Hi Mike,
Have you looked at owners direct and other holiday rental web sites?
What do you call 'not funny' in terms of prices? As the dates you want are February half term you will be paying a lot anyway.
Some hotels, booked direct, are better value as we've found they don't charge more in half term than other high season weeks.
It's still cheaper, however, to avoid school holidays altogether. But I am guessing that's not an option. We're in same boat and that why we choose Easter.
You could try
http://www.val-gardena.net/
they have accommodation on their site