Browsing: skiing

If you are bored with the uniformity of five-star hotels and prefer personalized treatment, a daily gourmet food experience, sport followed by wellness to recover, you want to read on.
The 89-roomed Grand Park, with its understated elegance and obliging service staff, is Bad Hofgastein’s only five-star hotel. Its location is perfection, in the midst of the Alps, the gateway to world-class hiking and skiing. The hotel itself, Georgian in style, is located well for …

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Fifty-two miles south of Salzburg, surrounded by the imposing Austrian Alps, with their broad slopes and wide runs, is the piste-perfect ski resort of Grossarl – an idyllic winter sports mini break in a picture postcard setting.

The hotel to call home is the 4 star-superior Grossarler Hof, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group. They opened in 2009 and already have a host of awards and accolades.

Committed to nature

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In the 19th century, Flachau was Austria’s regional centre of iron smelting. Now though, it’s one of the largest ski resorts in Ski amadé with 270 lifts and 760km of slopes, snowboarding, tobogganing, tubing, cross-country and downhill skiing. The village has combined technology with top-class ski facilities and has modern lifts sweep skiers above manicured slopes, whisking them to the top of the mountain. Long quiet runs cater for everyone – from beginners, to connoisseurs, …

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Considered the jewel of the Austrian Alps, the Gastein Valley lies an hour south of Salzburg, in the heart of the majestic Austrian Alps. Other than the fantastic thermal spa and panoramic views of the Hohe Tauern National Park, the mountains surrounding Gastein are what it’s all about.

From the west side of the valley, cable cars rise two miles to the summit of Stubnerkogel. From there, a variety of ski runs and several lifts …

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There’s something about snow that inspires us to escape with that special someone to a peaceful and quiet hideaway from the crowds and hustle and bustle of life. Thankfully, there are places with elegant mountain cabins, tranquil rivers and sleigh rides through frozen landscapes.

 

Estes Park, Colorado

Nestled on the edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, sits the charming town of Estes Park.  You can choose accommodation from logs cabins, bed

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Obertauern is one of the Alps’ most snow reliable areas. That means perfect skiing conditions from the end of November till the beginning of May. Amidst the beautiful mountains of Salzburg, at an altitude of around 1,740 meters, exceptional skiing adventures for connoisseurs, daredevils and kids await.

There’s nothing more liberating than leaving the first tracks in the powder snow on the countless fairy-tale ski tour routes or romantic snow-shoe hikes. There’s night-time skiing too, …

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Say Salzburg and most people think of Mozart or The Sound of Music. However, this bijoux Austrian city offers much more, like a medieval citadel overlooking the River Salzach, ancient pastel buildings and Baroque domes and spires.

What adds to the appeal is that Salzburg is big on culture and exquisite taste, as displayed in its classic coffeehouses that serve heavenly wedges of cake and fair-trade coffee, and its classic chocolatiers who hand-make Mozartkugeln – …

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You’ve walked Canyon Road and enjoyed Indian Market in Santa Fe. You’ve soaked up all the spirituality you can in Sedona. You’ve driven through the lunar coyote-and-roadrunner landscape of Monument Valley and seen Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta, but you still can’t get enough of the Southwest. For many people, the Southwest holds an allure that’s tough to pinpoint, but undeniably addictive. Perhaps it’s the hundreds of sunny days, the dry warmth, the delicious spicy food or …

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The dream of skiing in St. Moritz, Europe’s winter glam capital, seems impossibly expensive to most of us. Yet this unbridled wealthy Swiss mountain village, where furs predominate, caviar is sold in supermarkets and snow-chained Bentley’s jockey with Porsche’s for parking, is affordable, very affordable – the trick is knowing where to look, and when to go.

From Zurich airport take the little red train, which gently threads through the Swiss Alps, gently clickedy-clacking higher …

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