Latest posts for the topic "Need help again to find a shortlist"

Need help again to find a shortlist

Fri, 5 Nov 2010 11:23:49 GMT

Oh what a minefield, there are so many skiing holidays out there.

Well I started off with one area and ended up with another, I have been half way round the world looking for a ski holiday and just when i thought my work was done, hubby decides to change his mind and also the date.

I had decided to go to les saisies, we were going to do diy from newcastle to geneva, hire a car, stay in apartments with a swimming pool self catering and including lift pass and ski hire going on 29th January came to a price of GBP2500 for the 4 of us (2 adults and 2 kids (10&12)). In between times I have been looking at other areas like sauze doulx, sestriere, morzine, les gets, bardonecchia.

WE went to Valmorel last year and really liked it and the year before that we went to Niederau. The last skiing holidays were more or less left to me to chose and decide where to go. We usually go in March but due to the French school holidays takeing up nearly of all of Feb and the first week of March I dont know where will be good for snow. Will the 2nd week of March be ok? Valmorel last year had never snowed for 2 weeks before we got there and didnt snow until about 2 weeks later and it did start to get icy, even though they had snow cannons. Hubby doesnt really want to go to France, but I think he would go as long as the slopes werent too busy. So where can we go that will avoid France? and avoid school holidays but still be good for snow? We were really spoilt with our apartment in Niederau compared to the apartment we had in Valmorel. looking back the valmorel apartmetn wasnt that nice and hubby would lke something a bit more upmarket that doesnt make too much of a strain on the pocket. I was even thinking of hiring the apartment we had in Niederau (The Alpenhof) and getting a lift pass for the ski welt and just driving to the slopes every day (not sure which area of ski welt is closest or how long it would take in the car or what the snow would be like at that time of year)

I would like somewhere that has a large skiing area, mainly for crusing, I dont really like anything that is too taxing ie getting to the bottom of the slopes and thinking "thank god I made it with all my limbs in tact" bearing in mind we will only be on our 3rd week of skiing. we would like somewhere that has nice apartments. before when being almost at the foot of the slopes was a priorty has not become much of a priortiy if we can get the other things right.

So to reiterate our wish list is:
1. large cruisy skiing area
2. not in france
3. somewhere that has nice self catering apartments
4. not too expensive to eat out on slopes for lunch
5. our budget is approx GBP2500-3000 (including lift pass and ski hire)
6. somewhere good for snow 2nd week in march
7. a winning lottery ticket

I have researched till I am blue, but what I didnt do was write down why I ruled places out. stupid school girl error I suppose, but I now have pen and paper in hand ready for the task in hand.

Thanks in advance

Karen

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Fri, 5 Nov 2010 12:57:31 GMT

Hi Karen,

How about the Alta Badia area of the Dolomites (Corvara etc.)? We have booked to go to the next village along (Arabba) the week before, also self catering. We are going with Colletts and although we haven't been with them before they seem to get a lot of positive reviews. They were also extremely helpful with the booking.

The skiing in that area is lovely and cruisey with lots of blues and reds and by the sounds of things would suit you perfectly (Arabba is great too but the skiing is more taxing). With the Dolomiti Superski pass you've got over 1000 km to go at so will not get bored. The area is to my knowledge pretty well covered for snowmaking so should hopefully be Ok for snow (someone with more experience of the resort later season may be able to give you a better idea).

Flights wise, we are also North East based and if you can get to Venice, Colletts do free transfers to the resort. Sadly you cannot do it from Newcastle (we tried every possible combination) but East Midlands is not too bad to get to and we got some decent prices on flights (BMI, with free ski carriage). The other option is Innsbruck, however the transfers from there are GBP35pp.

The accommodation was GBP340pp, though I believe it is cheaper if there are more of you (GBP295 rings a bell). If they still have availability this could be a good option for you and be within budget. The ski pass for the area is ~GBP200 pp, though should be cheaper for the children. Lunches are tasty and inexpensive and there are loads of places to choose from.

You also mentioned Sauze, which I've also been to and love. If you get the snow (which we did) it's a fantastic place to ski and would suit you perfectly (though Arabba has replaced it for us as a favourite resort due to shear mileage and a being a bit more of a challenge). It may be too much of a risk for you later season snow wise as it can be a bit unpredictable, though for the last two or three years this hasn't been a problem. Sestriere seems to have a better snow record, however in my opinion Sauze is a nicer place to stay. The skiing in Sestriere is also more taxing than that it in Sauze. There are self catering options in Sauze and although I've looked into them briefly ruled them out as too expensive for 2 of us. For a family it would be more feasible. If you are still thinking about this as an option you could try contacting James at sauzeonline who was very helpful when I e-mailed him.

Hope this is some help - any other questions just ask.

Good luck :D

Lynn

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Fri, 5 Nov 2010 15:15:42 GMT

Hi Karen,

Ok, so its France, which I am not a big fan of, but have a look at Serre Chevalier. Flights to Turin or Grenoble, not a long transfer 1.5 hours, high altitude skiing, 250km to go at and some lovely cruises amongst them. Lots of cheap accommodation, I would recommend Villeneuve or Monetier, Chantmerle is not so nice, Briancon is a large town and you could be a walk from the lifts but theres lots of accommodation near to them if you look.
I have been early March twice and the snow was fantastic.

Other alternatives to consider where I have been are Mayrhofen as the skiing is good until mid April and the accommodation is superb compared to France generally. And its cheap. Flights to Munich 2.5 hrs drive or Innsbruck 1.25 hrs drive.

I would also suggest you consider Saalbach as an option, although the lower altitude can be a problem that time of year. Maybe look at Bad Gastein or Schladming as well.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 09:54:54 GMT

I would suggest Sauze too - I wouldn't worry greatly over the snow record. It's linked to Sestriere and it's an easy ski to get between the two if you want something more challenging - like the world cup runs. (covered on the same pass).

If you get the right pass you'll also get a day in Montegenevre. (get there by car or bus)

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 11:44:13 GMT

Thanks for the replies. I have spoke with hubby and with a bit of gentle persuasion, i have convinced him that my first choice of les saisies should be the one! which I personally feel fits all the criteria that we want as a family for this year (even if it is France). There are other places that I really do fancy for next year. Lynne I had a look at Alta Badia, La Villa and Corvara and they will definitley be contenders for next year. I really like the look of the ski area itself (is it Val Gardena or something?)
Tony, I have looked at Sauze a few times and still really fancy it, but because we were thinking of going in March, I felt it might not be snow sure enough for us, but that is also going on my shortlist. The other thing I found when looking at Sauze was the places I was looking at staying, cant remember the hotel, maybe was the hotel sauze? a lot of people complained of it being on cardiac hill. Also we want self catering.
I had looked at Saalbach and Montgenevre too. I think I have looked at every single ski resort going lol. They all just emalgamate into one in the end. I had shortlisted Les Saisies along with Valmorel for last years holiday and we chose Valmorel and really enjoyed it and Les Saisies, I think, offers more or less the same amount of skiing area (espace diamant) and with doing it DIY we can hopefully get a bit better accomodation with a swimming pool.

So we have decided to change it back to January 29th, 1 week self catering, apartment with swimming pool, gym and spa, les saisies, full lift pass and ski hire, car hire and flights for GBP2500. I am hoping this is a good price.

We were going to sit it out and wait for a last minute booking, even if it meant paying for 2 rooms - adult and child in each but to be honest, we have been that fussy ruling out skiing areas because of one thing or another, I dont think we would find a "bargain", we would probably end up paying near to GBP2500 for something we dont really want.

So, all going well and easyjet prices havent gone up, I will be booking the flights this weekend. Has anyone skiied espace diamant?

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 12:08:14 GMT

Les saisies is a resort I have always looked at over the years and as of yet have never been, so I will be interested in your report. Bon ski

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 14:23:19 GMT

Hi - not posted on here for a while but saw your message.
Can help you out with some info about this place. I wrote a report a couple of seasons ago. Nice place.

http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/5978.page#44602

My report is more about Bisanne which is about 5 miles out Les Saisies, but the ski area is the same and will give some idea.

Hope you enjoy it.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 15:57:43 GMT

karen72 wrote:
Tony, I have looked at Sauze a few times and still really fancy it, but because we were thinking of going in March, I felt it might not be snow sure enough for us, but that is also going on my shortlist. The other thing I found when looking at Sauze was the places I was looking at staying, cant remember the hotel, maybe was the hotel sauze? a lot of people complained of it being on cardiac hill.

You're right, the snow is erratic to say the least, but as I have said before, you will always be able to ski higher up.
Hotel Sauze is dreadful. Its HB and the food is ok, but the hotel itself is not good at all. It is however in a good post at the bottom of the run into town.
Cardiac Hill????

If you do go to Sauze, pay more and go to better accommodation as much of it is poor. I've stopped at the Sauze and the Sportinia and would never ever return to either of them again, but had a good time in the village.

Did you look at Serre Che? It ticks all the boxes you are looking for, but probably won't be as limited or antiquated as Les Saisies.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 16:11:22 GMT

Somebody suggested Saalbach, if you want cruisy then it really is the place, linked with Hinterglemm and Leogang it has a huge area and the best lift system I have ever used. The accomodation is high quality, it's lively enough and they have snowmaking for more than 90% of resort.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 16:29:59 GMT

I refer to the post before the one above.
Les Saises s not particularly limited - though not as extensive as Serre Che - and it is certainly not antiquated!

Not sure where that impression came from.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 21:13:25 GMT

PrivateBryan - I had a look at your report. Looks really good. We discounted Bisanne as we thought it would be too far out from saisies to get shopping etc. Even though we have the hire car, we dont intend to use it unless we really have to.

Tony - I couldnt really find any nice apartments in Sauze, it seemed to be mainly hotels. I did look in Serre Che, or was it sestriere i was looking at, I cant remember, it is all a blur. And they called it cardiac hill on a trip advisor review i read lol

Tino - I have looked at Saalbach and did quite fancy Leogang but I had discounted it becasue of going in March and not being that snow sure, but now we are going in Janaury, it could be the ideal time.

Oh decisions decisions, I dont know what to do now. I was going to book flights tonight, but dont want to book them now in case I change my mind and go to Austria, as obvisouly it wont be as convenient to Saalbach from Geneva as it would be from Innsbruck.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 21:35:17 GMT

To complete your info on Niederau, Karen, the Alpenhof is a really good choice for quality. For the lift pass, I would suggest that you buy a Kitzbuhel AllStar pass. It would cost a bit more, but you would have the flexibility to drive through to Hopfgarten, (14min) and get into the skiwelt, or Kirchberg, and ski over to Kitzbuhel. The whole of the Wildschoenau of course, and there are some runs that you have not yet done there. Then if you drove down to Worgl, turn left, you reach the Alpbach valley in about 20 min.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 22:06:10 GMT

Thanks Dave, thats another spanner in the works lol and another definite possiblity. I have now found cheaper flights to salzburg (even though it is going from liverpool) so I am busy looking at some nice apartments in saalbach, or maybe leogang or maybe neiderau and hire a car and go to the skiwelt, oh my head is spinning lol, must make a decision.............lol

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 22:17:47 GMT

Leeds to Salzburg, Jet2, Manchester to Munich, easyjet, (Train to Worgl, I will buy you a drink on arrival...)

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 00:04:42 GMT

Salzburg for Saalbach.

Ok, Saalbach or Niederau.....ermmmmmmm

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 00:23:32 GMT

Still looking at apartments in Saalbach now lol. Tony, I was only going to stay in the apartments we stayed in at Niederau and use this as a base to go to skiwelt. I proposed this idea to hubby, but he didnt fancy driving every day to slopes so that idea is out. Maybe one day Dave, we will cross paths.

The only reason I am now persuing saalbach is that I like the price of the lifts and the transfer which instead of the les saisies price so far comes to GBP650. flights and transfers for les saisies comes to GBP950.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 18:55:38 GMT

For what it's worth - if I had the choice between Austria and France and the cost was about the same I'd choose Austria.
It's so much more fun in the evenings.
We usually go to France because we drive and are tied to school holidays so can do it cheaper.
Also - Saalbach is somewhere I would especially love to go.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 22:59:39 GMT

For those who know Saalbach well, does anyone know where this is? they got back to me and said they were only a few minutes away from the dorfplatz but on the website it says that the piste goes past their house.
http://www.saalbach380.com/pics.htm

would it be better to go on 29th January or 13th March?

Dids, we tend to do absolutely nothing in the evenings, we rarely venture out as this would require packing more clothes lol. We always have been self catering and we more or less arrive back to the apartment and we only go it if necessary for supplies. God that sounds really boring lol, but its the way we like it, so nightlife isnt really a factor.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 23:47:02 GMT

I looked at the Bernkogel, and it would have been a strong contender. Beaten by a better offer in Hinterglemm. We would have been happy to stay there though. Our apres can be conditioned! At New Year, we are staying up a mountain!

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 23:56:23 GMT

Hmm I am just reading a few reports on Saalbach itself and a number of people have put that the runs are challenging, which is not what I am looking for. I just want to saunter lol. I really am in 2 minds. On reading the Bernkogel I think the apartment only has 1 bedroom (he offered us the large 2 room) and I dont really want a bed made up permanently in the living room or not being able to send the kids to bed while me and hubby stay up. I just need to make a decision. Easyjet has a sale on until wednesday lol

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Mon, 8 Nov 2010 09:00:12 GMT

karen72 wrote:
Dids, we tend to do absolutely nothing in the evenings, we rarely venture out as this would require packing more clothes lol. We always have been self catering and we more or less arrive back to the apartment and we only go it if necessary for supplies. God that sounds really boring lol, but its the way we like it, so nightlife isnt really a factor.

I tend to agree normally a bite to eat some where then back to the chalet for a couple of glasses of red, this year is my first catered chalet experience so really it all depends on the people we are sharing with if they are my worst nightmare, I'll perhaps be spending a few more evenings out.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Mon, 8 Nov 2010 11:28:29 GMT

Just go to the three valleys or les arc/la plange, tignes, and you will have a garanteed good time,

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Mon, 8 Nov 2010 12:07:27 GMT

karen72 wrote:

would it be better to go on 29th January or 13th March?

Defintely 29th Jan for Saalbach.

karen72 wrote:Dids, we tend to do absolutely nothing in the evenings, we rarely venture out as this would require packing more clothes lol. We always have been self catering and we more or less arrive back to the apartment and we only go it if necessary for supplies. God that sounds really boring lol, but its the way we like it, so nightlife isnt really a factor.

In Austria, you'll find yourself coming off the slopes and straight into a bar with some music and dancing going on, or some sort of good fun. Then you can retire back to your hermit shell!!! Mind you, if you like France, I am not surprised you don't like going out - no one else does either!!!

As for the resort of Saalbach, I have a friend who has been going for years with the RAF and he loves it because its lovely cruising runs, and easy to get about. He also took his daughter who told me that its so easy to ski there, all lovely wide open blues and reds, very cruisy. I don't think Saalbach is known as being a technically difficult resort, not that I have been.

I've always put off going to Saalbach, but given the choices you've got, it would be a no brainer for me for so many reasons, including mainly cost.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Tue, 9 Nov 2010 11:13:04 GMT

It's probably a good thing you don't like going out if you go to France - last year we went to a bar and had one lager & one Magners - Euro12!!!!

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:34:06 GMT

I have to say the atmosphere in the bars in Austria is a lot more fun than France and a lot cheaper.(Half price, happy our in Arc 1600 was GBP3 for 500ml in 2009 - almost Scandinavian prices outside happy hour!)
Next time I go to France I guess I'll go for a catered chalet because going out for a bite to eat and a drink is so pricey. Much of Austria is rather cheaper so a couple of drinks in more convivial surroundings is nicer.

I fear the French response to the recession & falling visitor numbers has been to put up the prices to screw more out of those that are going - I wonder why they are predicting Austria will overtake France as the top ski destination for Brits in 2011 for the first time in years? I hear the same is happening with the Dutch visitors.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:15:42 GMT

No one has to holiday in France and pay the beer prices, in my experience beer is not only expensive in UK but all through Europe.
I look forward this season to the empty French pistes, but I think I will be disappointed.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 12:34:01 GMT

Ian Wickham wrote:No one has to holiday in France and pay the beer prices, in my experience beer is not only expensive in UK but all through Europe.
I look forward this season to the empty French pistes, but I think I will be disappointed.

Average price of a pint of lager where I live: GBP2.80
Average price I paid in France on ski holidays for a pint of lager: 6 euros

Thats double the price.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:00:39 GMT

Tony_H wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:No one has to holiday in France and pay the beer prices, in my experience beer is not only expensive in UK but all through Europe.
I look forward this season to the empty French pistes, but I think I will be disappointed.

Average price of a pint of lager where I live: GBP2.80
Average price I paid in France on ski holidays for a pint of lager: 6 euros

Thats double the price.

Every thing is more expensive the higher you get, thats why I live in Norfolk, on saying that a bog standard bitter in my local is GBP3, not sure what the price of lager is.
But in the french alps I might have a pint at lunch time, I think I paid Euro4 ...... but the best value is normally the vin rouge which is normally Euro3 for a half litre.
Although I do agree France is expensive but it does depend on what resort you are in, I really can't remember what I have paid for a pint in Austria it didn't strike me as being cheap but Italy seems to be the cheapest option.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:27:26 GMT

I agree, it depends on the resort. I was paying 5 euros for a pint in Sauze nearly 3 years ago, but the euro was at 1.45 at the time so it didnt really matter.
Last time I was in Mayrhofen, Dec 08, I paid 2,80 euros for a large beer.

Re:Need help again to find a shortlist

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:18:28 GMT

Tony_H wrote:I agree, it depends on the resort. I was paying 5 euros for a pint in Sauze nearly 3 years ago, but the euro was at 1.45 at the time so it didnt really matter.
Last time I was in Mayrhofen, Dec 08, I paid 2,80 euros for a large beer.

It will be interesting if the actual price has gone up since your last visit