Latest posts for the topic " Advice France and groups"

Advice France and groups

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:02:01 GMT

Hi
Just had last holiday In Austria, Ellmau again,
Some of group want a change and France has been mentioned, we are a group of mixed abilities and ages and on a budget (group varies from eight members to sixteen usually?) My friend skis in les Arcs but says its very expensive? ie eating out, etc but a great area.
Suppose what were looking for is--

Snow reliability
varied Ski area
Reasonable liftpass prices hire gear etc
Apartments etc but not to expensive to dine out
Or Chalet type accomodation for group close to shops
Scenic village not purpose built if pos
Short transfer from airport no more than two hours
Thats all really :D arranging for next year.
Cheers

Advice France and groups

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:19:09 GMT

if you find a esort like that let me know sounds ideal

Re: Advice France and groups

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:31:59 GMT

Hi,

With regards to the Les Arcs option , you're friend is correct in one respect...if you stay in resort you will often find prices are slightly higher than somewhere just down the road( the captive audience thing).

If you are thinking of Les Arcs it would be cheaper to stay down in Bourg-Saint-Maurice and use the funicular to get up to Les Arcs 1600 to access the white stuff, the supermarkets are much cheaper than in resort and the town has some of the best restaurants in the Tarentaise,at very reasonable prices ( 3 - 4 course meals from 14euro's to 40euro's depending on where you eat).

Other resorts i can reccommend are Serre Chevalierre (Ski Miquel are a good catered chalet company to use) and La Rosiere.

For good deals look to book somewhere after Easter as a lot of tour operators have it in their heads that the season finishes after the holiday when in fact some resorts do not finish until late April or Early May (Les Arcs last skiable day 25th April ,Val D'isere & Tignes 6th May 2009).

All the best,

Jon.

Re: Advice France and groups

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:29:08 GMT

Hi

I would recommend La Plagne for mixed abilities,there are lots of different runs and if you wish you can still go to Le Arcs, however i heard that the runs to get back again are supposed to be blue but more like red so may not be suitible for beginers or nervous skiiers

Also i agree with jonG if you can go later in the season you will get a much better deal or if you can go out side of the school holidays especially in March the price should be greatly reduced

There are also lots of different villages in La Plagne so a varied range of accomodation.

Hope that is of help!

Re: Advice France and groups

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:20:17 GMT

I've not skied Austria so I'm not aware of prices for meals out, but you will find France expensive even more so now with the euro pound exchange rate, but on saying that I did not spend any more this year than I did last year, we were just careful a couple of nights we brought in pizza and a wine box, it also gave the kids a well earned early night after skiing all day. Little Wickham caught the first lift in the morning with me and we were singing songs going up on the last lift of the day. :wink: :wink:

Advice France and groups

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:05:35 GMT

johntin wrote: Hi
Just had last holiday In Austria, Ellmau again,
Some of group want a change and France has been mentioned, we are a group of mixed abilities and ages and on a budget (group varies from eight members to sixteen usually?) My friend skis in les Arcs but says its very expensive? ie eating out, etc but a great area.
Suppose what were looking for is--

Snow reliability
varied Ski area
Reasonable liftpass prices hire gear etc
Apartments etc but not to expensive to dine out
Or Chalet type accomodation for group close to shops
Scenic village not purpose built if pos
Short transfer from airport no more than two hours
Thats all really :D arranging for next year.
Cheers

Interesting. France, like Austria, is a big place with lots of different ski resorts to explore. Personally, I have always found Austria to be more charming, friendly and less expensive, with better nightlife in the places I have been.

I would say that from your list of requirements you should seriously consider a trip to Mayrhofen:

Snow reliablity, all of it is above 1800m and there is the Hintertux glacier

Varied ski area - over 400km to go at in total

Reasonable prices - you can rent skis and boots from 50 euros for a week, lift pass is 172 euros a week roughly.

Apartments are often B&B and are good quality, none of your French tower blocks, and eating out is varied and can be done on a budget too.

Theres only a couple of chalets in town, its mainly b&b's and hotels, but they offer excellent standard accommodation.

Nice working town, lots of shops spread along a long street, great choice of bars and restaurants.

Short transfer, about 75 minutes from Innsbruck.

www.mayrhofen.at lists details of the ski area and you can also view and book accommodation on line ifyou go DIY, or try Inghams, Crystal and Nielsen for what they call "snowhouses" which are non named hotels and pensions offering B&B. All property is less than 10 min walk from main lifts, or close to a ski bus stop.

Re: Advice France and groups

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:06:15 GMT

Ian Wickham wrote:Little Wickham caught the first lift in the morning with me and we were singing songs going up on the last lift of the day. :wink: :wink:

8) Nice.

Advice France and groups

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:06:47 GMT

Tony_H wrote:

johntin wrote: Hi
Just had last holiday In Austria, Ellmau again,
Some of group want a change and France has been mentioned, we are a group of mixed abilities and ages and on a budget (group varies from eight members to sixteen usually?) My friend skis in les Arcs but says its very expensive? ie eating out, etc but a great area.
Suppose what were looking for is--

Snow reliability
varied Ski area
Reasonable liftpass prices hire gear etc
Apartments etc but not to expensive to dine out
Or Chalet type accomodation for group close to shops
Scenic village not purpose built if pos
Short transfer from airport no more than two hours
Thats all really :D arranging for next year.
Cheers

Interesting. France, like Austria, is a big place with lots of different ski resorts to explore. Personally, I have always found Austria to be more charming, friendly and less expensive, with better nightlife in the places I have been.

I would say that from your list of requirements you should seriously consider a trip to Mayrhofen:

Snow reliablity, all of it is above 1800m and there is the Hintertux glacier

Varied ski area - over 400km to go at in total

Reasonable prices - you can rent skis and boots from 50 euros for a week, lift pass is 172 euros a week roughly.

Apartments are often B&B and are good quality, none of your French tower blocks, and eating out is varied and can be done on a budget too.

Theres only a couple of chalets in town, its mainly b&b's and hotels, but they offer excellent standard accommodation.

Nice working town, lots of shops spread along a long street, great choice of bars and restaurants.

Short transfer, about 75 minutes from Innsbruck.

www.mayrhofen.at lists details of the ski area and you can also view and book accommodation on line ifyou go DIY, or try Inghams, Crystal and Nielsen for what they call "snowhouses" which are non named hotels and pensions offering B&B. All property is less than 10 min walk from main lifts, or close to a ski bus stop.

Many Thanks to the Maryhofen tourest board :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Re: Advice France and groups

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:34:37 GMT

Hi guys
Thanks for response, Mayrhofen sounds good at the mo, good transfer time does help, couple of our young ones dont travel to well, but fine when flying. will compare other resorts as well.

Could I ask another favour, seeing you guys are well informed, What about Italy, :-) same requirements really. ( should I go to italy section?)
Again thank s for advice

Re: Advice France and groups

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:52:24 GMT

Johntin

Only place I've skied in Italy was Sauze D'Oulx. It used to have a reputation as the Blackpool of the slopes, but I believe it has calmed down a bit now.
There's plenty of skiing, as it's part of the Milky Way (Sestriere, Sansicario, Montgenevre). The last place being in France !
The fitter members of the group should be able to make it to Montgenevre and back in a day.

The resort is about 1450m I think, but main ski area fans out from about 1800m (Sportinia).

Nightlife was really good when I went. Loads of bars, clubs, but like I say, I understand it has moved up in the world. Prices were always cheaper than France.

In France, Alpe D'Huez is quite good for mixed abilities, plus there's always plenty to do in the evening, from bars, pubs & clubs, to ice skating, outdoor swimming pool, sports centre (with a weekly five-a-side comp that you can enter - the local team is good !), ice racing track (Andros Trophy and all that). Suffice to say, the only downer is the prices !
But hey, book in to a Clubhotel, which caters half board and provides wine with your evening meal, then you can hit the happy hours straight off the slopes, have your wine with your meal, and then either hit the bars, or get a load of carry outs from supermarket.

Also been to Val D'Isere, Meribel & Courchevel 1850. Now they can be exepnsive, especially Courchevel (was there 2005, and one bar was selling a large beer at Euro10 !!!)

Re: Advice France and groups

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:24:10 GMT

Sauze is brilliant, good shout. Its not tacky at all, but theres definitely a lot more to choose from apres if you want it. It can be quite chilled out at times.

Re: Advice France and groups

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:30:31 GMT

I would concur with Mr H as Sauze is a good resort in terms of price. Apres is brilliant there and prices are reasonable.

For mixed ability Les Arcs is a defo.
I am off there on Sunday and cant wait as I know my OH is going to get a superb skiing experience.
I know it is pricey but if you have mixed ability there is many miles for everyone to ski.