A look back on the 2012/13 Kaluma Ski Season

Months move like minutes and seasons like days, or so it seems. December 2012 doesn’t seem that long ago and now here we are, in May 2013 looking forward to the summer months.

The winter season was a great one, some excellent snow conditions across the Alps, some great skiing, some new resorts and lots of happy guests (we hope!)

So what have we learnt this season…..

Our guests loved the TeaPigs Tea in our chalets, where we had a choice of Peppermint, Camomile and Green Tea’s. The cereal provided by Rude Health was a big hit and stocks were ravished through the winter season, so a great success again with our healthy start to the ski day. Thanks to both of these favoured suppliers for their help in the winter season.

New offerings and accommodation in Val D’Isere, Megeve, Ischgl and Zermatt proved a success and saw our program grow year on year.

Ischgl being a particular favourite of Andy’s; a great ski area with endless pistes, long long runs and the famous “Duty Free” run down into Switzerland for some duty free shopping. Great off-piste routes and runs, an awesome snow park and superb mountain restaurants and bars offer fun on the slopes. Off the slopes the town is a party mecca; great food, lively bars and late night clubs and excellent traditional apres ski! A resort that favours the party people and groups, as opposed to families (who can easily stay in nearby family friendly Galtur). For an all round ski holiday experience, Ischgl ticks all the boxes!!

Our chalets in Courchevel and St Anton once again proved ever popular. Our guests in Maisonnée A and Maisonnée B appreciate the luxury at sensible prices for Courchevel 1850, which as a resort continues to blossom and improve year on year.

Our Chalet Montfort in St Anton is also a firm favourite with regulars and groups who love the location, the style and the open bar!

We also know the importance of our service and staff to our winter holidays. They are, without doubt the most important factor of our holidays. We spend a lot of time getting our recruitment right to be able to offer the great food and great service that we have become known for. So a big thank you to our Kaluma Staff from the 2012-13 winter season. Hoping for some more returners next season….

If you do happen to be reading this and are interested in jobs for next winter, then please do get in touch if you would like to be part of this close knit service team.

With a look ahead to next winter, we are planning a few changes, to be announced later in the summer. But we look forward to more guests in Lech, with the inclusion of our new Chalet offering, Chalet Sandhof and a new hotel right at the foot of the slopes….with its very own ice rink!  Verbier, an ever popular resort offers more opportunity for the Kaluma team. So watch this space!

With the summer months upon us already (maybe not by the dreadful UK weather) but certainly in the South of France and St Tropez, where our Kaluma Retreats program gears up for another summer. Stunning weather, a great coastline, super yachts, bustling harbours, beautiful beaches, tempting beach clubs and adorable village atmosphere and life. A favourite with the celebrity jet set, St Tropez doest have to be over the top and lavish, the secrets of the area can be revealed by those who know it best….the Kaluma locals who live there! A truly stunning holiday destination and perfect to escape the drizzle of the UK!

Other offerings that have caught our eye are the peach, the tranquility and the options available for a stunning get-a-way in Norway at the Lyngen Lodge or with our Basecamp Explorer programme.

Also in the Alps, a few of our hotels offer some interesting options to explore and visit the Alps during the summer. The Hotel M3 in St Anton offers a great programme that includes the hire of BMW Motor Bikes for unlimited use to explore the alpine passes. Running weeks, fitness weeks and St Anton as a great base to explore the Alps. Or Kitzbuhel provides a great place to enjoy alpine golf and activities.

Director Magazine Competition Winner

Earlier in the year we ran a competition in Director Magazine, the prize being a three night stay for two people to our Chalet Montfort in St Anton, the prize also included an evening meal for two at the Michelin starred restaurant at the Hotel das Mooser.

The winners were Tony Cozzi and Guy McCullogh, this is what they had to say about their stay with us:

Dear Andy and all the team at Kaluma, 

May I take this opportunity to thank you and your team for a wonderful stay at Chalet Montfort in St Anton last week. 

From the moment we were collected from the airport to the minute we departed the chalet we were treated like honoured guests and long lost friends. 

Your team were warm, friendly, professional and above all, fun. The chalet was spacious and spotless, the sauna looked like it had been installed last week for our benefit, it was that clean! As for the chalet’s location, close enough to town, far enough to stagger back.  I cannot praise the quality of the food enough, it’s variety and creativity. Spike your chef listened and looked at what we wanted as a group, and accommodated us accordingly. The food would not have been out of place in a Michelin starred restaurant. 

I would also like to thank you for booking us into the Mooser Hotel restaurant, overlooking the village. We had skied down and stopped for a beer at the well known bar during the day, but could not believe how different the hotel and it’s restaurant were at night. With a view over St Anton it is quite special, modern with a hint of tradition, or traditional with a hint of modern. The food was sublime and coinciding that with an eye level firework display, it rounded off our short trip fantastically. 

Tony Cozzi

Thanks Tony! We’re glad to hear you had a great time and hope to see you in St Anton again soon!

Results of our ‘Best Mountain Top Bar’ poll

We recently ran a competition to find the best mountain top bars in the world as voted for by our guests and the results are in! Plus one lucky entrant has won a weekend stay at Chalet Maisonnée B in Courchevel 1850.

We received a huge variety of entrants, from rustic cabins to slick bars with super-star DJs.

Taking the number one spot is La Folie Douce, situated in the three valleys ski region in France.  The Meribel Folie Douce is new to the Trois Vallées region this season, this rustic stone-clad spot serves up a hearty menu featuring locally sourced ingredients. It transforms into party central in the late afternoon when roof –top DJs take to the decks and dancing spills onto the oversize outdoor terraces.

The top ten from the poll can be seen below:

1. Folie Douce, 3 Valleys, France

2. Krazy Kanguruh, St Anton

3. Rond Point, Meribel

4. Bel Air, Courchevel

5. Mooserwirt, St Anton

6. Cap Horn, Courchevel

7. 360, Val Thorens

8. Farinet, Verbier

9. Piz Gloria, Schilthorn, Switzerland

10. Iglu Dorf, Zermatt

With our two favoured resorts being St Anton and Courchevel 1850 in the three valleys we have enjoyed many a drink in all of the top 5 bars and regularly recommend these to our guests, whether for a corporate event or a smaller private trip.

If you want to try any of these bars for yourself before the end of the season give us a call and we can organise the accommodation, flights, transfers as well as all your in resort needs. Plus we will design you a bespoke itinerary to ensure you have the trip of a lifetime.

Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook for all our latest offers, news and competitions.

Easter Eggs are great…but Easter Skiing? Well that’s even better!!

 

So many people have tuned out of skiing as soon as the month switches to April. Lots of people start thinking about summer holidays and warmer climates, when in fact, some of the best skiing can be found at Easter and in April.

Obviously snow is going to be important in a ski resort, so you want to pick a higher resort, or a more snow sure resort to get the best of end of season snow.

Here are our picks of the best:

St Anton and the Arlberg has traditionally had good snow right until the very end. This season the lifts close on the 21st April and we expect to be skiing right up until the very last day of the season. St Christoph is at 1800m, Zurs has a steep sided valley and Lech sits at the end of the Arlberg in one of the most snow sure parts of the Alps.

Courchevel 1850, is so named because it sits at 1850m, which is a relatively high resort and has always held the snow well into April. Again the season finishes at the end of April and confidence in April skiing is high.

So what is all the fuss about?  Why is April skiing so good?

Snow, sun, quiet slopes, long lunches, sun terraces, sun tans, fresh tracks, firn snow, corn snow, powder snow, closing parties, great atmosphere……need we go on?

You may have heard the odd instructor or local talk about the firn snow, or the corn snow, which is basically a more mysterious name for Spring Snow and short of skiing in a meter of fresh powder, is probably the next best thing. Spring snow is at its very best a good few days after a snowfall, when the slopes freeze overnight, are firm and hard on the piste and then the spring sun does its work….softening the surface and giving the top few inches that great floating feeling, as close to powder snow as you can get, without the danger, the depth or the effort of a fresh dump. Great skiing, no matter your ski ability. Pistes in perfect condition for beginners through to race skiers. Off piste for those wanting to explore something new through to those who just love the firn snow.

With the right guide, on the right day, you follow the sun and will be guaranteed some of the best snow you’ll ever ski.

The sun usually shines and the best conditions are early in the morning until early afternoon, which is the perfect time to soak up the Easter sun on one of the many sun terraces the resorts can offer!

Come and join us this Easter on the slopes and let us show you how good April can be! Be sure to check out our Easter special offers to get a great deal before the end of season!

Now for something a little different….

We have been short listed for a travel award; ‘Best Small Luxury Tour Operator’. Like most competitions we would love to win this and with your help we may well be able to. Please follow the link below and vote for Kaluma Travel in the relevant award. You only need enter us once and don’t have to complete all the boxes, plus you could win a luxury holiday for two!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ultratravel

We very much appreciate your time in voting for us and look forward to making your next holiday a special one!

The Snow is Back!

Although there has been huge amounts of snow this season, skiers and boarders welcomed a fresh dump of snow with open arms in the 3 Vallées on Friday. A healthy 1/2m fell overnight creating an incredible few ‘powder days’ and setting up some excellent skiing for the next few weeks.

The snow was still pretty good but was starting to ice up and disappear in parts, especially lower down in the valley. So after a week of pure sunshine and warm temperatures, the snow fall was greeted with plenty of smiles from  both holidaymakers and the Kaluma team. Both off and on-piste were incredible with powder up over the knees in most parts.

After a very busy Christmas and New Year Courchevel has quietened down. Last week we celebrated Russian Christmas which brought a fun and different vibe to the resort. Our Russian guests in the chalet had a great time! But as January is a quieter month, added with the recent snowfall, it will make January a great month for hitting the slopes.

So if you are contemplating a last minute trip to the Alps, now is the time.

Hopefully see you out on the slopes soon.

Chef Dan enjoying a bit of off-piste on a powder day

Christmas and New Year in St Anton

So Christmas and New Year have passed, and we have seen many happy guests come and go in the past few weeks. So how was Christmas in St Anton…..BUSY is the answer!

We had an overly full chalet and the chef had to cater for 33 people for the week! Given that we only usually cater for 24 people (maximum) this was no mean feat…but he pulled it off with style!

The chalet team found a great rhythm and pushed on hard for the week to ensure that Christmas in the Chalet Montfort went without a hitch.

Some delicious dishes served through Christmas was the Christmas Duck and Trout, as well as some delightful desserts, mixed fruit meringue, ameretto crème brûlée.

Not to mention the Christmas dinner…..what a feast!

Starting with mixed seafood cocktail with giant shrimp, mussels and salmon in a creamy marie rose sauce.

Then a turkey Roll with stuffing and wrapped in bacon. Brussel sprouts, roast potatoes, parsnips, sweet potato mash, carrots, pigs in blankets and a delightful rich gravy. If that wasn’t enough, two whole turkeys came to the table afterwards to be carved and shared by the guests.

All finished with a rich chocolate torte and two flaming Christmas Puds for dessert!

Suffice to say, out guests were very happy and very full and it wasn’t long before most were asleep in front of the fire!

New Year was full of fireworks and festivities and we are hoping for some more fresh snow so that we can enjoy the slopes in January.

Happy New Year everyone and the team in the Arlberg hope to see you sometime soon!

The start of the 2012/13 season in Courchevel

‘The best start to a season in the 3 Vallees for 26 years’ – that’s what the Courchevel newsletter has been preaching and they can’t be far wrong.

The snow has been falling in record levels and our first guests in resort enjoyed a great weeks skiing throughout the whole valley, right down to Le Praz which is usually unheard of at this time of the season. I’ve skied here for the past 20 odd years and I’ve never had snow this good. What a start to what will hopefully be a cracking season.

Beyond the great snow, Courchevel 1850 played host to the ‘FIS Women’s World Cup’ which brought an added bit of excitement to the resort. Fiant Slaloms, samba bands and acrobatic aeroplane shows meant the resort really cane to life last Sunday. Thousands flocked here to get a glimpse of the action and it was incredible to see in person what these professional skiers can really do! A little early in the season for me to be picking up those speeds….but watch this space!

All the lifts open up next week as we head into Chritsmas so I really can’t wait to see what the coming weeks have in store…

I will leave you with a shot of the chalet girls and myself having a bit of fun on our first day in resort.

Until next time….

Simon – Courchevel Resort Rep