Searching exclusive destinations for an end of Summer rush we ran across Andermatt Swiss Alps, situated in a village so often associated with skiing and alpine Winter sports. This legendary destination at the foot of the Gotthard Massif in Switzerland, will soon welcome a year round holiday, property, and sports Mecca of both proportion and uniqueness, we thought you would like to discover.
Andermatt and the Development - Courtesy Denniston Int. Architects
If you ever envisioned a beautiful valley tucked in between the most picturesque alpine splendor, and if you ever saw yourself being welcomed there, Andrematt Swiss Alps will be just such place. While most people would see in their mind’s eye slaloming or bobsledding at such a destination, the vision of this development’s visionary, Samih Sawiris (below right), is of an all season vacation-land. Sawiris, of Orascom Hotels and Development fame, sees Andrematt as a lot more than a ski resort.
Samih Onsi Sawiris
The Egyptian business legend intends for travelers to enjoy not only skiing and snowboarding, but skiing, skating, curling, golf, tennis, hiking, Nordic walking, rock climbing, mountain biking, riding, fishing, rafting, basically “you name it” – and all at one of the most beautiful locations on Earth.
Six four and five star hotels, almost 500 luxury apartments, 25 sumptuous villas, Andermatt Swiss Alps will be one of those place you hear tell of celebrity basking in the sun Winter or Summer at. If you have never seen the Ursern valley, no images or words can really describe the place. You simply have to go there. Build a resort complex there and market it? This postcard village tends to make one feel all the healthier just thinking about it. And for the avid skier reading this, 2 minutes by foot to the lift from your suite in The Chedi, this PDF shows all the village walking distances.
Designed to be integrated perfectly with the historic village of Andermatt, this new resort complex will cater to a wide spread of interests and needs. A leisure center, sports center, the wonderful Hotel The Chedi Andermatt are scheduled to start operations in between Winter Season 2013 and 2014. The Orascom Hotels development also places a keen focus on sustainability.
Sawiris’s company seems to have gone above and beyond Switzerland’s already stringent focus on environmentally friendly development, Orascom enaged with local residents early on, as well as environmental associations, heritage groups, tourism people, an local and Federal authorities in order to create a truly harmonious development. Renewable energy sources, apartments and hotels built to MINERGIE standards, every detail is being addressed.
Chedi Andermatt luxury stay.
For the future traveler though, what is most important is the visit. If El Gouna Resort on the Red Sea in Egypt is any indicator, those who vacation at Andermatt Swiss Alps will surely have a treat in store for them. El Gouna, called “The Venice of Egypt” is one of the world’s most acclaimed resort developments. Sawaris’s notion of putting emphasis not only on venues but especially on the staff there, has been a wildly successful one. As for the Andrematt Swiss Alps development, Robert Fellermeier, Managing Director had this to say about progress so far:
“We are delighted with the progress being made in Andermatt. The development has laid down its first visual markers with the topping-out ceremony for the luxury 5-star Chedi Andermatt, the start of construcion at the first apartment houses, the laying of foundation at the first villa on the banks of the River Reuss and the commissioning of the 18 hole golf course. These developments have been very positively received and we are looking forward to the opening of The Chedi Andermatt at the end of 2013 and the beginning of test operations on the golf course which will also commence next year.”
The sleepy village of Andermatt in Winter
Expect the best Swiss hospitality has to offer to go with the scenic and luxuriously appointed engineering of Andermatt. Located just 2 hours from Milan, and at the boarding and disembarkation centre of the Glacier-Express, famous for being the railway connection between Zermatt and St. Moritz, if nothing else Sawiris and his team picked the most ideal of locations. Minutes from Lake Lucern, UNESCO World Heritage attractions, or the most pristine solitude anyone can seek, Andermatt Swiss Alps seems ideal.
For more information on the development check back for a more detailed update in the coming weeks. The reader may also want to visit the official website of Andermatt Swiss Alps, or perhaps the official welcome site of the village itself.
We leave you with video from Andermatt Swiss Alps’ YouTube Channel. Enjoy.
Image credits: All images courtesy Andermatt Swiss Alps’ website.
