Engadine: Pleasure bikers welcome

The trails through the Upper Engadine smell sweet and spicy, as if an international star chef had conjured up a unique poem. The stone pines, alpine roses, flowers and herbs spread their fragrant scents as if they wanted to beguile their visitors with them. But not only the sense of smell is enchanted. Whoever drives down from the Julier Pass into the valley to Silvaplana sees a picture that could not be more beautiful. A wonderful scenery builds up before your eyes. The dark blue lakes on the plateau glitter like giant emeralds and are gently embedded in the wide landscape framed by mountains that surround them like a crown. This fairy-tale beauty and these enchanting scents stir the soul. A valley created by God to enchant people. This picturesque mountain paradise is also able to seduce bikers to such poetry.

Biker's paradise?
But should bikers spend their vacations here, and if so, which ones? A good four years ago, Engadin Tourism began to think about attracting mountain bikers to the valley in addition to hikers. As a result, a master plan was created that has led to numerous offers and trails for bikers, with the goal of becoming the top destination among biking destinations by 2015. Years before, other Alpine regions at home and abroad had successfully attracted bikers with lift services for bikes, who now had the pleasure of rolling down the mountains. In recent years, destinations such as Flims and Lenzerheide in the canton of Graubünden have also become top spots for the biker scene, attracting attention with numerous tours, attractive biker events and comprehensive bike services. Today it is standard that in these regions you can take your bike on the track to "hillen" from the summit back down into the valley. After reading on the homepage that you can also use the cable cars in the Engadine with your bike, I was astonished when I realized on site that this only applies to the cable cars that lead to the Corviglia. All other lifts are still reserved for hikers and excursionists: No bike lift to Diavolezza, Lagalb, Muottas Muragl or Corvatsch. "What do they want up there?", I thought. Do they want the bikers or don't they want the bikers? It certainly won't work with this half-hearted offer! Downhillers and freeriders, whom one attracts with mountain railway service, will not come, a genuine biker tourism cannot develop in such a way. I also confronted the tourism organization with this formed opinion and this seemingly contradictory handling of biker needs. Sara Roloff, head of PR at the tourism organization, commented on my objections. On the one hand, she explained to me that the implementation would be carried out and perfected continuously, because they also want to guarantee a perfect experience for the guest and not open one track after the other without having provided a sufficient infrastructure. On the other hand, she told me that her customer is also not the young freeride biker, as one encounters in Flims or Lenzerheide, but the "pleasure biker". Of course, this makes the actions of the region more understandable, but whether this meets the needs of the bikers, I make a big question mark. Also older Biker and straight Genussbiker want to have as large an offer as possible at routes and naturally with as much comfort as possible connected. However, there is obviously room for maneuver in the design of the bike offer and a possible expansion of the bike network. At present, it is being clarified whether Piz Nair should be made accessible to bikers by train or not. I also consider Diavolezza to be predestined as a biker mountain. I shake my head at the current status quo. And other locals don't agree with the policy either. Numerous local bikers who want to get it rocking are therefore somewhat desperate today from the Upper Engadine to Livigno, 50 km away, which lures with bike parks and ultra-low prices. I sincerely hope that the tourism organization will improve the biker infrastructure considerably, otherwise the Engadine will not become a top biker destination.

Guest service is top!
In addition to the beautiful nature that the Engadine has to offer, the vacation region impresses with a unique and widespread first-class service in serving its guests. As a rule, guests in the Engadine always encounter friendly and courteous hosts, which is a clear strength of the Engadine. In particular, the hotel industry and innkeepers know how to welcome and pamper their guests. Furthermore, the gastronomic and hotel offer is unbeatable. There are six 5-star hotels in St. Moritz alone, one more in Pontresina and another in Sils - this is the highest density of luxury hotels in the Swiss Alpine world - in addition to numerous excellent first-class hotels down to the youth hostel, which in St. Moritz is also top in quality and price. Of course, there is also a somewhat stiff culture in the upscale segment, where people pay attention to etiquette and manners, and which may not quite fit the biker. As a guest, you always feel "tolerated" in such establishments as long as you behave: Well-being goes differently.

Giardino Mountain
That this luxury hotels can be different, wants to prove a new house, which opened last winter: The new 5-star hotel "Giardino Mountain". It doesn't want to focus so much on appearance but much more on heart. The guests should feel comfortable here. From the outside it looks small and affectionate, but behind it hides a real village of Engadine houses that are connected to each other. The rooms are styled top modern, but not pompous, not overloaded, something so also for the younger, more modern guest. Here even bikers can feel comfortable and with prices from Fr. 225.00 the night also pay. With Katrin Rüfenacht, a young, charming hostess is on site, who can be trusted to live exactly this personal lifestyle. The Giardino fills a clear gap here to the otherwise large, stately 5-star chunks that tend to be off-putting for simple bikers with their exclusivity etiquette and ostentation. The Engadine is in fact very sweet, charming, beautiful and yet modest, quiet and still, simply a pearl. So a boutique luxury hotel fits very well into this region. Luxury yes, but not stiff, not arrogant, but warm.

All in one Hotel Inn Lodge
A tip for bikers is certainly the modern All in One Hotel Inn Lodge in Celerina, which was opened only a few years ago and combines youth hostel and hotel. The customer decides whether to stay in a shared room like in the youth hostel, in a room like in a hotel or in a studio like in a vacation apartment. The modern building and the relaxed atmosphere is the place to go for many young people and those who are young at heart, who have to or want to keep an eye on their budget and still want to spend their vacations in a modern and high-quality way. An absolutely successful compromise.

Culinary richness
You don't have to starve in the Engadine either, culinary the Engadine has extremely much to offer. Whether it has to be ultra-luxurious and can be as in Reto Mathis restaurant "La Marmite" on the Corviglia, where various caviar creations are celebrated or in TV and star chef Daniel Bumann's Chesa Pirani in La Punt, whether rustic in countless cozy pubs in the villages down to the new "burger" store "Secondo" in St. Moritz, in the Engadine you will find everything and always in impeccable quality. My tip: you should definitely go to Muottas Muragl for dinner or lunch. You eat very well, are served friendly and have a super view of the valley. Unfortunately, the fun costs quickly once over Fr. 100.00 per person, but it is definitely worth it.

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