by some of the hotel bars at the Arlberg and Schneider-Almhof
to stock up on names to drop when you get back home.
BUT IF YOU’VE GOT MONEY TO BURN...
Still awash with cash? What are you, an arms dealer? Anyway, here are five of
the most extravagant ways to ski this winter if the budget isn’t tightening
yet.
Stay at Branson’s Lodge Last season, Richard Branson turned an
entire hotel in the Swiss resort of Verbier into one of the most luxurious
private chalets in the Alps – complete with a spa, a pool, a whirlpool bath
and even a mini ice rink. The most expensive week this season, over New
Year, is priced at an eyewatering £70,800, half-board (the cheek!), for a
party of up to 18 adults and six children. For details, call 0800 716919 or
go to www.thelodge.virgin.com.
Drink in the Coco Club Cementing Verbier’s new reputation as the king
of bling, the Coco Club (00 41 27 771 6666, www.cococlub.ch)
opened to widespread consternation last winter – thanks to an infamous
cocktail known as the Chalet. Essentially a very, very fancy champagne
cocktail for six, it comes with one lifetime membership of the club and
costs £5,000.
Order your bespoke skis The Schuetz brothers (00 41 79 708 5868, www.schuetz-sports.com),
originally from the Swiss resort of Arosa, build skis by hand, using the
techniques that serve the stars of the World Cup race circuit. They’ll even
design a pair to suit the way you ski, having spent a day on the mountain
with you. The full service is £8,000.
Take lunch in Courchevel The French resort of Courchevel 1850 has
always been expensive, but in the past five years, Russian cash has pushed
prices into the stratosphere. That’s why Chabichou (00 33 4 7908 0055, chabichou-courchevel.
com), a restaurant with two Michelin stars, can get away with a
six-course tasting menu for £126pp, plus wine.
New Year in Méribel Chalet les Brames, in the French resort of
Méribel, is the party pad you’ll never forget. For a mere £87,000 for the
week (sleeps 15) you get your own igloo, ice bar, ice sculptures, firework
display and in-chalet casino, along with a celebrity DJ to spin the discs.
With Descent International (020 7384 3854, www.descent.co.uk).
