Sinanation

A chalet that was originally built in 1760! and renovated in 2007. It is located in Champery, a town 2 hours away from Geneva by car with 1,200 residents, overlooking the Dents du Midi Mountains. 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 fireplaces. The famous Champery – Planachaux cable-car is right at the town center to take skiers to Les Portes du Soleil, the largest international ski area in the world. Can’t get any better than this.

On sale for USD 4m.

First it was that great record company. Then it was that airline everyone couldn’t stop drooling about. Then there was the private island estate even the Hollywood stars craved to go. And this time Sir Richard Branson is back with a full-service private ski lodge in Verbier, Swtizerland. Here is the description from the website:

 The Lodge, Sir Richard Branson’s luxury chalet, can accommodate up to 18 adults in nine bedrooms and up to six children for a superb skiing holiday in Verbier, Switzerland. Rates during the winter season are quoted on seven nights’ exclusive hire for 18 guests, and are priced in British Pounds. You can reserve individual rooms during the winter ski season if the chalet has not been booked for exclusive use six weeks prior to the set arrival date. Rates during the summer season are quoted per room per night based on two adults sharing and priced in British Pounds. The Lodge can be hired exclusively during the summer season. The 13 friendly and experienced staff include a Necker Island trained General Manager, an activities co-ordinator, spa therapist, Raymond Blanc trained chef and Bam Bam – the chalet dog. Each one is dedicated to tailor-making each guest experience…. People may arrive as guests but often leave as friends. The Lodge is part of Virgin Limited Edition, Sir Richard Branson’s collection of unique retreats.

Guests will need to fly to Geneva and then, drive, take the train to Martigny or rent a helicopter to their comfy luxurious ski vacation. The average minimum rate per person for a night’s stay  (minimum stay is 3 nights) at The Lodge comes up to 500 Pounds including all the meals, drinks and the use of the facilities inside the ski in/out chalet. Yes, it is a little pricey but what else can you expect from one of the wealthiest men in the world?

What to expect: Located minutes away from the city center in Erzurum, Palandöken promises to be one of the best ski resorts in Turkey. Splurged by the crisp continental climate and protected by the sets of mountains surrounding its outer skirts, this spot was always recognized as a ski resort with great potential. Yet, it wasn’t until 2009 that Palandöken got the funding and promotion it required to be a full-service winter resort, frequented by the locals, Russians and Middle Easterns. With the hope of housing international winter olympics and USD 400m at hand, the municipality of Erzurum managed to turn Palandöken into a winter wonderland. Ski jump portals were erected. Numerous new lifts were added, opening up the climb to unexplored slopes. In less than two years, this isolated gift of nature became comparable to most celebrated Turkish ski resorts like Uludağ and Kartalkaya. The only thing that disturbs the fame of Palandöken seems to be drought and wind. The low water reserves makes it impossible to run the snow makers despite appropriate temperature levels, pushing the resort to rely heavily on natural snow. That is why, more than any other resort, you need to make sure that there is enough snow in Palandöken before you plan your trip.

Getting there: The flight from Istanbul to Erzurum takes approx. 1.5 hours and then a 20 min. taxi ride will drop you right at the front of your hotel. If you wish to arrange a taxi pick up at the airport call my new buddy Fırat Çavaş at 0090 532 633 4980. This hilarious cab driver will make your trip worthwhile with his funky music blasting through the speakers and his snow tires rolling on the highway like they are prepping up for the Formula 1. One word of caution: make sure to confirm the pick up location twice and give him at least a 30 min. gap before your departure time (he tends to always arrive a little late).

Where to Stay: Dedeman Hotels seem to have a well-established monopoly here (despite the luxurious Renaissance Polat Hotel at the resort’s entrance). Dedeman Ski Resort and Dedeman Ski Lodge are the closest hotels to the slopes. Dedeman Ski Resort is the wooden, older and bigger triangle-shaped hotel located at the very top. The Ski Lodge (our choice) on the other hand is modern, newer, a little more concrete and smaller. Both hotels are ski in/out. There isn’t a big price difference between the two and they both provide half or full board (including ski passes) packages.

Recommended Slopes: Ejder, No. 20 and No. 27

Where to Eat: On the slopes, I recommend either Hot Point Cafe (also known as Dedeman Cafe) located on top of the Dedeman lift or Teras Cafe located at the Dedeman Ski Resort. The Pide (Turkish oven-baked pizza) with diced meat and extra cheese is a must have here. I recommend hot Salep (traditional Spotted Orchid Drink) for dessert.

Although not a restaurant, I insist that you pay a visit to Kars Bakkaliyesi to try out and purchase some of the most delicious Turkish cheese and honey. I recommend the Kaşar and the Tulum cheeses.

For dinner do not go anywhere else but Emir Şeyh Shish Kebab House. This incredible restaurant has been around since 1950s, serving one of the best shish kebabs I have ever eaten. All the cab drivers will know about it. Inside, Emir Şeyh looks like a Mecca of meat with antique tiles covering the walls and outdated blood red-leathered chairs surrounding the tables. The waiters run around like bees, fulfilling every order with impeccable speed and service. You will not get a menu here that will put you in a coma of decisions. The only course, a.k.a. the main course is: a huge plate of beef shish kebab with green pepper, parsley and diced carrots, a side dish of all natural yogurt with diced eggplant and a small plate of diced tomato salad with minced onion, parsley and red pepper. I insist you leave room for dessert and order the amazing Baklava with pistachio, fig paste and minced orange inside and the incredible Sütlü Kadayıf. Plan to ski non-stop next day to avoid obesity.

And at night! Let’s say you still have energy to let loose on the dance floor. Then you have no other option, but to go to Arzem Disco at Dedeman Ski Resort (of course the pre-party will be inside Fırat’s cab on the way up to the hotel). Located on the 2nd floor in a secluded corner, away from all the usual scenery expected from an ordinary hotel lobby, this disco will pull your jaw out, pop your eyes and tickle your ears.

This is not the disco you are used to. You accidentally boarded on a space ship and landed on an unexplored planet called Arzem. This is the dance floor you have forgotten since your elementary school prom. This is the laser show you were mesmerized with when you were a little kid. The too-old to-be-cool couches are painted in neon blue lights. The bar is in the hands of a bartender who looks like he was previously an entertainer at a circus. You order a glass of vodka & soda and drinks start splashing behind the counter. An ordinary drink takes 10 minutes to prepare with the entertainment. The only thing you can relate to is the music: well-remixed pop songs that are unsuccessfully tied to one another by an amateur DJ. Just when you get in the groove, sneaking yourself onto the dance-floor, your anti-lock breaking system gets activated. You immediately take a step back and observe the aliens dancing. The documentary on Planet Arzem begins.

The males are flaming gay. Their hands crawl like horny snakes towards one another. The hips are all over the place. The females can easily be mistaken for a guy if they had a mustache to accompany the mass that appears to be their body. Their dance can’t compete with the flaming guys. The crowd, spread around the club, is no different. There is a vicious dynamic here that scares you as much as it entertains you. Arzem certainly can’t be the nightclub of a family resort, but it just happens to be. You are at the front row of the circus, sitting too close to the lions showcasing their talent. An hour in this place is enough to last a whole ski season.

I am obligated to share a 30 sec. slice from the most unexpected documentary of my life. Go to Sinanation’s Facebook Page to view the video.

Sinanation thanks Fuat Pamukçu and Yasmin Salfati for the photos and the video on Palandöken, Erzurum.

Lara, I think you are going to love this one:

This 10 room, ski in/out chalet is located on the ski slopes of Corbeau in Morgins, a unique two-hour drive from Genève (if you take the lac Leman-side route) as you start in Switzerland, pass through France and make it again into Swiss soil. This wooden gem was fully renovated in 2009. 3 floors come with 5 bedrooms, multiple terraces and 6 bathrooms. Offered at USD 5m.

Morgins is part of the Portes du Soleil, known to be the largest ski domain in Switzerland with 200 ski lifts.

It has been a long time since I had lunch at Le Chalet de Pierres, but it is impossible to forget it. The food was amazing and it was the first time I witnessed such finesse and lounging at a ski resort during lunch time. Overlooking Des Verdon slope in Courchevel 1850, Le Chalet de Pierres is famous for its crepes and extensive dessert buffet displayed on the terrace on sunny days.

The French (and the Swiss), like any other meal, occasion and setting, know how to take eating to a different level. My ski trips in America have helped me prove this hypothesis. The self-serve quick meals in American ski resorts (including Aspen) become carefully crafted occasions with waiter service on the mountain tops of France and Switzerland.