Winter news update from South Tyrol

South Tyrol 2 November 2009

Whether you are looking for pistes in spectacular surroundings or for activities off the slopes, South Tyrol in the Italian Alps has something to offer all snow bunnies this winter. With a wealth of new hotels opening, a new UNESCO World Heritage Site, free skiing for children, culinary initiatives and new night-time tobogganing, there has never been so much choice for UK visitors to the region.

The Dolomites named as a new UNESCO World Heritage Site
The spectacular mountain range of the Dolomites in South Tyrol, was awarded a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List in June 2009, joining the likes of the Pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal. The Dolomites are the highest coral reef in the world, and their jagged peaks are widely regarded as being one of the world’s most attractive mountain landscapes and are home to the Dolomiti Superski area, the largest area available on one ski pass. What better way to enjoy the dramatic scenery of this new UNESCO World Heritage Site this winter than on a gastronomic ski tour? The Santa Croce Gourmet Ski Tour starts from either Col Alto or Piz Sorega and leads towards the Santa Croce church at the foot of the Santa Croce mountain via eight gourmet mountain huts, all accessible on skis. The tour is ideal for families and intermediate skiers, thanks to the mix of easy and intermediate level slopes.

Kids ski for free in Dolomiti Superski
Dolomiti Superski is running a special offer throughout winter 2009/10 offering children up to eight (born after 28 November 2001) a free ski pass, when an adult ski pass of the same type and duration is purchased. Those aged eight to 16 are eligible for a discount of up to 30 per cent on one-day or multi-day ski passes up to 28 days in duration. Those with large families can also make savings in the area this winter, with reductions on multi-day passes for families with more than two children, if their ski passes are purchased at the same time as those for their parents. Visit www.dolomitisuperski.com for more details.

 
Accommodation News
Mountain Living Residence Hotel Lagació will be opening in San Cassiano in Alta Badia on 4 December 2009 (www.lagacio.com). A Klimahaus 'A' rated building, which is the top of the South Tyrolean scale, applied to all new builds in the province to measure how environmentally friendly they are. Everything served for breakfast, lunch and dinner will be organic and the hotel will offer an “all around” room service including ski pass, skis, boots and equipment. Prices for apartments start from €180 per night on a b&b basis.
 
In a quiet location in Val Gardena / Gröden, the new three-star Piz Setëur hotel (www.pizseteur.com) is due to open on 23 December 2009. Located at more than 2,000m above sea level on the Sassolungo mountain, the hotel will only be accessible by chairlift and will offer a small number of exclusive rooms individually decorated with wooden detailing throughout. Perfect for some post-piste soothing, it will boast a wellness area with saunas, Jacuzzis and a Kneipp bath (a spa treatment based on submerging the legs in hot and then cold water to boost circulation) as well as a restaurant serving an impressive choice of local specialities, international dishes and Mediterranean dishes. Prices start from €106 pppn on a half-board basis, including breakfast buffet and a four-course dinner with a salad buffet and hors d’oeuvres.
 
Newly renovated, the Alpin Garden Wellness Resort (www.alpingarden.com) in Ortisei, in the valley of Val Gardena/Gröden, has recently been awarded five stars. Each of the 30 rooms and suites has been individually designed and the hotel’s restaurant offers home-cooked Mediterranean-style meals, prepared using fresh ingredients. Spread over two floors and more than 1,000m2, the hotel’s wellness area features a waterworld, a variety of saunas, a fitness suite and professional staff in the hotel’s ‘Beauty Farm’, who can also offer a variety of massages and beauty treatments. Prices start from €700 per person for seven nights, on an all-inclusive basis.

Keep your eyes peeled for the four-star Hotel Residence Aqualis (www.residence-aqualis.com/en/) which is due to open in March 2010 near the Marliner Waalweg in Merano. Guests will be able to choose from self-catering, b&b or half-board accommodation in these stylish rooms and apartments. Named Aqualis (Latin for stream) after the stream that runs along the front of the property, water is a prominent theme running throughout the residence’s design and guests can cool off in the reinvigorating indoor pool with its spacious sun terrace after a session in the Finnish sauna. Just three kilometres away from the spa town of Merano, the residence offers panoramic views over the town and its surroundings and the residence’s quiet, mountain-side location is the perfect base for anyone seeking an active holiday, with walks along local streams, cycling on nearby trails and access to the nearby Merano 2000 ski area in winter. The residence offers rooms or apartments with room to sleep up to eight people.

Get a taste for skiing in Alta Badia
The upmarket valley of Alta Badia is increasing its gourmet credentials this winter, with a variety of culinary initiatives throughout the season to highlight the winning combination of winter sports and fine cuisine. The region of South Tyrol boasts one of world's highest concentrations of Michelin stars, squeezing an impressive fifteen stars at fourteen restaurants into an area of just 7,400 square kilometres. This winter, chefs will be working with the cooks from mountain huts throughout the region to promote regional cuisine, with each mountain hut cook working with his or her Michelin-starred chef partner to prepare a Michelin star standard dish to offer guests throughout the whole 2009/10 season. Until mid-January 2010, diners will be invited to vote for the dishes at each hut and the winning mountain hut cook will be entered free of charge into the annual South Tyrol Chef’s Cup in Alta Badia.
 
This winter, visitors to Alta Badia can enjoy an unforgettable breakfast of typical South Tyrolean produce at a refuge 2,000m2 above sea level. Every Tuesday morning throughout the winter the Col Alto refuge will offer trips from the centre of Corvara by snowcat departing at 7am and 7.30am. Guests can enjoy the views of the Dolomite mountains from the hut as they eat, before hitting the fresh powder on the Col Alto slope to reach the valley before the lifts open for the day.

Toboggan by moonlight in Alta Pusteria
For the first time this winter, visitors to Alta Pusteria/Hochpustertal will be able to take the Croda Rossa cable car to the start of a 5km long toboggan-run, before sliding back through the darkness towards the valley below. This is not the only night-time toboggan-run in the valley with moonlight runs in Baranci/Haunold to be held on four evenings throughout the season, to time with the full moon and on the illuminated Monte Rota run in Dobbiaco/Toblach. Night tobogganing is on offer between 8pm and 10pm every Thursday after Christmas, with single trips from 5,60 euro or six trips from 30,20 euro. For more details visit www.hochpustertal.info.

Getting there
British Airways (www.ba.com, 0844 493 0787) is adding flights from London Gatwick to Innsbruck this winter, and also flies from Gatwick to Verona and Venice, as well as London Heathrow to Venice. easyJet (www.easyjet.com; 08717 500 100) flies to Innsbruck from Gatwick, Liverpool and Bristol and to Venice from East Midlands, Gatwick and Bristol. Bolzano in South Tyrol is approximately a 90-minute drive from both Verona and Innsbruck. Low-fare Dolomiti transfers run from Bergamo, Verona, Venice and Treviso airports to Bolzano, with connections to all the major ski resorts, from 35 euros return. There is a bus service from Innsbruck airport. Visit www.lowcostcoach.com for more details on transfers and www.suedtirol.info/fly for general access information.

For more information visit the South Tyrol website

-ends-

Notes to editors:
The different ski regions in South Tyrol are: Val Gardena, Alpe di Suisi, Alta Badia, Kronplatz, Eisacktal, Alta Pusteria and Ortler Ski Arena. South Tyrol is home to eighty 3,000 metre high peaks and offers 60 ski schools and 1,800 highly qualified instructors. Children aged 14 years and under must wear ski helmets in Italy.

New lift facilities and ski runs in South Tyrol include:

KRONPLATZ

• The new 10-seater “Marchner” cableway (capacity 3,000 P/h) at Kronplatz is the first in the world to be fitted with elegant heated leather chairs. It also has a new uphill station close to the downhill station of the Belvedere cableway.
• The six-seater “Cianross” cableway at San Vigilio di Marebbe, damaged in an avalanche in spring 2007, will return to work at the start of the 2009/2010 season, enabling guests to be able to use the “Corn“ and “Cianross” slopes, equipped for night skiing.

ALTA BADIA

• The six-seater “Ciampai” chairlift with automatic hook-on (2,200 P/h) will replace the previous two-seater lift.

VAL GARDENA/SIUSI ALPS   

• The existing “Ciampinoi” cableway (2,400 P/h) in the centre of Selva Gardena, will be fitted with 12-seater cars, maintaining the hourly capacity of 2,400 P/h.
• In place of the current “Bullaccia“ single-seater chairlift (Siusi Alps) a Telemix lift will be installed, the third of its kind in Italy. The new stretch will be 300m longer than the previous one. The underground top station will almost totally eliminate any environmental impact.
• In the centre of Santa Cristina in Val Gardena the “Plan da Tieja” ski lift will be replaced by a new one of the same kind. The size and capacity remain the same, although it will be constructed using state-of-the-art technology.

VAL DI FIEMME/OBEREGGEN

• Ski Centre Latemar is opening a new slope “Torre di Pisa”, a technical run, which is 1,550 m long, marks a vertical drop of 460 m and is up to 59 per cent steep. The new run “Torre di Pisa” is served by the automatic 4-seater „Gardonè/Passo Feudo“ chairlift.

 

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