Bad Gastein: Skiing with a touch of belle époque glamour Life&Style They say first impressions matter, and my goodness, Bad Gastein certainly makes a great first impression. When approaching the resort, visitors are met with what at first glance, looks like a Wes Anderson film set. A spectacular cliff amphitheatre is crowned by elegant and imposing turn of the century palaces and hotels. As our taxi [...]
Ski Club of Great Britain reps return to France after 8-year absence Life&Style Ski Club reps were suddenly withdrawn from French resorts in 2016 after a rep was arrested for allegedly “guiding” without a ski guide qualification, and subsequently fined €10,000 by a French court in January 2015. But after dialogue with French authorities in five resorts, Tignes, Meribel, Flaine, Les Arcs and Val Thorens, the Ski Club [...]
To ski or not to ski: How to plan a trip when snow is uncertain Life&Style You are about to spend a small fortune on a ski trip. The reports from the Alps are of muddy, brown slopes. A huge warm weather zone depositing nothing but rain has decimated the snow coverage between Christmas and into January. What to do? Cancel, shift resort in the hope of finding better snow? Press [...]
A ski holiday in Obergurgl Austria, where the US ski team train January 15, 2024 Simon Miller went skiing in Obergurgl, where the US ski team train
Why Kitzbuhel is your must-book Austria ski holiday for 2024 September 11, 2023 Winning Kitzbuhel’s downhill ski race is seen by some as more prestigious than the Olympics. Simon Miller got his racing gear on… Kitzbühel hosts the maddest, most prestigious downhill ski race in the world but has plenty of cruising pistes as well. It has stunning restaurants and more than a few infamous party venues. And [...]
Ski holidays: Why ski touring is bucket list stuff for Alpine lovers January 9, 2023 Ski touring is a hugely popular activity in Austria, but one not widely embraced by the British skier. Understandable really, as with access to white mountains generally limited to a mere weeks’ holiday per year, most Brits prefer to stick to straight downhill skiing. As such, it’s a sport not particularly well understood and with [...]
Crans Montana: skiing with Eddie The Eagle at the City Ski Championships November 21, 2022 The annual City Ski Championships in Crans Montana is billed as an opportunity “to network, entertain clients and bond with colleagues surrounded by stunning mountain scenery”. In reality, the event is way less about networking and way more about hanging out with celebrities and testing your skiing out to the max. It’s a high octane, [...]
Why your next ski break should be in Austria’s Ischgl & Kappl February 28, 2022 “Relax if you can” is Ischgl’s motto and for a high quality, luxury ski destination the place is hard to beat. Walking down Ischgl’s main drag opulence hits you like a diamond-encrusted knuckleduster. Four and five star hotels rule the strip. Our choice was Hotel Piz Buin – all the luxury I could wish for [...]
Forget crowds: Charter your own yacht in Corfu February 28, 2022 The situation is as follows. We’d been locked down for 18 months. We avoided the uncertainty of summer foreign holidays and were scouting round for an October half term option. That’s how we hit upon the idea of sailing… in Corfu… in October. On a low season sailing holiday you are taking a double risk. [...]
We discover the perfect family-friendly ski retreat in Austria’s Arlberg January 10, 2022 “So glad you’re here”: the oft repeated words from hotel and restaurant owners who have just emerged from a strict lockdown and are, for the first time in months, welcoming tourists. We had chosen the Arlberg region (specifically St. Anton and St. Christoph) for a pre-Christmas ski when all things Covid were looking up. As [...]
