Dine, wine and ski – Voss is simply world class

Norway’s ski capital Voss is full of contrasts. Opposites attract they say. After spending a week in Voss, skiing in all kinds of weather. Both at Voss ski resort and the neighboring Myrkdalen ski resort, here is a report.

Voss_Folkemuseum — Old Meets new at Voss, contrasts are all over the county. Photo: Maria Henning

We stayed at four different hotels and dined at 6 different restaurants. I must say that Voss surprised us. I had high expectations abut the skiing, Voss has a reputation regarding its ski terrain, a ski town collecting 100 medals in the Olympics and world championships in all different disciplines must have some good to give. And it has.

But Norwegian food on average has not. My experience from the average Norwegian cuisine tells me to keep my expectations low in that field. Sure, there are almost as many Guide Michelin star restaurants in Norway as in Sweden. I’m talking about average.

The long history of serving hotel guests, and skiers has set its marks on this mountain town. So for that reason, I had some expectations in that field as well.

At Voss Folkemusem you can travel back 150 years to see how food was prepared at the farms back then.

Skiing in Voss and Myrkdalen, deserves their own articles. Links will be found in the bottom. This article from now on is all about Park Hotel Vossevangen.

Before going to Voss I was researching accommodation. Looking at the pictures of the Park hotel on the internet, showing me that this is not what I prefer. It looks like a remain from the 60s or the 70s.

And it is! The first part built in the late 50s and the second part in the 70s. Not much has changed in the interior since then.

Staying here It’s like time travelling back to my childhood. Don’t misunderstand me, the hotel is clean and well maintained. Service is friendly. But the rooms are small, and the whole structure is outdated. Architecture from that era does not stand out in a good way, if you know what I mean.

The hotel has a new owner, and they have a plan to rebuild the whole complex in the near future. I saw the drawings, and when that happens it will be a total new ballgame.

The breakfast buffet is not too impressive either. It contains what you need as a skier, but it’s not the hotel breakfast you will visit as an external guest and pay extra for. Let’s say that the breakfast meets up with the standard of the hotel rooms, it’s basic. As the standard is what it is, you can also find nice price ski packages, bed, breakfast and lift tickets.

Fine dining and the world’s best wine cellar

That’s not the headline I thought of before arriving at Voss and Park Hotel, but I learned different.

The story is that the former owner, Jan Bruse Andersen started collecting fine wines in the late 70’s. And he collected. For more than twenty years, he kept his passion for himself. Like an untold secret.

Practically, no one in Voss knew what he was up to until one day when he had reached his goal.

Forming one of the biggest and best wine cellars in the world. 47000 bottles, 7000 labels. The award-winning wine list spreads over 800 pages and attracts visitors and wine nerds from all over the world. In 2021, Jan Bruse Andersen sold the hotel. (rumors say he actually sold the wine cellar surrounded by a hotel).

The new owner had no other choice than to carry on his mission, to maintain and keep the wine cellar up to date. Now this could be one of Voss most valuable assets, as it puts Voss on a new map.

Today there are two wine lists, one for bottles and one for wine on the glass. 400 labels are available on glass. If you don’t feel the lust to go skiing in Voss you should consider going here for this single reason. Click on this link to see the award-winning Wine list

Four hundred labels on glass

The hotel’s dinner restaurant Elysée stands out from the standard room experience. Surprisingly, the three-course dinner that was served to us somehow matched up with the wine experience. After the breakfast, we did not see that coming either. Contrasts indeed. If you are in Voss, Restaurant Elysée at Park Hotel Vossevangen is one of the restaurants you shall reserve a table at. Not only for their world-class awarded Wine on the glass list, but because the food served is among the best the town has to offer.

Let’s go down the basement

Basement it is, a locked door in the ladies room. Anonymous, not showing its real face before we are let in by our host of the evening, Rémi Asenci one of the three sommeliers caring about this treasure.

Wow, room after room, I’m not a wine connoisseur, but I understand the passion and mania that’s behind all this. Today everything is in good order, even if it doesn’t look so. The former owner had the location of every bottle in his head. After he left this treasure to the new owners, it took about a year to organize the collection so that the staff could find their way around.

The eight hundred-page wine list covers all types of wines, and regions. Surly some unique ones as well. The pricing is fair even though some of them match the price of the new Audi I currently drive.