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TRAVEL
276
November14
I
f you have the opportunity to live
in Switzerland, you also have the
chance to leave with two things:
the ability to ski and the email
address of a friend with a chalet in the
Alps. Tragically, after a brief residency
in Zurich, all we had was a pristine
snowboard and a pair of skis hastily
procured as the moving vans were
being loaded.
But we did have one other valuable
takeaway; we did know where to find
the good snow. So after shipping in the
grandparents to look after the kids in
Singapore, weheadedback toSwitzerland
for six days, to see if we could cut it at one
of the country’s most adventurous and
glamorous ski resorts: Verbier.
Located just two hours from Geneva
airport in the French-speaking region
of Switzerland, Verbier attracts an
international crowd. As the main resort in
the country’s largest ski area – the Four
Valleys – Verbier offers a broad menu of
skiing terrains, which are serviced by
nearly one hundred lifts.
Our accommodation
Not having an invitation to stay at Richard
Branson’s chalet, we opted to stay near
the main gondola, at the glittering W
Verbier. Like the newly opened hotel
itself, the staff were fresh and sparkling.
Their welcome made us feel as if we
had arrived to stay with friends; if, that
is, our friends also happened to be in
possession of a chalet that is a master
class in chic Alpine design.
W hotels are the designer offspring of
Starwood Hotels. Amsterdamdesign firm
Concrete won the chance to create the
first W in the Alps, and from the irreverent
use of the Swiss flag motif and faux fur, to
glossy splashes of the national colour red,
the décormanages towalk the precarious
line that exists when decorating in a
theme: between cheesy and cool.
The timber built-ins in the rooms
were a masterstroke, providing an
extraordinary amount of storage while
referencing the iconic Heidi houses of
the Alps. The bathrooms are enormous;
the bath a perfect vessel for Bliss
bath products. If the mark of a well-
designed hotel is that you start mentally
redecorating your home, then I knew
the minute I started pricing animal skin
rugs for our Singapore condo that the
W Verbier had been successful.
It would have been easy to hide out in
the W all day, gliding between the spa,
the inside-outside pool and the lounge.
Or simply to enjoy the fresh air on our
terrace, watching the landscape of
Verbier put on a new performance every
day. But we had booked the hotel with
the best access to the main gondola at
Médran for a purpose: to ski.
Hitting the slopes
To the uninitiated, one of the great
discoveries of staying at a hotel on the
mountain is the ski room. Putting on
warmed ski boots almost distracted me
from the heated discussion between my
mind andmy legs about the sensibleness
of hurling ourselves down a slippery
mountain slope. Another distraction was
eavesdropping on the other skiers, who
in a range of accents were planning their
itinerary of runs and refuelling stops.
Our plan for day one was a little less
complex. Our aim was to negotiate
the stairs to the Médran gondola with
our skiing equipment while remaining
upright, navigate our way down the
mountain on the easiest run or trail
(while remaining upright), and eat lunch.
While we did find the 10km easy
trail, and even ploughed down the final
steep slope that deposits you at Place
Blanche, I think it’s fair to say that the
results were mixed.
S t r ugg l i ng w i t h j e t l ag and
disappointment at our own skill level,
we decided to tackle a new area, Mont
Fort. At 3,329 metres above sea level,
this is the highest point of the four Alps
and the final challenge for the brave