Val Gardena by InTheSnow

www.inthesnow.com

Relais & Châteaux Hotel Gardena Grödnerhof 5 Star Bolzano Bozen

Val Gardena Gröden

A gourmet & spa hotel in the centre of St. Ulrich/ Ortisei in the Dolomites. First-class comfort and warm, traditional hospitality. 51 luxury rooms and suites, spa with indoor pool, sauna, gym and beauty farm. Diverse sports and leisure offers. Outstanding cuisine (1 Michelin star, 3 Gault Millau toques) and attentive service.

Fast Facts

The Stunning and Spectacular World of

Val Gardena (www.valgardena.it) is made up of three charming Alpine villages – Ortisei at 1236m, Santa Cristina at 1428m, and Selva at 1563m – and a handful of pretty hamlets including Bulla, San Giacomo and Roncadizza. The ski area has 83 lifts and 175km pistes locally, 95% of which benefit from snowmaking facilities, and 115km of cross-country skiing. The local downhill slopes connect to the Sella Ronda, giving 500km of lift-linked slopes, all included in the Dolomiti Superski pass, which in total covers 1200km of pistes.

7 nights gourmet HB, with 4 wellness massages from €1,207 www.suedtirol.info/gardena_uk

Hotel Alpenheim Charming & Spa - 4 Star This charming hotel situated on the sun terrace of Ortisei/St. Ulrich, offers high comfort and a stylish ambience. Relax in the new wellness oasis with indoor and outdoor pool, integrated jacuzzi loungers, various saunas and a large range of beauty and massage treatments whilst enjoying the breathtaking view of the Val Gardena/Gröden Dolomites.

7 nights luxury HB and 6 day ski pass with 3 wellness massages and 3 skiguiding per week from €1,295 www.suedtirol.info/alpenheim_uk

Getting There

Patrick Thorne

Use your phone to scan and get a taste of skiing in Val Gardena

Italy’s Val Gardena (Gröden) region has long been close to British hearts; indeed those with very long memories will recall getting what is still the UK’s best ever World Cup race result, Konrad Bartelski’s silver in the 1981 downhill (he missed gold by 11-hundredths of a second). But Britons had been skiing there for decades before that, and moreover this is one of the world’s original ski areas, recently celebrating more than 100 years of winter sports. So what has been the big draw over so many decades? Well firstly, the area is stunningly beautiful. The spectacular scenery of the Dolomites is both aweinspiring and breathtaking as you look up at towering pink precipices that rise improbably in to the sky above you. These are formed from ancient coral reefs from an era long ago when these high mountains were below sea level. It’s no surprise that the region was made UNESCO World Heritage Site last year – the standard of recognition and protection granted to the world’s most important natural areas. In the words of mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner, “they may not be the highest, nor the most difficult or dangerous,

All of the UK’s leading tour operators, and many specialists, offer holidays to Val Gardena, including Crystal, family chalet specialists Ski Esprit (new for 2010–11), Inghams, Neilson and Thomson. British Airways (www.ba.com; 0844 493 0787) flies twice daily from London Gatwick to Verona from just £97 return including taxes, fees and charges. EasyJet (www.easyjet.com; 08717 500 100) flies to Innsbruck from London Gatwick (daily 10 December–26 March 2011), Bristol (Fridays and Sundays 17 December–25 March), and Liverpool (Thursdays and Sundays 19 December–24 March), with prices from £37.99 one-way (including taxes). Bolzano in South Tyrol is approximately a 2-hour drive from both Verona and Innsbruck. Ryanair (www. ryanair.com) operates to Verona Valerio Catullo from Stansted on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and to Bergamo from Gatwick and Stansted. A regular bus service links these flights to the resort or it’s easy to hire a car. There’s also a bus link from the nearest rail station at Ponte Gardena, twenty minutes away. More travel information at www.suedtirol.info/fly and www.flytovalgardena.com

but are certainly the world’s most beautiful mountains.” Then there’s the skiing, which is on a scale more epic than many people realise. Val Gardena has extensive slopes of its own, with more than 170km of excellent, varied terrain for all standards. But it doesn’t end there. The valley is part of the huge Dolomiti Superski pass covering more than 1200km of piste, served by nearly 500 lifts in a dozen neighbouring valleys. In Val Gardena’s case this pass allows you to follow a

lift and piste connection into the Sella Ronda, a famous circuit of approximately 26km now connected by good fast lifts. This acts like the hub of a wheel from which valleys, including Val Gardena and others, radiate off. The result is that along with the great sense of travelling from village to village that the Sella Ronda gives, you will also find more than 500km of lift-linked runs. However, you can also buy a slightly cheaper Val Gardena-only pass if you prefer, which just covers the 160km of runs in the valley. This is most

likely an extensive enough area for many skiers and boarders anyway. Next there are the resorts of Val Gardena, where the heritage of the region goes a step further than the rest of South Tyrol which uses twin Italian/German names, by adding a third language to road signs- the ancient Ladin tongue. Most famous perhaps is cosmopolitan Selva Gardena (Wolkenstein) at the head of the Valley, then there is smaller Santa Cristina (St Christina), and the third accommodation option is the lively town of Ortisei (St Ulrich). All three are linked above by their ski slopes and below by the Ronda Express, an underground funicular system linking all the Val Gardena ski areas without the need to take a car or a bus. These three centres offer wide-ranging accommodation choices, superb dining and a great range of off-slope facilities too; all within charming resort village bases, still steeped in the ancient Ladin culture of the region that pre-dates both the Austrian and Italian eras. Indeed, the impressive and diverse gastronomy available ranges from Michelin-starrated gourmet restaurants, through to quick but fine pizzerias and simple Ladin cuisine served at cosy Alpine rifugios.

For lovers of the outdoors, there are 50km of well-prepared winter walking paths and trails, as well as facilities for snowshoeing, ice-climbing, outdoor (and indoor) ice-skating, horse riding, sleigh riding, paragliding, curling and sledging – the 6km toboggan run from the top station of the Rasciesa-Ortisei funicular railway is one of the most thrilling in the Alps. Back indoors there are extensive spa and wellness facilities. Albeit Val Gardena has a long heritage, it isn’t resting on its laurels and continually invests in ever better lifts and other facilities on the slopes, while down in the valley increasingly impressive hotels and restaurants keep opening. New for this season on the slopes, the Rasciesa funicular railway will replace the old chairlift on Rasciesa Alp above Ortisei. The higher the cable car rises the more spectacular the view becomes, until at the top there’s a breathtaking panorama encompassing almost the entire South Tyrol, the stunning Dolomites peaks, and mountains as far as Trentino, Lombardy, Veneto and Austria. The funicular railway provides an alternative route from Ortisei to the Seceda gondola and the Gardena ski carousel, the Sella Massif,

Sassolungo and the entire Dolomiti Superski area. There’s also a new hotel opening on 4 December in the centre of Santa Cristina. The new Saslong Smart Hotel aims to offers big skiing for a small price, and is conveniently located just 50m from the ski-shuttle bus stop. Food and beverage is available 24/7 from vending machines, and the hotel’s Saslong Corner provides a comfortable area in which to relax. Introduced last season for teenagers on the slopes are ”Drop In Days” (www. valgardena.it) starting from 12 January, every Wednesday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm throughout the season, children aged between 12 and 18 years can enjoy an action-packed day in Val Gardena’s state-of-the-art snowpark, and learn freestyle technique along with the important safety rules. The day costs €48pp (or €72pp to include freestyle equipment hire, twin-tip skis/snowboard from Salomon Sports). But whatever your age, and whether you want to ski or just relax in beautiful surroundings with a mug of hot chocolate before hitting the spa, Val Gardena will offer you the perfect winter holiday environment.

Hotel Alpin Garden Wellness Resort - 5 Star

Hotel Angelo Engel 4 Star

In the breathtaking landscape of Val Gardena/ Gröden, just steps away from the historical centre of Ortisei/St. Ulrich, this is the place to come to switch off. The Wellness & Spa spans more than 1000m² offering heated outdoor pool, indoor pool, whirlpools and saunas as well as massages and other treatments at the beauty farm.

Hotel Engel is in the centre of Ortisei/St. Ulrich in Val Gardena/Gröden valley surrounded by the unique Dolomites, The large garden with outdoor swimming pool is open all year round as a wonderful place to relax. The comprehensive ski service includes a ski pass, ski shuttle, ski guide and lots, lots more.

7 nights HB, with romantic welcome, wellness for couples, cuddle up and relax from €1,400 www.suedtirol.info/alpingarden_uk

7 nights HB and 6 day ski pass with free ski test and afternoon cake from €810 www.suedtirol.info/angelo_uk

Hotel Continental 4 Star

Gran Baita Sporthotel 4 Star - S

Ski straight out onto the Sellaronda form the recently refurbished Hotel Continental offering attractive new rooms, junior suites and a cosy dining room with great views over Selva and 500km of pistes accessed directly from the hotel. The wellness area offers sauna, biosauna, steam bath and Kneipp bath for the perfect relaxation.

Traditional South Tyrolean-style hotel in a central location right next to the ski lifts of Selva. New spa facilities with a wide range of alpine treatments and feel-good massages – alpine open-air swimming pool with panoramic view, indoor swimming pool with wellness & relaxation zone, new floatation pool, individually furnished rooms & suites.

7 nights luxury HB and 6 day ski pass, 5 day guided ski safari, plus snowshoe tour from €1,100 www.suedtirol.info/continental_uk

7 nights gourmet hb, with winter activities with "selva active", tranquillity face & body ritual from €1,223 www.suedtirol.info/granbaita_uk