Messages posted by : jastem
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Back home from Hochgurgl and a fantastic week's holiday in the very luxurious Hotel Olymp. Booked a late deal with Thomson/Crystal and what a bargain! Our room had its own sauna, a balcony overlooking the piste and towards Obergurgl, fruit and bottled water in the room, TV, stereo system which you could also listen to in the sauna, chocolates left by the bed each evening, plenty of toiletries in the bathroom and even some shoe polish ) We all weigh quite a bit more due to the enormous breakfasts, teatime soup and cakes and evening meals. All the hotel staff were friendly and helpful, as were the Crystal reps. There is a swimming pool and wellness centre downstairs.
I was going to prebook skis via this site, but one of our party is a SCGB member so managed to get 25% discount (instead of J2 20%) at Scheiber Sport very close to the hotel. Excellent service from Scheiber and we got a free upgrade on the skis (for no apparent reason). Motorway skiing throughout most of the area with very few narrow pistes. Piste bashers do a great job. Favourite run was probably Blue 32 in Hochgurgl, but all runs enjoyable. Red 25 down to Pill was good fun with a very friendly and inexpensive 'tent' bar at the bottom. Toboggan run is more or less down this run also and perhaps should be left to the under 21's rather than the over 50/60's of our group :D Anyway, everyone survived in one piece. The views from the top of the Wormkogl on a clear day are breathtaking, with the Marmolada of the Dolomites clearly visible. Run 23a which we thought was a steep red due to the piste markers, is actually black on the piste map ) Our favourite huts in Obergurgl were David's Hut and the Nederhutte (in that order) both of which were friendly and good value for lunch. In Hochgurgl, Toni's Hutte is excellent and is part of the Hotel Olymp. We also had coffees in the Riml and tea in the Hochgurgl - both of which are very swanky hotels but very reasonably priced. The Hohe Mut Alm in Obergurgl is also worth having a drink in before going down Red 16. Hochgurgl is quiet in the evenings and has no supermarket - we skied down to the Spar in Obergurgl if we needed anything. There is floodlit skiing and tobogganning however and we went on a torchlight walk with one of the hotel staff (accompanied by a bottle of Schnapps and several glasses) followed by gluhwein and music in Toni's Hut. Would probably return if a similar deal came up, but the ski area is limited. Very friendly area though and we all really enjoyed the week. |
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1 more sleep at home then 1 in Sussex. Anyone else checking in at Gatwick at dawn on Saturday morning?
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Really glad to have you back Sami - have been thinking about you )
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Hi Nitty - just in case you are prone to leg cramps anyway, it can help to eat bananas! Our son-in-law suffers from leg cramps when skiing (due to an old footballing injury) and if he has a banana at breakfast and two or three more during the skiing day, it really helps him. I think it is something to do with potassium.
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Looking forward to your pics Stamford - have stayed in Courchevel 1650 and in Reberty. Ski area is fantastic. Thinking of a last minute deal in March to link up with son and boarder chums who have a deal in Meribel/Mottaret.
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:lol:
:D |
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One thing I found useful when I was new to skiing and the associated aches and pains, was to wear shoes with 1 to 2 inch (stack not stilettos!) heels for wearing in the evening around the hotel/chalet. It meant I could walk around and up and downstairs with some dignity ) I am making this suggestion for your wife of course, but having seen your taste in skiwear, you may be interested as well :D
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My daughter has just e-mailed me from Kimberley in Canada to say that at 4.29 (precisely) this afternoon the winter Olympic torch will pass through the resort. An unexpected bonus for her ski holiday )
I didn't realise there was a torch relay for the Winter Olympics. |
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