If your holiday involves taking to the slopes in style, food and drink can add a luxurious finishing touch to your trip. After working up an appetite on your favourite runs, there’s nothing quite like descending the mountain knowing a 5-star meal awaits you. Here are a few of our favourite hotels for a dining experience as exquisite as the view.
Hotel Rosa Alpina, San Cassiano
Set in the stunning village of San Cassiano in Badia, Hotel Rosa Alpina has true charm and elegance, as well as two mouthwatering restaurant menus to sample. Lovers of all things melted should dip into restaurant Fondue where cheese and meat fondues are served in an intimate setting, followed by a chocolate variation for dessert. The three Michelin-starred St Hubertus is led by Chef Norbert Niederkofler, who combines a love of travel with a passion for home cooking. Mountain specialities include eel and smoked broth, snail and polenta, and pigeon and Koji sauce with elderberries.
Hotel Ciasa Salares, San Cassiano
With three restaurants, a winery, a chocolate room and a cheese room, it’s safe to say that Hotel Ciasa Salares, nestled in the Dolomites, is a foodie’s heaven. Restaurant Salares is home to authentic, home-cooked food, passed down through generations, with the motto: “If God had intended us to follow recipes, he wouldn’t have given us grandmothers”. You can order intriguing dishes like guinea fowl tortellini, saffron, wild goats cheese and mushroom tortellini, or lemon gnocchi with lamb sweetbreads. Don’t forget to leave room to sample some of the 40 varieties of chocolates (as though you need an incentive).
Hotel Portetta, Courchevel
Hotel Portetta has a warm atmosphere, wood-lined interior and bags of charm. With ski-in ski-out access you’ll be racing down to sample the evening cuisine from menus that change both seasonally and daily. Cucina Angelina by Angela Hartnett provides casual yet fine dining, with classics like steak, rabbit pasta and romanesco-crust cod. Fire and Ice is a luxurious experience: a bar right at the bottom of the main piste with log-burning fires, a pizza oven, ice shots and fur snugs to keep you cosy while you indulge.
Taj-I-Mah, Les Arcs
Taj-I-Mah was the first 5-star hotel to grace the wild and well-loved slopes at Les Arcs. The two restaurants are overseen by Michelin-starred chef Éric Samson. Le Diamant Noir is a gourmet establishment specialising in that black diamond, the truffle. Other delights include marbled duck foie gras, saddle of lamb and seaweed-marinated scallops. L’Atelier d’Eric has a modern interior and features show cooking, so you can watch talented chef Damien Ruffier as he prepares your dish. Treat yourself to beechwood smoked salmon, pumpkin soup or gratin of pasta with truffle and Savoie ham.
Hotel Das Central, Solden
In Austria’s popular and impressive Solden resort, Das Central sits in pride of place as the only 5-star hotel. The beautiful building is awash with greenery, flowers and a wooden interior and exterior, featuring not only three restaurants, but a wine cellar, lounge, underground fondue restaurant and an on-mountain gourmet experience. Perched on the Gaislachkogl, at 3,048 metres above sea level, is the ice Q bar, which was featured in James Bond. You can enjoy a snippet of Bond’s lifestyle here, with drinks, tapas and recommendations from PINO 3000, the hotel’s own private wine cellar. There’s also the Ötztaler Stube where Tirolean cuisine blends with fine dining, culminating in dishes like saddle of venison with dumplings and iced sparkling wine praline for dessert.
Hotel Arlberg Hospiz, St Anton
Hotel Arlberg Hospiz takes its name from its 1300s origins as a staging post for travellers on their way to Austria via St Anton. It’s been run for generations by the Werner family, and retains a cosy ski lodge atmosphere. With the ‘dine around’ package you can try all five restaurants, and, of course, nip into the wine cellar, which is accessible via a slide. The hotel’s quirky atmosphere extends into its menu, with roasted saddle of veal, lobster pasta, crispy fillet of pike, and tonka bean choco-fondant to finish.
Craig Burton is Managing Director of Ski Solutions. Ski Solutions is the UK’s original ski travel agent with over 30 years’ experience in delivering high-end ski holidays to Europe and North America.
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