Canton Valais Village Royal resort in Aminona, scale model
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The CHF650 million Village Royal luxury resort project planned for Aminona, next to Crans-Montana in canton Valais, will go ahead as planned, the commune of Mollens said in a statement Monday.
It noted that the project’s future is unaffected by Switzerland’s weekend vote against the construction of new second homes because it is considered a hotel complex.
The federal and cantonal governments in 2009 approved Village Royal as a hotel complex that would supply 2,000 new hotel beds: 500 hotel rooms, 220 luxury apartments from 80-200m2 and more than 40 chalets of 300m2 each, all of which would be rented with hotel services provided.
The complex, as a result, would supply “warm beds” which fall outside the debate over second homes, often unoccupied for long periods, considered to have “cold beds”. Quotas on property sales to foreigners also do not apply, since the chalets and apartments are for rent under
The project remains blocked for the time being due to legal appeals made by environmentalists. The Swiss Federal Tribunal is expected to rule soon on the appeals, which cover one of five distinct zones that are part of the project. This second zone would create 15 new buildings of four to five stories. Environmentalists are concerned about the impact on the area, citing water supplies as well as flora and fauna that would be disturbed in a delicate eco-system. A shopping area, a number of restaurants, swimming pool, conference center and theatre are planned as part of the package.
SION, SWITZERLAND – A six-year-old boy from canton Vaud is in critical condition with internal injuries following a sledding accident in the resort of Haut Nendaz Sunday shortly before noon.
The child was going down a slope and went onto a road just as a car came along. The view of the slope was hidden by 1.5 metres of snow along the edge of the road. The driver felt a bump and looking behind her, saw a child in the road.
She immediately stopped; the boy, who was conscious, was immediately flow to the hospital in Sion and from there later transferred to the Chuv university hospitals in Lausanne.
Green go the Russians, oh!
Electric vehicles only, with parking in Sierre
Aminona's existing 3 towers (white) likely to see several more as part of new luxury resort project
Sierre, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The controversial CHF350 million resort complex that Russia’s Mirax company is planning to build in Aminona, near Crans-Montana in canton Valais, is suddenly looking greener than its original plans showed.
Swiss environmental groups in December 2009 filed appeals against the project to build a 2,500 resort with several towers and a five-star hotel plus 32 chalets.
WWF and the Swiss Fund for the Protection of Nature said at the time that they “fear[ed] a fiasco for nature and the surrounding countryside, as well as for the region itself.”
Concerns focused particularly on the supply of drinking water and protecting the dry prairies in the region, which are considered to be of national importance.
Mirax announced plans in 2007 to build on the 60,000m2 stretch to the east of Crans-Montana.
Mirax’s emphasis has now shifted from luxury resort to luxurious and green: the company says it will invest CHF250 million in green technologies for the resort, reports Le Nouvelliste, Valais newspaper.
The total expected cost of the resort has risen to at least CHF600m, with Mirax saying it will be not just the most ecological resort in Valais, but in all of Switzerland.
Cara, Michael, Myles, Sarah Robinson
Update 08:30 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Police in Bern confirmed to GenevaLunch early Tuesday 29 December that a body has been found near Wengen, the town from which British tourist Myles Robinson went missing 22 December. They are not yet releasing any details identifying the person, but will be releasing the information late this afternoon, she said. The formal identification takes time, but no further details, including where the body was found, how, by whom, are being given.
An earlier police spokesperson could not yet say if the police investigation has been stepped up to a criminal investigation, noting only that “A large, active search was undertaken but it didn’t turn up any clues indicating criminal activity” in the first days after Robinson went missing.
Robinson, age 23, was returning to his family’s hotel from an evening out in the village centre when he mysteriously disappeared. Wengen is a car-free village perched above the Bernese village of Lauterbrunnen. Its year-round population of about 1,500 swells to 10,000 during the peak Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Related stories, GenevaLunch
Existing three towers will be joined by 5 more; view of Aminona from village of Mollens
Correction 16:00 Mollens, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Russian company Mirax has passed a first, major hurdle in getting a green light to build a CHF350-plus million complex in the small resort of Aminona, next to Crans-Montana in Valais. Mirax specializes in large development projects including hotels and resorts. The first part of the project is for a hotel which has four buildings (correction: we earlier noted that this includes several towers, but these are part of a second phase, not yet approved, Mirax told GenevaLunch).
The larger project proposed to the commune of Mollens, of which Aminona is part, will have a five-star hotel, 32 chalets, five towers and luxury services. The complete project is expected to have 2,500 beds.
Natasha Richardson, wife of Liam Neeson, died in a New York hospital after sustaining head injuries from a ski accident in Quebec’s Mont Tremblant Resort in Canada. Richardson, 45, fell during a supervised lesson on a beginner slope and initially showed no signs of injury. She was not wearing a helmet at the time of the fall. The exact cause of her death has not been released. BBC, CBC (CNN article on head injuries)
