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25TH SEPTEMBER 2023 THE TRAVEL GUIDE DISTRIBUTED WITH
LA MARMOTTE RESTAURANT IN VERBIER’S SAVOLEYRES SKI AREA/RAPHAEL SURMONT
TEXAN BURGER AT BLACK TAP/RAPHAEL SURMONT
CORNER ROOM WITH EMPORER-SIZE BEDS, HOTEL DE VERBIER/RAPHAEL SURMONT
Visit Verbier
From a Scandi-chic hotel makeover to a member’s club for wine- lovers, check out the best of this famous resort at the heart of Switzerland’s largest ski area. Words: Nick Dalton
Bouncing down the bumpy black run from Verbier’s peak — the near- 3,330m-high Mont Fort — is one of the ski world’s true high points. Te off-piste routes fanning out further down also play their part in making this one of the ultimate mountain resorts. Tis is a place where beautiful people come to ski and be seen, in an assortment of elegant restaurants and bars where skiwear is a fashion statement rather than something to simply help you keep out the cold. Verbier is more than just a ski
resort: it’s a place where people come from all over the world to settle, and where restaurants and fashion brands descend, reworking and reimagining the resort anew each season. In fact, there’s so much going on in Verbier that skiing can sometimes feel like an afterthought. Here, we select the best places for high-altitude wining, dining and designer shopping.
Where to sleep Scandi chic has been injected into Hôtel de Verbier, an unassuming if well-established place that was long run as a classic chalet hotel by a British package operator. But recently, this stalwart has been transformed, thanks to the
attentions of husband-and-wife team Eld and Ebba Leijonhufvud. Te Swedish couple bought the place early in the pandemic, turned it upside-down and inside-out and took over an adjoining building to create a dreamy world full of sheepskin armchairs, weathered timbers and cool, white backdrops. All the rooms have king-size beds, unless you book into one of the big corner rooms, which have emperor- size doubles. Elsewhere, there’s a sleek, low-lit spa with a pool-like hot tub and snowy views from the sauna. Te hotel restaurant, La Nonna, is pure Italian. It’s helmed by the folk behind Verbier’s hip apres-ski bar Le Rouge, although there’s nothing of the latter’s loud party vibe. Tis is a modern, laid- back trattoria and bar, where the pasta is organic and house- made. Dishes such as langoustine lemon spaghetti make a refreshing change from heavy mountain fare. From £399 per night, room only.
hoteldeverbier.com
Where to party Arriving in Verbier in 2022, 67 Pall Mall is a spin-off of the London club named after its upmarket Westminster address. Set in former restaurant and club Vie Montagne,
67 Pall Mall’s annual membership of CHF2,500 (£2,250) subsidises the price of its wines, while members are also welcome to store their own vintages in the cellar. Te club’s wine list offers more than 1,000 Swiss vintages alone, including 500 by the glass. It also hosts the resort’s only microbrewery, where gleaming chrome tanks are filled with Bière de Verbier. Te master brewer — a Brit named Brian, who has his own bar, La Textil, in Barcelona — creates traditional ales, pilsner and a white Belgian brew with orange peel and camomile tea. Not up for remortgaging in order to buy a membership? Te downstairs bar is open to the public, serving a selection of brews and vintages.
67pallmall.com
Where to shop Brits have always been a big part of Verbier. SunGod, maker of smart sunglasses and goggles, was founded in London’s leafy Hampton Court, but has called Verbier home since 2019, with a charmingly unfussy shop, SunGod Basecamp, on Rue de Médran. Husband-and-wife team Ali and Zoe Watkiss produce cool eyewear with a conscience — all packaging is recycled and SunGod
“Te club’s wine list offers more than 1,000 Swiss vintages alone, including 500 by the glass. It also hosts the resort’s only microbrewery”
is aiming for a product range that’s 100% recycled. Customers can create their
own pair by choosing the colour, shape and style of the lenses and frames for sunglasses, plus straps for goggles. Staff — seasoned Verbier skiers who understand the importance of good eyewear — build them while you wait. Te service is available in-house or from SunGod’s online shop, and it isn’t a budget buster; having the goods designed, built and distributed in one place cuts out the middleman, meaning better prices for premium product. Sunglasses start at £55 and goggles £95, which includes a lifetime guarantee (not scratched lenses).
sungod.co
Where to eat Founded in New York’s SoHo district, Black Tap opened a Verbier outpost at Col des Gentianes last
season. Set at the bottom of the Mont Fort ski lift, at 9,678ft, this is the resort’s second-highest restaurant (the top spot goes to Igloo du Mont-Fort, a tiny metallic dome perched at almost 11,000ft, serving the highest fondues in Europe). Everything at Black Tap is on a vast scale, from the huge, low, silver flying-saucer-shaped building itself to the mountainous burgers, including the Texan with cheddar, bacon, barbecue sauce and an onion ring. Te price is equally huge: CHF22 (£21) without fries. Save space for a hot chocolate that warms the soul or a giant Crazy Shake. Tere should be a prize for anyone who can ski down after lunch here.
blacktap.ch
First published in National Geographic Travel (UK) Winter Sports 22/23. Read the feature in full at
nationalgeographic.com/travel
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