If you want to spend a vacation in the Upper Engadine but want to bypass the hustle and bustle as well as the excessively high prices of St Moritz, Pontresina, an hour's walk away, is a good choice. The village, it's true, lives almost entirely off the tourist industry but there are only fifteen hotels in all and, particularly in the off season, one feels very much at peace with nature. The Kronenhof is a standard late nineteenth century palace hotel which has been substantially modernized. There's an indoor pool, a spa and tennis courts. In winter there's a skating rink, adjacent to which there is a substantial pavillion which serves snacks throughout the day and the ski slopes are within easy reach. There is a formal restaurant, in which one is expected to wear a dark suit and tie at dinner, and a more informal Stubli, where the food is actually better. The rooms are of good size, the furnishings, while perfectly adequate, are not quite up to the five star standard which the hotel enjoys. The great thing about Pontresina is the wonderful variety of walks that one can chose. One is soon out of the village, walking amidst the most incredibly beautiful Alpine scenery. The most spectacular trail leads to the massive Bernina Glacier which, if you take elementary precautions such as roping together in a group of at least four persons, wearing cleated boots and carrying an ice axe, you can climb. It's a longish halfday's trek, but a truly exhilarating experience. In the off season a double room at the Kronenhof goes for about 325 S.F. for the night. (I spent part of my honeymoon there more years ago than I care to remember and paid exactly one tenth of that -- o tempora, o mores!)
No comments:
Post a Comment