Resort of the Week: St. Moritz

St Moritz is a leader in the winter sports arena with well groomed slopes of olympic and world cup standards. At 3000 m above sea level, overlooking a beautiful frozen lake, St Moritz offers the perfect idyllic ski resort with reliable snow. The ski area comprises Corviglia, Corvatsch and Diavolezza – Lagalb which are not connected by lifts but are accessible by car, bus or train – the Upper Engadin skipass gives you access to all connected ski areas

Playground for the rich and famous, St. Moritz is definitely more expensive than your average ski resort. You can count on this ski resort to provide all the luxury restaurants, shops and hotels you will need but also equally excellent skiing and facilities. Having hosted both the 1928 and 1948 winter Olympics, St Moritz is home not only to five star hotels but also to five star ski slopes.

Checkout the St. Moritz ski area map here.

 

Resort Statistics

Lowest point: 1770m

Highest point: 3303m

Total ski area: 354km

Slopes: 229

Beginner runs: 57

Intermediate runs: 136

Advanced runs: 36

Snow Parks: 1

Open from: November – April

 

Transfer Times

Innsbruck Airport: 3hrs30

Zurich Airport: 3hrs 30

Milan Airport: 4 hrs

 

Family Destination

St Moritz offers some great family friendly hotels services with great facilities and fantastic wellness areas. The non-skiing activities on offer in St. Moritz are also endless making this resort an ideal location for families with mixed sport interests.

For the skiers of the family, St Moritz is home to some excellent ski schools where you and/or your children can learn to ski. Skiing as a family in St Moritz can even give you access to a family card ski pass discount! In the Salastrains area you will find a nursery play area and kindergarten where your kids can be looked after by qualified staff and from the age of three your children can join a group of skiers in ski school to tackle the slopes for the first time, whilst your teenagers can be taught how to perfect their carving skills and crush the black runs and you can hire a guide to explore the spectacular off-piste routes on offer.

 

Beginners

St Moritz is a great place to learn to ski with great beginner slopes and excellent ski schools. The downside is that most beginner slopes and nursery runs are not connected by lifts and so you will have to use other means of transport to get around. Heading up the Corviglia funicular you will find a drag lift and a blue run both suitable for beginners. Corviglia also offers a long 3 km run called the ‘chill out’ slope which is perfect for families and beginners to cruise down.

Heading up the St. Moritz Bad gondola you will find the Salastrains area which has two drag-lifts and is often where ski schools teach beginner and kids lessons.

Celerina which neighbors St. Moritz does have a convenient nursery slope in the center of the Village so if you are a family of skiers it could be wise to consider staying in this village rather than in St. Moritz itself.

 

Intermediates

The Corviglia area, accessible via the St Moritz Dorf furnicula, is the perfect location for intermediate skiers due to the variety of excellent red runs on offer. With 160km of runs you will be spoilt for choice and amongst these you will find the Number 25, an excellent and long red run.

In Corvatsch you will find another 120km of slopes including the Konigsabfahrt, this 9km run gives you plenty of time to practice your skiing skills. For another long run, take the bus over to Diavolezza where you will find the 10km run descending from the glacier to Morterarsch.

 

Advanced skiers

The Corviglia area also offers a great selection of off-piste routes on the south side of the mountain for the expert skiers to enjoy. For the piste lovers, the slope descending from the Piz Nair summit is definitely one of the best – home to the World Cup downhill race.

For a challenge, the Lagalb run in Diavolezza offers one of the most difficult slopes of this ski area. The 9 km run from the summit of Corvasrtch is another challenging slope and Corvatsch also has some great off-piste routes on offer descending from the summit on the north-west face of the mountain – it is definitely worth hiring a guide to check these out! Undoubtedly however, the Selin black run is the most difficult slope of the area with a 474m vertical drop.

 

Non Skiers

Thanks to lake St. Moritz, this resort has more to offer than merely its excellent ski runs. From polo-on-snow, golf, horse racing, tobogganing to curling, St. Moritz is filled with unforgettable experiences for everyone to try. If hiking is more of your thing then we suggest making the most of the 150km of walking trails on offer in St Moritz.

 

 

 

Dining

At the top of Corviglia station you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Engadin mountains alongside some delicious food and wine at the White Marmot Restaurant & Bar.

Panoramarestaurant Piz Nair is a great spot where you can enjoy the typical cuisine outside in the sun terrace at an altitude of 3057m. If you would prefer asian noodles on the slopes then Quattro BAR at Corviglia is the place for you and if pizza is more up your street then Pizzeria Chadagö is an excellent spot. Some other great spots are El Paradiso in Corviglia and Sils Maria in Corvatsch!

 

Après Ski

For the closest to a classic après ski experience we recommend the Devil’s bar or Bobby’s English Pub. The general atmosphere in St Moritz is one of luxury drinking and dining with expensive bars so if this is your scene or you want to check it out then there are lots of great options.