J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by esrg

Stayed in the Hotel Lion a couple of years ago. Nice hotel, decent food, but freezing swimming pool (although that seems the norm in Bulgaria to be honest!!)

You will find that most hotels are fairly new, with good rooms and decent bars etc.

Frostbite - Chalet Etoile is amazing for grub. Make sure you go at some point. It can get quite busy though so its worth popping in during the morning and booking a table for lunch.

Cervinia, as everyone has said, is great for beginners and intermediates. Lots of runs, that don't get that busy, and are all wide open (no tree runs in Cervinia really). You can ski all the way down to the village at the end of the day as well which is great.

More pistes available over in Zermatt, with some nice tree runs over there. I would say its worth getting the area pass but possibly not for beginners.

Overall, nice big mountain with plenty to keep you amused. Not that much apres ski to be honest as a lot of hotels seem to be half board and a lot of people seem t stay in their hotels in the evening. Having said that, there are some decent pubs, and a good club. Can't remember the names but you will find them on or just off, the main street

Take a look at Chamonix, France. I have been in late April and the conditions are still excellent. They close the lifts generally about the 10th May, and only because they need to let the seasonal staff away then, not because the snow has gone.

Great resort any time, big area(although not all together), lots to do off the slopes, and a short transfer from Geneva. There are also lots of accomodation options, from cheap hostel type places, right up to luxury chalets.

Having been to Pamporovo and Bansko in the first few years of taking up skiing/snowboarding, I would say that people are sometimes a little quick to critisize the Bulgarian resorts.

Sure, they are not a patch on the good resorts in France, Austria, Switzerland etc etc, but if you are looking for a cheap week on the snow, or are total beginners and don't know any different, I wouldnt completely rule it out. It is cheap and there are enough runs (especially in Bansko) to keep everyone but experts amused for a week.

Love Mayrhofen, great resort. A couple of mates were there over New Year and said the snow was very good already.

I thought Chemmy Alcott was really good as well. Great enthusiasm and obviously highly knowledgeable about what was going on!

Ski Sunday was such a good programme 2/3 years ago. It was on for an hour and featured not just racing, but also some 'Top Gear' type features. I also liked the snowboarding that they covered. Then the dreaded credit crunch hit,the BBC sports budget got slashed, and we only get a rushed half hour programme. Lets hope they invest some cash back into it soon.

Having said that, I have heard that the BBC have declined the opportunity to cover the Commonwealth Games in 2014 in Glasgow. This is a real shame and seems to indicate that they are not likely to invest much cash into sports for the next few years!

best of luck - good idea. i know there are a couple of places that you can call the day before to reserve, but think you may be the first to do it online.

Take a look at Chamonix in France for stunning mountain scenery. Great resort, high altitude, loads to do off the slopes (ice rink, cinema, sports centre, loads of shops / restaurants / bars etc etc). Its not traffic free unfortunately, but the main street does not have much traffic going about.

Probably more suited to advanced skiers, but there are obviously some beginner slopes as well. It is also a short transfer from Geneva airport, where many airlines will fly to.

Well worth checking out.