Skiing & Chatlets - general advice

Vanilla

Vanilla

Vanilla

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
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I'm not really a big Skiier but some friends and I had the idea of renting a Chalet next year.

I've no idea about the best places to go Skiing - can anyone advise some good places for a mixed group (mostly first timers) and also some good chalets? I hear you can get some where there is a live-in person who will cook you Breakfast and Dinner.

Probably 10-12 people.....

Any advice appreciated.
 
If you want live in, good food etc. I've had a lot of great holidays with YSE:

http://www.yseski.co.uk/

They specialise in Val D'Isere. Val is great skiing / riding particularly for advanced and intermediate people but it's fine for beginners too. We've done loads of mixed level groups there.

YSE are excellent - it's a full package but the quality of everything (usually including the looks of the chalet bints) is exceptional. prices are not cheap but you get breakfast, afternoon tea, an excellent meal and wine, flights and transfers included and all their chalets are great. They are graded failry from A to D - all are nice but the higher end ones are stunners.

for me it's going to be chamonix twice this year and somewhere unbooked in the US or Canada! Can't wait.
 
For beginners pretty much anywhere is fine, although Austria will be better for a more qaint feel (nicer villages) and France for more nightlife. I would suggest avoiding places like Bulgaria though, stick with the well established locations.

As for specifics, the Three Valleys is always good for just about anyone, we've stayed in Motterat (more big hotels and not much nightlife unless you go to Meribel down the road) and Les Menures (just below Val Thorens) which is more of a chalet location.

As for the Chalet itself they normally come either self catering (quite rare I think) of Half board, which are those that have a person catering for you. Half board because you'll be out for lunch so no need, you'll usually get cooked breakfast, afternoon tea which is usually cakes and mulled wine or similar and dinner with some table wine. When looking for a chalet see where it is located, near the resort centre or ski in/ski out depending on whether skiing or night life is more of interest (although walking with ski boots/skis or board is a right pain so close to the slopes as possible imo), also see what they have in them. We've had ones with hot tubs and saunas.

TBH If you have a big group going Chalets are the best option as you can all sit around for dinner and in the main room socialising, instead of in a cramped hotel room, also booking seperate chalet and flights would make it a lot cheaper than going with a tour operator (as chalets are usually booked as chalet per week instead of per person).
 
Skidder said:
unless you believe Port du Soleil who claim the same thing! they're all at it

It is great there though!

& Enjoy your season you jammy git
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Yeah but their area is so disjointed so shouldn't count.:p

Having said that we stayed in a nice little chalet in Morzine, shame about the snow when we went. :( (We were there for a week and can essentially track out the 3 Vallee in that sort of time, but pretty much stuck to the runs around Le Getz, Morzine and Avoriaz as the rest of the runs were so awkward to get to, so essentially a third of the space).
 
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Skidder said:
unless you believe Port du Soleil who claim the same thing! they're all at it

It is great there though!

& Enjoy your season you jammy git
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ah yeah i forgot they linked, as you go on to say though it's pretty disjointed

it's finally just started dumping in courch too, was green grass last week!

13 season for me, wonder when ill admit im too old for this lifestyle!!
 
Trois Vallees is sooo much better than Port du soleil.

The resort depends on what you're looking for but Val D'Isere is very nice and so are meribel/courchevel imo.
 
I reccomend the 3 valleys, Meribel, Val torenz and Courchevel. My favourite is probably courchevel but i havent skied Val torenz that much
 
If you want tax free eating / drinking go to either andora or livigno. If you go anywhere else in europe prepare to pay 7 euro a pint :(

I reckon its the same price day per day to do 10 days skiing in america, american skking is soooo much better. And food / drink is cheaper than it is here.
 
Showboat said:
If you want tax free eating / drinking go to either andora or livigno. If you go anywhere else in europe prepare to pay 7 euro a pint :(

I reckon its the same price day per day to do 10 days skiing in america, american skking is soooo much better. And food / drink is cheaper than it is here.
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Problem is if there are any experienced skiiers among them they might be a bit bored. Andorras an excellent place to learn (lots of english instructors as well) however for the more advanced it's more of a long weekender than a week. It's also not as cheap as it used to be.
 
Repta said:
I reccomend the 3 valleys, Meribel, Val torenz and Courchevel. My favourite is probably courchevel but i havent skied Val torenz that much
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Ah meribel did 5 months there, live in the hameau de mottaret (meribel mottaret)
Cheap cheap, great skiing.
 
Will Gill said:
http://www.courchevelskichalets.co.uk

I'm off to Courchevel for the next 5 months this sunday (shameless plug), its an amazing ski resort pretty expensive but you get the largest skiiable area on a single lift pass and the lift system there is amazing.

gets my vote :)
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I went skiing in that resort five years ago and the birds were just amazingly stuck up and not what you would have a quick shufti with even for bragging rights back home
 
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