There are also high-definition televisions, broadband internet and a selection
of restaurants and bars at the foot of each cube. One drinking hole, already
opened, is called the Crap Bar (“crap” means stone in local dialect). On my
stay, drinkers lined the long granite bar chilling out with bottled beers
while listening to ambient music - no sign of the manic crowds you get at
some resorts.
Everything is right by the Laax cable cars, and when I tried out the slopes on
a long weekend I was impressed by the wide selection of intermediate skiing.
There were few Brits about. Picturesque pine trees covered much of the
hillside. Most slopes had restaurants at the top.
My guide, Werner Dietziker, a 69-year-old who has been working at Laax for 35
years, showed me the pretty, quiet village of Falera and took me to the
highest point near the glacier, which was closed because of high winds.
Queues for lifts were not long - my visit took place during a quiet week in
December.
Dietziker, who told me to “ski like you're driving a car” (a technique tip
that miraculously worked), said that some locals had been doubtful about
Rocksresort, but had since been won over by the unusual designs. He owns an
apartment in Falera and says that he won't rent it out because “I don't like
strange people coming in” - a common problem in Swiss resorts where many
properties are empty most of the year, resulting in a shortage of holiday
rooms.
We go for a coffee at a mountain-top café, and when I reach for my money,
Dietziker says. “No, no, no, I insist.” And he pulls out his own swipe card
- such as the ones guests are given. The waiter doesn't blink an eye and
takes the card for payment.
Perhaps Laax's giant sugar cubes will be the beginning of a European comeback.
It's good, at least, to see an Alpine resort giving it a try.
Getting there
Swiss (www.swiss.com/uk) to Zurich from
£89.
Stay
Rocksresort (www.rocksresort.com) has
a week in a two-bedroom apartment from £637, or a week in a four-bedroom
apartment from £1,018. Signina Hotel (www.signinahotel.com),
a stylish hotel that adjoins Rocksresort and is run by the same company, has
B&B doubles from £86 a night.
Package
Crystal (0871 9710364, www.crystalfinest.co.uk)
offers a week's self-catering from £515pp, including flights from Gatwick
and transfers, based on four sharing.
Ski passes
Week-long lift tickets from £200 for adults, £132 for teenagers and £66 for
younger children.
Eat
Plaun Station has a bar and snack café with traditional dishes at a fraction
of the price of other on-slope restaurants.
Après ski
The bars in the village of Flims, connected by a short free-bus to Laax, are
bustling. The Crap Bar in Laax is the busy spot.
Read
Where to Ski and Snowboard 2009 (Nortonwood, £16.99), an excellent all-round
guide.
