Davos Klosters, the Swiss resort renowned for hosting the Royal Family ski trips along with the rich and the famous, has announced a couple of new additions to the resort.
The first of these, the opening of the Saas bypass, isn't technically in Davos or Klosters, but will benefit the resort substantially. The 3.7km bypass will open on the 21st October 2011 and is expected to reduce the time is takes to drive from Landquart to Davos Klosters by thirty minutes. The new road will consist of the 2.6km Saas tunnel, which will be coated in high-tech self-cleaning paint that utilises nanotechnology — only in Switzerland!
The next great piece of news is the addition of a new high-speed four-man chairlift. The new lift replaces the last drag-lift on the Jakobshorn and will take skiers from the mid station of the gondola to Brämabüel, the resort's steepest mogul run. The new lift will carry 2,000 passengers an hour and will take around 5 minutes to travel 1,500m.
There is also some good news for the cross-country skiers out there. Thanks to snow farming, yes I said snow farming, the resort plans to begin preparing a 1.4km piste in October. The snow farming project consisted of 4,000m3 of snow having been stored under a layer of wood chippings since the end of last season. The snow farming project was developed four years ago and since then it has been used to store technical snow [what's technical snow? - Ed] in summer.
There will also be a new four-star boutique hotel, fiftyone. The new property will only take online bookings, will feature no reception teams and guests will check in via a terminal. Each of the 24 rooms will feature white colour scheme's and will be available on a room only basis. For those wishing to eat in the hotel there will a vending room with coffee, drinks and snack machines — though for a real meal you will be able to order half board at the neighbouring Posthotel or Schweizerhof. This concept hotel takes Swiss efficiency and minimalism to the max.
Written by Stephen Adam
© Igluski