We are also looking at accomodation in the Pierre and Vaccance appartments L'Albane - has anyone stayed in these, or can recommend good accomodation?
Many Thanks
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I have skied in risoul twice and found it wonderful both times. The resort is good, the runs are best suited to intermediates (if you can be more specific about what you want I can give more detail..) the off piste is also good and the tree lined runs are great. I don't know the apartments you're thinking of but most risoul and vars apartments are never too far from the runs. I prefer risoul to vars but it is easy to ski between the two. If you tell us what you want from the resort(s) it will be easier to give advice.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Hi
We have a mixed ability group ranging from nervous on blues to confident on reds and need something for everyone. Did you find the resort + pistes busy or que for lifts?
In terms of the resorts all we need are a few good restaurants and a supermarket! However we would like good accomodation - would you recommend places where you have stayed in Risoul?
I did a resort review on here, so go up to the reviews thread and have a read.
We have been to Risoul a couple of times, and had two great and pretty cheap holidays. A lot of the accommodation is typical rabbit hutch style apartments, which are adequate if not very comfortable! But the skiing is good, lots of scope and great for mixed abilities. Pistes not too busy and queues only bad at certain times/bottlenecks, e.g. right after lunch. Not so bad in the morning as there are several lifts going out of the villages.
Not a great load of nightlife, but a couple of fun bars for later on. Not many mountain restaurants, most people go back to the village for lunch.
If you don't want to eat out every night, there are several supermarkets, takeaway pizza places, and also a couple of deli type shops where you can get things like a big tray of lasagne to bung in the oven, or rotisserie chickens with chips etc. so lots of options for eating, including the usual raclette/fondue/tartiflette type places and some more haute cuisine.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
ski - happy,
risoul is a fantastic resort for mixed ability, you'd be hard pushed to find better. Every run ends up back at the main resort and there are long runs to suit every ability. The ESF school in Risoul is one of the best I have come across and they are quick to notice what group you should be with so you don't end up wasting your time/money.
I went in March earlier this year for my duaghter first ever ski trip, there are a few videos here:
the only downside to Risol is the transfer time from Turin, but hand on heart it's worth it.
the slopes are rarley busy and the only time you will ever que for the lifts is at resort level straight after lunch, even then you are only talking 2-3 mins wait.
ski - happy, Risoul is a great resort, one of my favorites. The queues are 5/10 mins after lunch during the half term period, but when not in school holidays, any queue is minimal and the slopes are fairly quiet apart from the beginner green run back to the center.
We ave satyed at Altair apartments which werer not as bad as described above and booked through Sara Residences and we stayed with them in Balcons De Sirius and paid a bit extra (bout £75) for a bigger apartment and it was REALLY spacious for 4. here is the link http://www.sara-residences.com/EN/hiver/residence.php they do really good deals half price passes etc throughout the booking period.
We tend to fly into Marseille and either hire a car (2.5 hr drive) or get a coach (3.5hrs £20 eachish).
The skiing is there really good for mixed abilities, I too prefer the Risoul side but its well worth exploring both and its easy to get accros. there is some excellent off piste in the trees which i love and some great mogul black.
The town has enough bars and resturants and well stocked supermarkets (if you drive, go to the cheaper supermarkets on the way). We are not going this season (well not yet) but we'll def be back for 2011.
Go for it !
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
PS, the Balcons apartments are Ski in and (almost) Ski out.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Hi
Thanks everyone for the information!
A friend said she read a reveiw saying that the piste map was not very good and some pistes were not on it... or the pistes e.g. blue were much steeper ect... Has anyone found this??
Many Thanks
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
ski - happy, The ski map is fine. I went 2009 and had my 2008 piste map and there were some minor changes but the map is as good as any other (maybe she cant read maps.... like most women ) . However the resort is particularly well signposted to get about to and from vars also. basically, because of the rope system they have in place, you cannot get lost (unless you duck under it at your own risk of course).
The grading there is fine. There was a tricky blue in 2008 that my OH struggled with in places (serpent) but that got regraded to Red in2009 season. All resort gradings could be argued but if you are worried, go to austria where the blacks are like french blues but half the length
Honestly, its a terrific resort at a decent price.
The only thing i dont like is that its not an electronic pass so when new snow or at weekends, can have to faff around with your pass at times.
Book it !
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Hi,
I hope I can help since I went to Vars last year and stayed in the PV albane apartments.
Firstly the skiing, it is best for intermediates but has something for everyone. There were no lift queues, it was heaven!! There might be a 2 minutes wait for the main gondola in Vars at the start of the day when competing with all the ski schools, otherwise fine. Most of the pistes are quiet, although the home runs at the end of the day were a little busier (not 'busy' by most big french resort standards though!). Be aware that some of the lifts are quite slow, the Mayt chair in particular, and there are a few long drags but most are avoidable. There are a number of fast 6 packs too, so dont dispair! The lift pass is very resonably priced considering the area it covers. Near the PV Albane apartments there are a few nice cruisy blues and some fun reds. The peyneir sector is even quieter, great for timid skiers worried by fast/close skiiers. It has a range of blues, reds and a black, although it is served by a slow, old 2man chair. Near the Mayt peak there are some nice blues for beginners, Hereux being a favourite. The ardoit green run near the Vars gondola base station is a good progression run/confidence builder. It is also easy to pop over to risoul for the day and make the most of the skiing there. We did find that the pistes on each side of the mountain were a bit different, which adds variety.
Regarding your concerns over piste grading, we did find on occasion that some of the blue pistes had some steeper sections that might put off a timid skier, and a couple of red runs where the gradient really wasnt that steep. If you are really concered, just ask a ski instructor or a local which runs are best. I did find this more of a problem in risoul than vars, but it was not a major issue, only involving a small number of runs. Overall, I would highly recommend the skiing at vars/risoul, and I went with a mixed ability group ranging from complete beginners through to daredevil intermediate types. The piste map is fine and no one got lost or confused when using it, all the pistes are on it!!
The PV albane apartments were really good value for money, basic but well furnished and excellent location. We booked 2 duplex apartments for 6/7 people. They each had 2 bedrooms, one with a double, one with 2 singles, 2 bath/shower rooms and seperate toilet, large open plan living area with 2 sofas (convert into 2 single beds, + a pull out bed), kitchenette with hob, fridge, dishwasher, microwave, etc and a dining area with table and chairs. There is also a balcony with pretty views looking over the pistes. Bed and bathroom linen was included in the price, along with a cleaning kit (washing up/dishwasher tablets, etc). The apartments were suprisingly spacious considering the usual rabbit hutch types. The apartments also offer a free outdoor swimming pool (it was heated but still quite chilly), a bakery delivery service where you can have fresh bread and pastries delivered to the apartment reception each morning, and ski lockers. The ski locker room is in the basement and the opens straight onto the piste, ski to door heaven! That is one of the biggest luxuries for me. The apartments are at the top end of the resort and are only a few minutes walk away from a supermarket, ski hire shops, ESF ski school and only a few more minutes into the village centre.
Vars village is quiet and very french, we were one of only a few english speaking tourists here, but we liked this. In one restaurant we felt a bit like a novelty (in a good way) since some other diners, all french, decided they wanted to chat to us to practice their english - it gave the restuarant and our evening a nice, friendly atmosphere! There are a number of restuarants and a few bars, there is also a disco but we didnt go, it didnt look great. If all you are looking for are some good restaurants and a supermarket, then vars fits quite well!
The only other thing that I thought you might need to know is that transfers can be quite long (3hrs +). We travelled independently and took the train to guillestre, and then had a pre-booked mini-bus taxi waiting for us to drive us up the monutain to our apartments - booking is necessary. I think if you get a coach trasfer with a TO it is just as long. For me, the transfer time was worth it for the quiet pistes.
To sum up, Vars and the albane apartments meant we had a great ski holiday, ski to door, great food, excellent skiing on empty pistes, friendly french locals and lovely scenery - all on a tight budget! Do it!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Agree with all that's been said - we went about 3 years ago - it was my first skiing trip and it was great. I had skied indoors but never on a mountain and there was plenty for me to ski - husband and kids more adventurous and they too enjoyed it - the kids had fantastic fun in ESF lessons - yes I know they're not everyone's favourite but we couldn't fault them.
The towns are small and there isn't a huge amount to do if you have non-skiers but the runs would be great for a mixed group. The transfer is not ideal but we did it with a 4 and 7 year old with not much trouble.
We have often said we'd like to go back to this area now we're all much better skiers.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
) . However the resort is particularly well signposted to get about to and from vars also. basically, because of the rope system they have in place, you cannot get lost (unless you duck under it at your own risk of course).
