Corvara 2008

Waiting in the only lift line we saw the entire week, one of our favourite ski buddies took us to task. “Just look at this. There was no line last year. Stop writing about Corvara!”

Well, another year has gone by and another group of skiers is furiously lobbying NoCrowds to keep quiet about the most undervalued ski resort in Europe. Our view is that ski resorts get the customers they deserve and this unpretentious place deserves a higher profile amongst those who go to the mountains to ski and who love skiing more than hanging out with celebrities and being seen at fashionable “après-ski” venues. The families in Corvara work hard for our business, offer a great product, deliver good value for money and we’re on their side. As in years past, we make the case that if you want to impress your friends, go to Zurs or Zermatt but if you want to enjoy yourself more, spend less and get away from the hoi polloi, head for Corvara in the Alta Badia.

Actually, despite our singing Corvara’s praises for the last three years, we’re happy to report that not much has changed. The town of Corvara remains unspoiled by either McDonalds on the one hand or too many chi-chi boutiques on the other. Our favourite three star hotel, Parkhotel Planac, has the same charming and efficient staff as last year. The Dolomiti Superski region still offers the largest skiable terrain in Europe with 460 lifts connecting 1,220 kilometers of pistes across three regions of Italy, which is roughly the distance from New York to Chicago. The culture and cuisine, in which the locals take enormous pride, are an appealing mix of Ladin, Austrian and Italian influences. If you are interested in the region, no one is too busy to stop and tell you all about it.

One of the things that save Corvara from the destructive forces of intensive tourism is the fact that getting to the resort is not easy. Over the years, we have tried lots of permutations. We have flown into Bergamo and Venice and have rented cars and taken taxis, but we’re happiest with this year’s solution which entailed a late Friday flight into Bologna, spending the night there and taking a train the next morning to Bolzano where a taxi then took us to Corvara.

By leaving Friday night, we avoided the Saturday morning skiers scrum from London’s airports. By flying into Bologna, a convenient regional airport not particularly near the mountains, we avoided the high fares typically charged for skiing destinations in February. Our overnight in Bologna was a bargain as well. The train ride from Bologna to Bolzano is a snap once you are aware that Bologna has not one, but three Track 4s. (We missed the fast train getting up that learning curve as we madly ran around the station with all our ski gear.) The taxi from Bolzano, which takes you over the Passo Gardena/Groednerjoch, is the perfect introduction to the Dolomites’ dramatic scenery. With train and taxi, our transfer to Corvara ended up costing €65 per person which is about the best we’ve ever done.

In addition to finding a better way to get to the resort, we also added some new mountain restaurants to our growing list of favourites. Moritzino’s at the top of the Piz la Ila lift, the Armentarola Hotel at the bottom of the run into Armentarola and Trattoria Ladina Oies (the famous Teddy Bear restaurant) off the first chairlift out of Pedraces are still excellent but we also thought the Mathiaskeller Restaurant at the top of the second Colfosco chairlift and the Hotel Boe, on the Passo Campolongo half way between Corvara and Arraba were great finds offering good food at good prices with no crowds.

Just so we do not seem to be working for the local tourist board, we will mention that prices seem to be rising in Corvara, particularly for lift tickets and equipment rentals. A quick price comparison with lift tickets in Lech/Zurs for the same week showed that the Dolomites are catching up quickly to the big boys in France and Austria. Ditto for our equipment rental. That was not the case with food and accommodation which still seem reasonable by comparison.

Despite the whinge about rising prices, we absolutely love Corvara. For anyone hoping to ski in Europe far from the maddening crowds, we know of no better place.

Photo Credit: Freddy Planinschek

Useful Addresses

For taxi service to and from Corvara

Taxi Badia
Tel: 335 7373981
Cell: 0471 838080
info@taxibadia.it

Pescosta Alfredo
Tel 0471 836393
Cell 347 261 5525

Parkhotel Planac
Via Planac, 13
I-39033 Corvara in Badia
Tel: 39 0471 83 62 10
Fax: 39 0471 83 65 98
info@planac.com
http://www.planac.com/

Moritzino’s Ristorante Gourmet
Piz La Ila
Tel 0471 847407 – 847403
Fax 0471 847395
Cell 335 600 94 56
http://www.moritzino.it/

Hotel Armentarola
I-39030 San Cassiano
Tel: 0471 84 95 22
Fax: 0471 84 93 89
info@armentarola.com

Trattoria Ladina-Oies
Pedraces
Tel: 0471 839671

Rifugio Passo Incisa
32020 Arabba
Tel and fax 0436 79313

Mathiaskeller Restaurant
Colfosco
Tel: 0471 836754

Hotel Boe Restaurant
Passo Campolongo 19
Tel: 0436 79144

Three Emails = One Good Hotel

The countdown to Thanksgiving has started. The fact that 34 hungry pilgrims are coming for dinner on Thursday has distracted NoCrowds from the business or researching and writing. Instead of scouring the countryside for the undervalued and overlooked, it’s time to check the chairs, cutlery and glasses and corner the London market in sweet potatoes and pecan pies. With so little time, imagine our delight to open Outlook this morning to find three emails that did the job for us.

Let’s begin with the email from Sandy.

“The dollar’s unstoppable decline will make our premise - Europeans want to wander through the ‘real America’ - more compelling and actionable every day.

Here’s my precise prediction of what happens next:

1. The Saudi's will finally realize it's silly to recycle petro dollars--$20 Billion per shot--into the U.S. economy, via Chelsea Clinton's Hedge Fund. They'll get a better return by digging a hole in the ground than investing in S&P 500 and Russell 2000 equities.

2. The market, reacting sharply to this betrayal, will fall, quickly, by 10-15%...a few 1,000+ point daily drops.

3. Like the Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who reportedly refused to accept payment for her services in dollars, the Saudi's might just do the same, prompting a grave dollar crises.

4. At this point, Michael Bloomberg, who's been lately silent about his Presidential ambitions, will step forward, propose a turnaround plan and figuratively AND literally buy the Presidency. Like Abraham Lincoln before him, Bloomberg will assemble a all-star coalition government, and hopefully attract the best and brightest minds from both sides of the aisle.

5. By 2010, the dollar will begin to turn around. The Saudi's will resume their petro-dollar recycling. The market will stabilize and also turn around.

6. In summary, we've a three year window to get the nocrowdsamerica blog off the ground!”

He’s right, we thought. We need more content about America!

We then opened the email from Jeff about the Carolina Inn which stated:

The Carolina Inn and Carolina Crossroads Restaurant Earn AAA Four Diamond Ratings

11-15-2007 CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

The Carolina Inn, one of the state’s most renowned hotel properties, continued that elite status with recognition as a 2008 AAA Four Diamond Hotel Rating. Meanwhile, its signature Carolina Crossroads Restaurant also was given an esteemed 2008 AAA Four Diamond Restaurant Rating.

Befitting the good news, The Carolina Inn will open its doors for five weeks of holiday activities during its 10th Annual “Twelve Days of Christmas Celebration” from Dec. 2-Jan. 6. A 10-ton sand sculpture depicting the final verse of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” carol, Breakfast with Santa, Teddy Bear Tea Parties and three community fundraisers highlight some two dozen events.

Long recognized as one of America’s “cultural resources worthy of preservation,” The Carolina Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recently broadened that lofty stature with the announcement that it was among the Historic Hotels of America members joining the Preferred Hotel Group Brand.

He's right, we thought, the Carolina Inn is a perfect place to feature in NoCrowds America.

Then we opened the email from Gary where he suggested:

Some interesting things you can do when pointing out new destinations to people. You can include a “Google Earth” type map which has photos pinned to it from people who have been to the area and have posted them. Here are a couple of examples—note that the little blue markers are pictures that people have taken and posted online.

The cinqueterre:
http://loc.alize.us/#/tag:cinqueterre/geo:44.070814,9.481201,10,h/

Corvara:
http://loc.alize.us/#/tag:corvara/geo:46.551793,11.871055,15,h/

Kew Gardens Henry Moore sculptures:
http://loc.alize.us/#/tag:henrymoore/geo:51.480635,-0.298090,15,h/


The catacombs of Paris:
http://loc.alize.us/#/tag:catacombs/geo:48.856558,2.350966,13,h/

Gators in Myakka River State Park in Sarasota:
http://loc.alize.us/#/tag:gator/geo:27.272864,-82.293520,14,h/


Basically, you can see these places through the eyes of ordinary visitors before you, rather than tour book authors. It’s kind of cool. That means that as you post new no crowds destinations, you can create a link like this to allow readers to explore on their own.

Well, at least this geek likes it.

He’s right, we thought. What a cool tool and so here is the link for Chapel Hill:

http://loc.alize.us/#/tag:chapelhill/geo:35.907519,-79.054707,15,h/

And here’s why we think the Carolina Inn is worth a visit from Europeans in search of the “real” America. The Inn is old fashioned, in the best sense of the word, reeks of southern hospitality and gracious living and the food is absolutely superb. For much of the year this hotel is informed by the energy and enthusiasm of alumni who return again and again to the university town to relive the glory of their youth. While all of this luxury and ambience comes at a price, with an exchange rate of 1 US$/ 1.46 €, the Carolina Inn start to look pretty reasonable. Tonight, for example, you could have a large room for as little as €81.05. Not bad for a top rated hotel in a really fun town. With American Airlines offering direct daily non-stop service from London to Raleigh Durham, Chapel Hill is closer than you think.

The Carolina Inn
211 Pittsboro Street
Chapel Hill North Carolia 27516
Tel: 919 933 2001
Fax: 919 962 3400

For information on Chapel Hill, click here and for more information on travel in North Carolina click here.

Photo of the interior of the Carolina Inn courtesy of the hotel’s website.