Monaco investors open boutique hotel in Limone Piemonte

Photo: Fiocco Di Neve Relais
Photo: Fiocco Di Neve Relais

Nestled in the village of Limone Piemonte, and steps away from the Riserva Bianca ski slopes, a new boutique hotel and spa has opened, with a very close connection to Monaco.

Owners, and friends, Antonio Lombardi and Jean-Louis Coletti have long enjoyed Limone Piemonte, in the Italian region of Piedmont, which in the early 1900s was one of the region’s most popular ski resorts thanks to its train access.

Antonio Lombard. Photo: Monaco Life
Antonio Lombard. Photo: Monaco Life

“In the Sixties and across to the Eighties, there was real boom in tourism here,” Mr Lombardi explained. “When that stopped, hotels losing money were turned into apartments and local businesses dwindled.”

Mr Lombardi and Mr Coletti, both from Monaco, decided something needed to be done. “Even though we are not in the hotel business, we wanted to help bring tourism back to Limone Piemonte, so on July 1 we opened a hotel and spa, Fiocco Di Neve Relais.”

Photo: Comune di Limone Piemonte
Photo: Comune di Limone Piemonte

A 90-minute drive from the Principality, the family-friendly region – with Riserva Bianca’s 80 km of slopes during winter and 400 km of explorable trails in the summer – has seen an increasing number of tourists from across Europe.

“There’s so much to discover in the region and it’s not far from Monaco. A large number of cyclists are heading here to discover the area on electric bikes,” said Mr Lombardi. “Recently we had a Canadian couple from Nice, hikers, who booked one night and stayed for four.”

Certainly the endless trails and breathtaking landscapes are part of the allure, but the 1200 sqm Fiocco Di Neve Relais luxury hotel also plays a role. Originally, the building was a relais de poste from the 1850s but the premises have now been divided into residences and the Fiocco Di Neve Relais hotel with 12 rooms, each named after the peaks surrounding Limone Piemonte, such as Monte Murin, Monte Vecchio and Rocca dell’Abisso. (Two additional Suites will be added before Christmas.)

Photo: Fiocco Di Neve Relais
Photo: Fiocco Di Neve Relais
Photo: Fiocco Di Neve Relais
Photo: Fiocco Di Neve Relais

Families, Fido and free snacks
Tastefully furnished using stone and wood finish, the rooms at the year-round hotel are divided into three categories of Comfort, Romantic, and Junior Suite. The latter can be converted into family accommodation with three large family rooms and an independent entrance.

“Families are important to us and we welcome children and dogs,” Mr Lombardi assured. Each room offers a special “Mom & Baby” kit – a bag containing baby soap, baby bath foam, baby shampoo, panthenol baby cream, baby slippers, a baby bathrobe (4-6 years) and a colouring book. A babysitting service is available through the hotel.

Medium size pets are also given a special welcome, with a bowl, personal bed and a toy in the room.

“Buongiorno” (Good morning!) is important in Italy and so breakfast offers a large variety of fresh, homemade and gluten-free products. The Breakfast Room also serves as a place to gather post-ski or hiking, by offering guests free snacks every afternoon.

Photo: Fiocco Di Neve Relais
Photo: Fiocco Di Neve Relais

Two firsts for the village: luxury spa and bar
“We have Limone’s first luxury spa, 250 sqm dedicated 100 percent to wellness,” Mr Lombardi explained. “And for us, it’s all about service.”

The wellbeing centre offers a wide range of signature, relaxing, beauty and sports treatments, as well as a Finnish sauna, Turkish bath and Jacuzzi, all at the disposal of guests. Additionally, there’s a footbath (ideal after a day of skiing, an emotional shower, and work out room with Technogym equipment.

Fiocco Di Neve Relais is 200 metres from the old town, a pedestrian zone with boutique shops, pizzerias, gourmet restaurants and a cinema.

The hotel’s chic Jardin d’Hiver – “WHITE” – a soundproof and heated bar with a spectacular copper-glass roof will open before the Christmas holidays. “After dinner, there’s no much to do in the village. We wanted to offer guests a space where they can enjoy a nightcap over jazz before retiring to their rooms.”

Photo: Fiocco Di Neve Relais
Photo: Fiocco Di Neve Relais

Holiday getaway and packages
An ideal holiday escape, the hotel will be open for Christmas and New Year’s, as well as across the winter season. In addition, they are offering three special foodie packages (two nights, breakfast included) from March 18 to April 29, 2018, which range in prices from €210/person up to €625/person for a Michelin-star experience. See the website for details.

The Fiocco Di Neve Relais & Spa is on the main pedestrian street, accessible by car and mobility friendly with free private parking for each guest. See www.fioccodineverelais.com. Article first published November 29, 2017.

Monaco Foodie: To Screw or Not to Screw

By Louise Simpson

Photo: Yvan Grubski.
Photo: Yvan Grubski.

“What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch?”

Sitting down to write about corks vs screw caps, I think of this infamous line from WC Fields. The cork polemic is often simplified into an Old-World vs New-World wine debate. While us Europeans have clung to the tradition of cork since Greek and Roman times, our New-World counterparts have embraced screw caps. Australia and New Zealand have led the charge with even top-end wines at €100 per bottle under screw cap.

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The screw cap is undoubtedly a user-friendly option that eliminates bottle variation, premature oxidation and cork taint, as well as allowing bottles to be stored standing up. Meanwhile, the trouble with cork is that not all cork is born equal. The cork market varies from high-quality natural cork to low-end, often contaminated cork. Cork is also difficult to produce. The first harvest of a cork tree takes 25 years, but it takes a further nine years for it to be of sufficient quality for natural cork closures. Cork producer Amorim has recently announced a trial plantation using drip irrigation to reduce this initial cycle down to a decade, but whether this will end in further diminished cork quality is too early to say.

Top-quality natural corks cost several euros per cork so they are usually only used for top-end wines. Next up comes DIAM cork where cork is chopped into pieces, treated with supercritical carbon dioxide to remove traces of TCA (trichloroanisole, the chemical which contaminates wine), then glued back together to create a non-porous stopper (this also prevents “random oxidation” of low-porosity corks). This effective alternative to natural cork is used by wine merchants such as Louis Jadot and Bouchard Père et Fils and producer William Fèvre.

The lowest end of cork production is closely associated with the problem of TCA-related cork taint. This mold-like TCA chemical trace that is found in corks that have been produced with pesticides and wood preservatives. However, systemic TCA can occur in both corks and screw caps wines when wine barrels, drain pipes, wooden cellar beams and rubber hoses are tainted. In summary, TCA is primarily, but not exclusively a cheap cork problem.

“TCA dulls the aromatics of white wines: the vegetable and blackcurrant aromas of a Sauvignon Blanc or the flower, lime and lemon aromas of a Riesling,” says Bradley Mitton of Mitton International Wines.

Mitton believes that 100% of cheap to mid-range wines should be under screw cap. Meanwhile, Richard Maria of Wine Palace Monte-Carlo thinks that screw caps are useful for drunk-young wines: “The absence of cork taint, the economic attractiveness and a new mode of consumption mean that screw caps have found their place in the modern wine world.”

There is little doubt that the European cheap-cork market (particularly synthetic corks that have all the hassle of a cork-screw opening with none of the benefits of tradition) should move towards screw caps. Yet cork does have its place. The higher up the wine scale you go, the more nuanced the debate becomes. While most white wines suit the reliability of a screw cap, long-lasting Cabernet and Shiraz wines are a different matter.

“When you put big, explosive Bordeaux wines inside a screw cap, they’re screaming to breathe. So maybe those big ballsy red wines need a cork,” says Mitton. “However, the diversity from one cork to the next can be up to 100% on how much air they let in. If you have six bottles of 1940 Château Cheval Blanc, they’re never going to taste the same. It’s virtually impossible unless they have the best corks that are like a piece of wood stuck in there. To be fair, the best Bordeaux wines often have such corks.”

I muse that if reliability were king in the wine world, there would be few admirers of Pinot Noir grape about which Miles in the iconic wine film Sideways said:

“It’s a hard grape to grow, as you know. It’s thin-skinned, temperamental. It’s not a survivor like Cabernet that can grow anywhere and thrive even when neglected. Pinot needs constant care and attention, you know? […] Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot’s potential can then coax it into its fullest expression.”

Corks are the Pinots of bottle stops. As long as wine lovers are willing to put up with an element of lottery, temperamental corks are here to stay. So tonight I shall enjoy the theatrical romance of a cork-stopped bottle over a candlelit dinner for two.

Best Addresses in Monaco
Wine Palace Monte-Carlo
(Quai Louis II, +377 97 77 05 05). Within the Yacht Club de Monaco, this wine shop offers a dizzying array of wines, champagnes and spirits. You can taste top-end wines by the glass in the fabulous interior designed by Sabrina Monteleone or on the shady terrace overlooking the yachts in Port Hercule. winepalacemontecarlo.com

Mitton International Wines. This Berlin-based wine company run by the ubiquitous Bradley Mitton sells reasonably-priced wines from family-owned, boutique wineries in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa. You can order wines online (mittonwines.com) or enjoy tastings at Club Vivanova (clubvivanova.com) events in Monaco.

My Way 2 (7 ave du Berceau, +377 97 70 21 38). Near to the Novotel, this wine-shop-cum-restaurant fuses genres seamlessly as you grab a bottle from the bottle-lined walls to accompany a delicious table-d’hôte lunch. my-way-2-restaurant.com

Caves & Gourmandises (25 bd Albert 1er, +377 97 70 54 94). This low-key wine shop in Monaco’s Condamine district has a good range of French and Italian wines and deli foods. cavesetgourmandises.com

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Prince’s Government reassures tenants of Jardins d’Apolline

Photo: gouv.mc
Photo: gouv.mc

The Prince’s Government has confirmed that tenants in the Jardins d’Apolline complex will have their apartments returned in an impeccable condition after extensive repair work is completed.

A number of companies have been involved in repairs to the hot water supply at the buildings, which in some cases has required that tenants move out to alternative housing on a temporary basis.

In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, on December 28, the Government said: “It is not up to a member of this group (of companies involved) to comment or determine the number of apartments concerned or the nature of the work to be done.

“The State will respect the commitment it has made to the residents of Apolline, as well as to the National Council during the budget debates,” the statement said.


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Prince Albert visits Bugatti exhibit with F1’s David Coulthard

Prince Albert with David Coulthard. Photo: Facebook Palais Princier de Monaco
Prince Albert with David Coulthard. Photo: Facebook Palais Princier de Monaco

Prince Albert recently visited the Bugatti exhibition, held in Monaco at the Prince’s Car Collection, until March 10, 2018.

For the occasion, the Sovereign Prince was accompanied by David Coulthard, former F1 driver and champion-turned-commentator, at Les Terrasses de Fontvieille.

Together, they discovered the iconic Bugatti models, Grand Prix and sport designs, dating from 1921 to 2016, all in working order and from private collections.

Earlier this year, Coulthard made a short film on the Monaco Grand Prix with the Princely couple, which was broadcast on Channel 4.


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Philip Culazzo puts a little zest into Monaco

 

 

Hit me with your best shot Monaco Life: BOOST

Trainer’s background: Competitive swimmer and water polo player representing Australia, who worked as a group instructor for KX, one of London’s most exclusive private members. Founder of Rumble in The Park boot camp, which he sold to Joe Wicks, aka the Body Coach and Instagram sensation

Type of workout: 6-week progressive intensity program, the first two weeks focus on bodyweight foundational exercises before moving onto technically more challenging exercise with equipment

Target area: program targets everything – strength, muscular endurance, aerobic and flexibility

Who’s the workout for: beginner to advance, the program is results driven which requires also balanced discipline in the kitchen

Equipment: Bring a yoga mat. TRX, kettlebells, battle ropes, medicine balls etc supplied.

Few names of clients: clients value their training and anonymity so does BOOST

Classes: 60 minutes Monday to Friday, two to five times a day, starting as early as 6 am, with the last class at 7:15 pm.

My legs can be misleading. Case in point, at an energy station during the COCC’s 140 km St-Tropez to Monaco charity bike ride last Sunday, one of the cyclists commented: “Nancy, it would be more enjoyable if you kept up with the core group. With those muscles,” he pointed to my legs, “it should be easy.”

I showed him my old bike. “Okay, that’s the problem.” He walked away, end of discussion.

Credit to my bike, which got me through the Nice Ironman, that’s not entirely true. First, gears are as foreign to me as understanding Facebook. Second, my muscular gams do not represent what’s going on with the rest of my body.

The only explanation I have for my calf muscles is all the mileage I accumulated in my youth going back and forth to the bar when ordering another round. Exercise was not in my vocabulary until my late thirties.

True, in recent years I’ve taken on endurance sports but my activity remains divided between the disciplines of swimming, running and occasionally cycling, without any speed training whatsoever. Throw me into a boot camp scenario, with its fast-paced circuit training, and it’s pretty much guaranteed I’m going to vomit with the high-intensity cardio.

For some time, I’ve heard about this “cool boot camp run by a guy named Damian” on the Monaco Port Digue at Quai Rainer III. In fact, all those fitness-minded in Monaco seems to know Damian.

Damian Fisher is the owner and trainer of BOOST Monaco, which he founded five years ago. A former computer programmer for Goldman Sachs, these days his workweek is divided equally between business group training and personal training.

Damian claims the key to motivation is that clients are challenged but also enjoy the workouts. Exercising outside on the Monaco Port Wall (the top Level of the Cruise Liner Terminal), between a view of the Rock at one end and the winding coastline to Italy at the other, it would be hard not to be inspired, although you are at the mercy of the weather, and rain can make the circuit a tad slippery. But hey, this is Monaco, which has more than 300 days of sunshine across the year.

I jumped in at the second of the six-week cycle, along with a dozen others, a combination of novices and long-time BOOST followers, both male and female, to try a Tuesday 7:15 pm class. At this two-week point in the program, the focus is on bodyweight strength and conditioning foundation, and therefore not too technical.

Like a box of Bits and Bites, every BOOST session is a “whole new ballgame”: you could be boxing, doing stair or strength work, calisthenics, partner or team fitness games, or the absolute killer, resistance running (Puke Factor: 10).

Each session starts with a warm-up
Each session starts with a warm-up
BOOST camp is their signature fitness and physique transformation program
BOOST camp is their signature fitness and physique transformation program

After a 5-minute warm-up, Damian explained in English the evening’s theme: the “Treasure Hunt”. Each team of two was assigned a number, which corresponded to a number on a “hi-viz” cone located somewhere on the digue’s many levels.

Each cone had a designated activity, for example, burpees, and you had to complete 20 reps, before sprinting to the subsequent activity, as indicated by the number written underneath the cone at your current station. As the cones were non-sequentially placed, it was a mad dash up and down stairs trying to find the next exercise.

I was paired with Kate Bermond (as per my intro, sorry Kate!), a triathlete who competed in Ironman Hawaii. Kate is an avid believer of BOOST, which she started doing several years ago when she wanted to cross-train using her body weight as opposed to weight training. She swears by the improvements to her overall performance, which indicated to me that BOOST pushes even a hardened athlete like Kate to her limits.

Our Treasure Hunt consisted of non-stop burpees, suspension training, boxing, medicine ball sit-ups, stairs, step, bar squats and then we, thankfully, ran out of time, due to my stall technique of distracting chitchat so we could never remember which cone we had just passed. I definitely felt out of high-cardio intense shape, as proven by my sweat-soaked shirt and overly-rosy cheeks.

I was fantasising about light stretching to finish off, when Damian brought out a bunch of harnesses. “Let’s finish off with resistance running and ab work,” he said smiling, in a tone as if he was asking who wants a piece of candy.

Even Damian admitted that if someone’s going to throw up, this will be the exercise to do it (see video above). He wasn’t kidding.

Linked ab selfie
Linked ab selfie
BOOST camp workouts are on the Monaco Port Digue, Level 2, past Stars'n'Bars
BOOST camp workouts are on the Monaco Port Digue, Level 2, past Stars’n’Bars

What left a lasting impression is how trainer Damian takes the time to pay everyone attention, not easy in a group setting, and how, despite the varied fitness levels, the BOOST campers seemed at ease working out together without inhibitions or ego. The friendliness was a definite bonus, although it would be nice to have somewhere to get changed afterwards.

Still, BOOST camp provides a relentless and deeply satisfying overall body workout in a remarkable outdoor setting that leaves you wondering what the next session’s challenge will be.

You can choose between 2 sessions (€300) or 3 sessions (€350) per week over a six-week BOOST camp cycle. The BOOSTer Week 5-day program, based on signature BOOST camp workouts, is €50. For more see BOOSTmonaco.com. Article first published May 6, 2017.

 

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