Skibuzz: That’s a wrap
Hosted by brother & sister team, Daniel Burger & Yvonne Verstandig, Ski Buzz is an exciting concept in ski holidays for the mature ski bum. Ski enthusiasts are invited to join a group of like-minded skiers to revel in a unique alpine experience on an escorted journey through the European Alps. 2023 had us venturing through the UNESCO listed Italian Dolomites before crossing the border into Austria to experience the well-known Arlberg region.
Upon returning from this year’s expedition, which saw a group of 13 travel to Europe for two weeks in March, Yvonne sat down with us to talk us through their incredible itinerary. Follow along with their adventure below…
DAY 1 – 5: ITALY
Where we stayed: Hotel La Majun, La Villa in the Dolomites
Hotel highlights:
We stayed in Hotel La Majun, located in the Alta Badia town of La Villa. It’s a privately owned boutique hotel that has been in the same family for three generations of women for more than 60 years. A mother and daughter team, Roberta and Natalie, now run their family hotel and are very present always welcoming their guests with a genuine smile and warmth. The exceptional service offered by all staff sees the hotel full of returning guests.
There’s a great fitness area with a choice of saunas, steam room and cold pools. Definitely the place to be after a hard day on the slopes is the hot tub overlooking the ski fields or for those who want to try some regional wine - the cellar which is run by Roberta’s husband would be the number one choice.
One of our favourite experiences was dinner in their private stube ending with rum and chocolate tasting led by Natalie.
What we did:
The first day of Ski Buzz is always about prepping and getting ready for the adventure ahead. From meeting with our ski guides - Alia and Giuseppe – and running through the next 5-day program, to shopping for welcome gifts and checking out the ski rental shops, we get ourselves ski ready.
Our first ski day was dedicated to getting acquainted with the area. We had lunch at Ursus Ladinicus (a tiny rifugio that serves up platters of local cuisine and wine), and of course, ate too much! We also enjoyed dinner in a gorgeous old farmhouse of over 200 years - Maso Runch – which has incredibly served the same dishes for the past 30 years. It’s the perfect place to discover typical Ladin specialties.
One of the skiing highlights was our day at Cinque Torre and through the hidden valley of Lagazoi, including the unique horse lift out. Coffee at Scotoni Hutte and a light lunch at Edelweiss topped off the stunning day.
Destination highlights:
La Villa in Alta Badia provides an easy access point with it’s ski-in/ski-out offering and accessibility to the Corvara-San Cassiano hiking route.
Although the Dolomites suffered from one of the worst seasons in years, we still managed to have some great skiing and many km's under our skis as the Dolomites are known to have some of the best snow making facilities in the world. It was the perfect warm up to get our legs ski ready.
The UNESCO heritage listed Dolomites are so majestic and awe inspiring. It was a truly magical experience skiing amongst these limestone rock walls.
DAY 5 - 8: ITALY
Where we stayed: Gardena Grodnerhof, Ortisei in the Dolomites
Hotel highlights:
Gardena Grodnerhof is a gorgeous Relais & Chateaux property that has just celebrated its 100th birthday. It has been in the same family for generations and just became a member of the Virtuoso network. Our wonderful host, Alex, a 4th generation hotelier so proudly recapped the history, evolution and development of his hotel over drinks one evening.
The hotel boasts a magnificent spa area built around six pillars of wellness.
We loved the accommodation, which is made up of beautiful, well-appointed rooms and suites in the main hotel and chalets/apartments, which is a great alternative for those needing extra space.
The breakfast offering was sensational with a huge choice of delicious food to get us fuelled for the ski day ahead.
What we did:
Definitely a highlight of our time in the Dolomites - skiing from Alta Badia to Val Gardena while traversing the iconic Sellaronda. We enjoyed some fabulous skiing, starting with the famous Gran Risa Downhill run and ending at the legendary Sassolungo - all while our bags were transferred to our next hotel.
As food is a focus in the Dolomites, and our ski group were more than happy to enjoy another long lunch, we took our time savouring the seafood on offer at Comici, one of the favourite lunch stops in the region.
Some of our other dining highlights whilst enjoying the Sella Circuit - was a lunch at Soo Chic while basking in the Spring sunshine and dinner at Costamula Hut - another beautifully restored old farmhouse from the 17th century serving up delicious gourmet Italian food.
Nothing quite beats skiing through the quaint villages of the Dolomites. Our final day had us skiing between Seceda, and the towns of Selva and Santa Cristina. What a sensational lunch to finish our eating marathon through the Dolomites - with a three course meal at Sofie's, followed by a pitstop enroute home for a shot of grappa at the charming Costamula Hut.
Destination highlights:
The town of Ortisei is the quintissential quaint ski village. Picture a charming snow town with colourful buildings, a few apres bars and nice boutiques scattered throughout. The perfect place to stroll at the end of a ski day.
DAY 8 – 14: AUSTRIA
Where we stayed: Thurnher's Alpenhof Zurs, Arlberg in Austria.
Hotel highlights:
Once again, we chose a family-owned and run hotel for our third stop on our Ski Buzz Tour. Thurnher's Alpenhof in the tiny Arlberg village of Zurs has been in the family for four generations, with Beatrice now running the show (with her 98-year-old mother who still lives on the property welcoming guests daily, close by her side).
One of the Leading Hotels of the World, Thurnher’s Alpenhof delivers great service, excellent food, a beautiful lounge and bar area, a nice pool and small, though lovely spa area.
It is also a fantastic location for ski-in/ski-out in Zurs.
What we did:
During our transfer, we stopped in Innsbruck for 1.5 hours to meander, shop and lunch, then arrived in Zurs as the snow was bucketing down. It was a magical sight, especially coming from the Dolomites where the snow was sparse.
We were lucky to enjoy off-piste adventures from day 1, despite poor visibility to start with. The stronger skiers in the group were treated to some incredibly challenging off-piste days, with snow that was both terrific and plentiful.
One of our favourite dinners included a wine cellar tour of Hospiz Alm in St Christoph, which is home to the biggest collection of large wine bottles in the world.
When the weather set in, half the group took the opportunity to wander into nearby Lech and St Anton for some much-needed retail therapy.
Fun times were had by all at the legendary Mooserwirt Apres Bar in St Anton - a Ski Buzz tradition whenever we are in the Arlberg.
On our last day on the slopes, the brave ones finished with an epic run down into Zurs clocking over 90km's/hour. What an exhilarating finish to an amazing two weeks on the snow.
Destination highlights:
The Arlberg has always been reliable with snow cover for us even when the rest of Europe has minimal.
It features 305 km's of piste skiing - with an extensive lift network connecting the villages of Lech, Zurs, St Christoph and St Anton.
Zurs, is a compact village great for the ski enthusiast as the perfect ski-in/ski-out destination, with off-piste adventures at your doorstep.
Besides a couple of snowy days, we enjoyed beautiful blue skies with great snow cover - one of the reasons Ski Buzz constantly returns to the Austrian Alps in the month of March.
Although it is not the Italian Dolomites, the region boasts many fabulous dining options and great on-pistes restaurants from gourmet to more local cuisine (no lunch is complete without sampling their delcious Kaiserschmarrn).
St Anton is well known for it’s “Apres” scene - however Lech also offers a relaxed Apres vibe straight off the slopes.
Overall Highlight - Our Amazing Guides:
It cannot be overstated that one of the most important elements on an adventure such as Ski Buzz is the personality and quality of the ski guides. The research & consideration that goes into selecting the right guides for the group is something we pride ourselves on. Our guides throughout the Dolomites and Austria were absolutely fabulous – excellent teachers, patient, caring, knowledgeable and offered a great insight into each location. From the best skiing to the best eating and drinking. They helped make Ski Buzz 2023 one of the best yet!
