Silvaplana village nestles in a lovely sheltered valley just a few miles from St Moritz. The mountains here go up to 13,000 feet, so the scenery is dramatic. Spend the day on the slopes (skiing or walking) then come back to the Nira Spa and warm up in the sauna, use the hydrotherapy pool and have a very good massage.
What’s on offer
You have to enter the hotel through the garage, a true sign that this is a snow heavy area! Once inside, the building is arranged so that large floor-to-ceiling windows give views of the valley and the mountains. Wake up in the morning, open your curtains and you peer out at streams of clouds snaking their way around the snow-clad mountain peaks.
The overall feel here is of an upmarket ski lodge, with much use of stone and wood, and seats covered in cow skin. It’s spacious, modern and not short of comforts.
Triple-glazing and open fires keep you warm in the winter and the spa is a softly-lit haven on the second floor, with a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room, foot baths and experience showers.
Tell us about the treatments
Treatments are not fancy on the surface, but boy are they effective. My Aromatherapy Massage was deeply relaxing. My Moisture Repair Facial – recommended for dry, dehydrated skin – used jasmine, papaya, jojoba oil and shea butter, and felt like a real skin treat. The lift-off face mask left my skin feeling bright and fresh.
Treatments are tailored for the energetic. The signature Nira Alpina Journey combines hot stones, wooden bamboo sticks and an aromatic balm to create a deep massage – perfect after a day spent on the mountains. The salt stone massage uses crystal stones to soothe away stress, tension and pollutants.
There’s even a foot and leg ritual, a massage treatment that focuses on the deep leg muscles which need to be in top condition for skiing and walking. It’s all perfectly tailored for keen sports people, or perhaps those who want to rediscover their alpine sports prowess!
Food Facts
Breakfast is great: homemade bread from their own bakery, really good coffee and food cooked to order.
The rooftop bar serves hot food and snacks, and lovely cocktails.
The Stars restaurant does international and local dishes and uses mostly local produce. My starter of ravioli with lemon and mint was a real winner. The veal and fish were both perfectly cooked.
Don’t miss
Sitting in the warm hydropool and looking out over the mountains. Just outside the wet zone is a nursery slope for children learning to ski, so in winter you can watch little ones becoming proficient skiers, and maybe pick up a tip or two!
Breakfast with the dozen or so locally made jams and the milk from the ‘happy cows’ who graze on the succulent grass on the valley floor.
An evening in the rooftop bar; excellent service, sociable and great fun after a busy day out and about.
Who would like it?
Energetic skiers, walkers and mountain bikers. If your bestbeloved likes a busy life, but you prefer to relax, you can head for a day in the spa while they tackle the mountains.
Families. The Nira Alpina is well geared up for families with fold-out beds in some of the rooms and children are allowed in the spa until 5.30 pm.
Find out more at: www.niraalpina.com
Summer Spy
30th November 2015
Spy Likes:
Warmth and sunshine; spas which take me away to another country; fruit infused waters; beach-worth pedicures; deep tissue massages.
Spy Dislikes:
High footfalls; treatments that over promise and under deliver; heavy lunches; loungers drapped in used towels.
