Report from Valmorel (with photos)

Thanks for the detailed report, usual boring conclusion from me 1) don't go to France (with some exceptions) 2) definitely don't go anywhere with Crystal!

We once had a holiday for 10 family and friends booked with Crystal, to cut a long story short, they changed the holiday so fundamentally 4 days before our departure that we had to cancel and re-book independently, at an additional cost of about £200 per person. This was after a monumental battle to get a full refund. It turned out that all the changes were made to minimise their costs following a change to a flight to a totally different destination and we were part of a complex 'chess' game to avoid them paying compensation within ABTA regs. Total disgrace. Sounds like others have similar horror stories. Please nail them for compensation, they shouldn't be allowed to get away with this!

Rant over.

Johnski96

johnski96 wrote:Thanks for the detailed report, usual boring conclusion from me 1) don't go to France (with some exceptions) 2) definitely don't go anywhere with Crystal!

1. Sweeping statement or what? I have never been a big fan of France, but have had superb times in ADH and Serre Che in recent times. Before that I visited Austria and Switzerland, as well as Italy a couple of times, and I have to say as far as the skiing goes, I dont think you can identofy one country and say its better. Food, drink, prices, quality of accommodation, apres ski.....I tend to find most places are better than France. I have been lucky enough to have avoided the rip off prices of Surrey-on-Snow, oops I mean the 3 Valleys, all by choice of course, but have had several particularly good ski holidays in France recently.

2. I have never used Crystal, and have indeed been warned against using them by an independent agent, who informed me their catering at chalets was "not up to scratch". I know other people who swear by Crystal though. Having had one very bad experience with Ski France, I'd say steer clear of them but I would imagine there are others who find them very good for their needs.

I guess its easy to tarnish a company after one bad experience.

A mate of mine, currently in Mayrhofen for the 1599th time, always said he didn't like France. He went to Serre Che last year, wasn't able to ski over the links for 2 days because of high winds, caught the mother of all colds and missed the last 3 days skiing, and blamed it on................it being France :lol: Good job he didnt come with us to ADH in January when we were diverted and lost 2 days skiing and 3 days without our bags. That would have been the French fault as well, despite the bags remaining at Gatwick!!!!

Hi Karen,
You might like to know that we successfully sued Crystal in the small claims court some years ago when we booked a family chalet in Valmorel which stated in the brochure that it was non-smoking and another couple booked late from Teletext and smoked in the chalet for the entire holiday.
Our children were very small at the time and both have asthma - the reps were worse than useless when we complained and the company refused to offer any decent compensation.

We eventually got about a third of the cost of the holiday back by taking them to court - I suggest you do the same if you don't get a satisfactory response.

We haven't booked a package ski holiday since - going independently is generally cheaper, avoids the long waits for buses and hopeless reps, although admittedly you would have less protection if the airline goes bust for example.

skifun wrote:

We haven't booked a package ski holiday since - going independently is generally cheaper, avoids the long waits for buses and hopeless reps, although admittedly you would have less protection if the airline goes bust for example.

I have not been able to go to the places i have been on package tours cheaper by going independently. I have never had to wait for a bus. Admittedly some of the reps are little use, but normally you dont need them. Mind you, my trip in January was ruined, but that was the fault of the weather. I guess experiences tarnish our views, but as much as I like the idea of DIY, I have always found packages far better priced for where I have wanted to go.

My reply was a bit of a generalisation - I suspect Tony you're not tied to school holidays though?

That's why it's cheaper and more convenient for us to go independently - especially if we drive down and use Tesco Deals to get the channel crossing for nothing.

Friends whose children have now flown the nest managed to get an amazing package deal a few weeks ago - but it was pre-half term.

skifun wrote:My reply was a bit of a generalisation - I suspect Tony you're not tied to school holidays though?

That's why it's cheaper and more convenient for us to go independently - especially if we drive down and use Tesco Deals to get the channel crossing for nothing.

Friends whose children have now flown the nest managed to get an amazing package deal a few weeks ago - but it was pre-half term.

Absolutely right. I wasnt aware of the tesco deal for crossings.....that might change things, thanks for the heads up. Whats the crack exactly?

[I wasnt aware of the tesco deal for crossings.....that might change things, thanks for the heads up. Whats the crack exactly?]

You'll find the info here:
[http://www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/product.aspx?R=148&bci=4294967191|Travel]

You need to allow yourself a few weeks to set it all up, so it's no good for a last-minute holiday. The other thing to bear in mind is the cost of tolls - it's about £100 each way to the Alps - and of course the cost of fuel - but if you're sharing the journey it doesn't work out too badly.

Plus if you have a car with you and don't mind a bit of a drive to the slopes, you can stay slightly outside a resort which is slightly cheaper.

We stayed at Brides-les-Bains a few times and caught the 20-minute gondola each morning and evening, which brings you out in Meribel with access to the whole of the 3 Valleys.

You can use your club card points for lots of differing trips, I save mine for air miles 8)