Most of us are familiar with the BBC show Ski Sunday and its iconic theme tune. And the man presenting it – former Olympic skier Graham Bell – has also become somewhat of a household name over the years. His regular appearances, whether introducing action from races or partaking in high-action features, are full of energy – as is the man himself.

Year after year,  Graham Bell and Ski Sunday have found a home in our TV screens throughout the UK and around the world. Graham has visited most of the world’s top skiing regions during his time as either for racing or TV, as well as for personal recreation. The only ones still to tick off his list are ones in remote outposts in Russia and the Himalayas. And exclusively for Ski Luxe, Graham revealed all his favourite luxury resorts across the globe.

Ski Sunday presenter, Graham Bell  was born at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, where his father Rod was based. After he was posted to Edinburgh, Graham took up skiing in the Cairngorm mountains with his brother Martin who also went on to become a professional skier. When the legendary Franz Klammer won Olympic gold in 1976, ten-year-old Graham watched in amazement. Little did he know that he would find himself racing against Klammer in the Olympic downhill just eight years later in Sarajevo.

During his career, Graham  won a silver medal at the 1984 Junior World Championships and represented Great Britain on the World Cup circuit and at five Winter Olympics before retiring in 1998 and moving into a media career, first with Eurosport and then the BBC with Ski Sunday.

European Alps

Graham rates Zermatt in Switzerland as the ultimate luxury retreat. As he explains: “Its draw is its history and tradition with all the grand old hotels built at the turn of the 19^th century that look so regal and posh. The majestic Matterhorn is always in view and the glacier has some of the highest pisted skiing in the Alps.”

A luxury resort that holds a special place in Graham’s heart is the five-star family-friendly luxury resort of Val D’Isere in France as it was where he met his wife Sarah in the 1980s. The couple now have two children, Louis and Lottie who are both keen skiers. He recalled: “It has a lot of good memories for me and is one of the best all-round resorts in France.”

Graham also enjoys the skiing areas in Italy’s Vallee d’Aosta region and the vast German speaking Dolomiti Superski. Guests visiting this region can stay in properties such as the magnificent Grand Hotel Courmayeur Mont Blanc, and boutique Relais Mont Blanc and Spa in La Salle that prides itself on its grand gastronomy and Michelin restaurants.

North America

For luxury in the USA, he would choose Aspen over Vail, which is controversial given his brother Martin lives in the latter. He explained: “When going to Colorado, I choose Aspen not only for its luxury but for the history and the scenery. The Colorado snow conditions are great due to the altitude and the distance from the nearest ocean.

In 1998 Martin and I formed a two-man team during a 24-hour charity ski race, where we shared a gondola with Cindy Crawford one of the charity patrons.” Graham enjoys skiing in California resorts around Skaw Valley, the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, just minutes from Lake Tahoe. Then there is Utah where five-star properties are in abundance such as the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley.

Canada

Surprisingly, he does not rate Whistler in Canada – venue for the 2010 Olympic skiing – feeling it is too big and busy. Instead, he urges you to fly trans-Atlantic to the west coast as the snow is better. “Fly into Calgary, drive to Colombia and take in Kicking Horse and Revelstoke and Fernie for the perfect holiday and a bit of heliskiing,” he says.

Japan

Then there is Hakuba on the island of Honshu in the Nagano Prefecture where, he exclaimed, “I’ve never seen snowflakes like it, they were the size of saucers.” Niseko on the island of Hokkaido, south east of Sapporo, has some of the best powder skiing in the world and you can ski on the volcano, so the terrain is quite mellow, but it just does not stop snowing.”

Southern Hemisphere

Graham also embraces New Zealand where you can go heliskiing in the south islands, as well as skiing the resorts of Queenstown and Wanaka. You can also ski in the summer in the Andes of South America, resorts like Portillo in Chile and Bariloche in Argentina. And if you like your skiing a bit more rustic, you could try the active volcanoes to the south of Chile like Villarrica, an area renowned for its extraordinary beauty.

Scandinavia and Greenland

In Scandinavia, Graham recommends Åre in Sweden and Hemsedal in Norway. As an adventurer, he loves to accept challenges, which is how he found himself taking part in the Arctic Circle Race; a 160-mile (260 km) cross-country skiing race in Greenland and sleeping in a snow hole. Setting a personal best in Sweden in 2017, he beat a world speed record at 117.48mph to become the fastest person ever towed on skis by a vehicle.

He recalled: “The days before the event we did a bit of snowmobile catching a ride uphill and then skied down to the waters’ edge of the North Atlantic. You can do the same in Norway by staying on a boat called the HMS Gåssten, run by a British company that runs ski touring from the vessel. It is completely luxurious with its own private chef.”

Favourite Resorts

Graham’s best World Cup result came on the fearsome Hahnenhamm hill at Kitzbuhel in Austria. As well as being the world’s steepest and toughest ski race, Kitzbuhel is also a five-star resort with plenty of accommodation options. However, it is another Austrian resort, St Anton am Arlberg, that is his all-time favourite. He said: “I love the ski area, aside from being huge, it is a traditional alpine town for real skiers.”

Graham looks for ski opportunities first, followed closely by the après ski. If they have both then he is in heaven and St Anton ticks all the boxes.  It has high-class accommodation options such as the boutique Small Luxury Hotel Himmlhof and the Arlberg Hospiz St Christoph and Hospiz Alm restaurant which all ooze opulence.

St Anton was firmly placed on the map as the ski world’s party capital as far back as the 1960s, with it all beginning at two legendary bars, the Mooserwirt and the Krazy Kanguruh on the blue Galzig piste. But this year Covid, has stopped the bands playing across the region. “It is incredibly sad”, Graham admits, “But they will be back next winter when we have the vaccine, and we will be dancing on the tables in 2021/2022.”

Another for Graham’s bucket list would Verbier in Switzerland, with its champagne après, where Sir Richard Branson has a lodge, the very pinnacle of luxury. Switzerland’s other glitzy location, St Moritz, is also remarkably impressive and Badrutts Palace is the ‘stuff of dreams’,” according to Graham.

Luxury Defined

Graham believes that true luxury can be found in a good spa complete with saunas, steam room and hot tubs. He says: “A comfortable bed is standard, but I would cut après for a good spa. This is the place to reflect. You can watch the sun go down at the end of the day witnessing the mountain going to bed. Then you go and have a shower and go for dinner, that for me, is the epitome of luxury.”

For dinner, he recommends Val D’Isere Tignes restaurants, such as the two Michelin-starred-L’Atelier d’Edmond and one Michelin-starred La Table de l’Ours, as well as La Table des Neiges, Bistrot Gourmand and The Signal. But La Panoramic, is his all-time favourite. He says: “There is a self-service bit and then a lift that goes down to a private area where they do an amazing Cote de Boeffe. I love pretty much every ski food and in terms of cheese, I would prefer to do a raclette over a fondue. The Che-Cha restaurant at Chesa Chantarella in St Moritz do this superb white truffle topping for starter and seafood with black linguine for main course.”

Graham personally prefers a luxury catered chalet to a hotel and the Val D’Isere Le Chardon Mountain Lodges  are his favourites. When packing his suitcase, he eschews luxury items for a shovel, Gopro and airbag – “basically all the things that will keep me alive first.”  The reason for this is because he is a big fan of skiing in places like La Grave – the ‘sort of resort where you go down to breakfast in your harness and lay your ice pick on the table by your knife and fork.’ Instead, he will treat himself and his family at a resort to a fine wine or decadent meal or maybe some luxury cheese to take home.

For Ski Sunday’s Graham Bell, skiing means freedom and there is nothing like gliding down a mountain on skis. Alpine scenes bring ‘sheer pleasure and joy’. He enthused: “You get up in the morning and you can see this beautiful scene that reminds you of your own insignificance. The mountains have been there for so long and are so impressive that all your worries melt away.”

Speaking of views, Graham says Mont Blanc looks best from the Italian side, while the Matterhorn vista and the Dolomites are stunning. For something different he recommends Chile, where one can ski on volcanoes looking out over the Pacific Ocean with the Andes over 100 miles away. “I tend to judge everything by an alpine scale,” he revealed. “The Alps are big but then you go to the Rockies, the Andes or the Himalayas and it goes on to a different level.”

Adventuring in mountains will have to wait for now though. With the ski season on hold there has been a change of plan, viewers will still see him on screen but in a different capacity as he swaps skis for skates as a contestant on ITV’s Dancing on Ice. He will be competing against the likes of fellow Olympian Colin Jackson, TV presenter Myleene Klass and comedian Rufus Hound, all under the expert eyes of Olympic legends Jane Torville and Christopher Dean. The series starts in January 2021.