 Poster: A snowHead
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Looking for a ski holiday in gressony.
Normally we go to austria or France.
Thinking of a change as our daughter has kind of got in the way if skiing!
We need a resort with chilcare, hence esprit in gressony.
Does the area have enough to ski on for good intermediates?
Not keen on getting on and off buses once up on slopes.
Any advice appreciated
Cheers
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@heidi1, cant comment as we haven't gone yet, but we are booked to go with them to their Gressoney place on the 2nd April. When are you looking to go?
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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?
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It's for next year.....we want to go twice as it's the year before our little one starts school
Trying to budget how much it will cost for both holidays.
One of the places we want to go us belle plagne in jan.
Then it's a toss up between: courcheval & st anton.
I love both resorts however it's french half term when we are due to go. Don't know if resort would be rammed???
St anton is a chalet, rather than a chalet hotel. Last time we went into a shared chalet it was a nightmare. I hated sitting with total strangers each night making small talk around the dinner table.....,forced friendship!
Let me know how gressony is. Are u going with esprit?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Don't know if resort would be rammed???
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This year, by general consensus, half term was a lot less hectic than it sometimes is, perhaps in part because the UK holiday didn't coincide with Paris holidays. But other things being equal I would choose Italy over France for half term.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Yes and no it won't be rammed.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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We'd class ourselves as reasonable intermediates and we had a very nice time there at half term. In our opinion, it was about as far from 'rammed' as you could get!
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Monterosa ski area is great for intermediates. Another good option with childcare is Ski-2 in Champoluc.
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| heidi1 wrote: |
It's for next year.....we want to go twice as it's the year before our little one starts school
Trying to budget how much it will cost for both holidays.
One of the places we want to go us belle plagne in jan.
Then it's a toss up between: courcheval & st anton.
I love both resorts however it's french half term when we are due to go. Don't know if resort would be rammed???
St anton is a chalet, rather than a chalet hotel. Last time we went into a shared chalet it was a nightmare. I hated sitting with total strangers each night making small talk around the dinner table.....,forced friendship!
Let me know how gressony is. Are u going with esprit? |
Will do  yes it is with Esprit.
We were at their St Anton place last year and it is more like hotel than chalet setup. You still get the baby listening service and we could sit just on our own if we chose. We went to their place in Belle Plagne April 2013. That is the only one of their properties where we were being told where to sit (being deliberately sat with other couples moving you around each night) though when hubby asked if we could just sit on our own one night, they obliged. We also went to their place in Courchevel December 2010. Great location from skiing perspective - truly ski in ski out. Again you can pick whether you wanted to sot on your own or with others.
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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.
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| Quote: |
Does the area have enough to ski on for good intermediates?
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I haven't stayed in Gressoney but stayed in the linked resort of Champoluc a few years ago so skiied over to Gressoney (and beyond). It's a big area but not that many pistes, so a relatively small number of relatively long runs. We stuck mainly to the pistes and found it just about enough for a week's skiing. If you're happy going off piste then there will be more than enough to amuse you. Although not what you asked, other plus points for us were that the scenery was stunning, the snow good and the pistes much emptier than you get in the big French resorts.
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try Inghams with hotel de champoluc....ski to door!!! or crystal for self catering in their Les coupeles..(no lounge area though) with Ski2 you have to book your own flights, so if you are going mid week or for just 4 days etc. then great, otherwise use Inghams/Crystal/igluski.. not sure about childcare in the hotels or resort, but there is a small area at the mid station for kids, but note that this is not a ski area for begineers...(i don't think so anyway)
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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PS If you're looking at that area Champoluc itself is another option - we went with Ski2 - http://www.ski-2.com/ - who were very good and can provide childcare as part of their package. Champoluc is obviously less well placed in the ski area than Gressoney but a shorter transfer from Turin.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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forgot to mention, we had good child care in Santa caterina !! (hotel San Mateo)
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Gressoney is lovely (as is Champoluc). Tends to be quiet during the week but busy at weekends with Italians coming in from Turin. Great for Intermediates and I would also have said beginners too although I see that yorkshirelad doesnt agree with me on that so I suspect it is horses for courses. Great food too!
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You know it makes sense.
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This brings me back to "how big is big"?
We ski Champoluc most years. (The OH father came from there). I must have done a good 32 weeks there. OH must have done about >150.
Weeks.
We are both quite strong skiers and like variety.
But getting bored in a week? Are you having a laugh??
I don't understand ... 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Cheers for all the feedback...... We have now narrowed our 2nd holiday down to;
St anton
Obergurgl
Gressony
All with esprit.
We looked at ski 2 but it was a tad too expensive.
If anyone has any experience of espirt in st anton, obergurgl and gressony would value your feedback.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Its been a while since i was a begineer, so could be wrong about them in champoluc, would hate to take a beginner down the goat.. !! but with it being so quiet on weekdays makes it a great place to ski fast pistes, no ques etc. . And as a novice skier theres plenty of confidence building runs,
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@heidi1, ski2 appear expensive for a reason / seem to provide really, really excellent service
@yorkshirelad, almost all of the OHs childhood friends have started out in Champoluc with no issues.
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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?
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@heidi1, on St Anton what are your children's age(s)?
If you need the nursery and have one in spritelets / sprites then it isn't the best choice as you end up with two different drops off in two different buildings. If you aren't using the nursery it isn't an issue.
They refurbished over the summer before we went (April 2015) the rooms and layout have been nicely done. The children's nursery slopes are relatively close to the chalet. You come out the front door turn right go into the shop next to it. That is the ski hire place they use and you store your skis / boots there, even if they are your own. From that shop you have an exit which brings you our by the bottom of the gonodola or a short walk up to where the magic carpet and nursery drag lifts and slopes are.
The.children all have a race within their class groups at the end of the week. They get gold, silver, bronze and runners up medals so every one gets some sort of medal. It is all commentated as well. My girls Loved doing it.
As a ski area I love St Anton if you wanted to go over to Lech or Zurs we had to ski down past St Christoph and then take the bus. However there are plans to link those up now with lifts. I haven't checked if they will be in place for next season.
I have been to Obergurgl but not with Esprit. As a ski areas go it is much smaller than the ski area you have for St Anton. Saying that I would happily go back with the girls (went pre-children).
I'll let you know how Gressoney compares after we go in April.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Have been to all three. St Anton this year, Gressony last year and Obergurgl about 4 years ago.
At all of them we have been sat at shared tables (we were in the Verwall in Obergurgl which really is a chalet and it would be very hard not to share a table there), however I am sure that if you requested it at Gressony and St Anton they would sit you separately.
I loved the quietness of Gressony last year and there was definitely enough ski area to last all week. You have the joy of it being in Italy with the lower costs and lovely food (and Bombardinos). However, the downside of that area that females might object to (and strangely one that I don't find mentioned enough  ) is that most of the loos up on the mountain are of the squat variety. As a bloke this is not a problem, but as a female in ski boots and sallopettes this was a challenge . . . and I know some of the kids found it challenging too. (If I had known in advance I would have practiced beforehand with, and taken, a Shewee and done the same for my daughter.) You really can ski direct to the door of the hotel. There is a bus link across to the gondolas at Staffal which you can easily ski to, but seemingly it was quicker to take the bus (we never did). I used the wellness area every day - the hot tub was lovely. As it was run along the lines of a proper hotel (the Manager, Michaela, ran a tight ship) I was fairly confident of its cleanliness I would happily go back to this area though (and would pack the Shewee).
Plenty of skiing in St Anton without using buses which will be increased next year with the new chair connection to Lech(?). I would call myself a not very confident intermediate and I coped fine. You can ski almost to the door as the chalet really is next to the Nasserein gondola and if you are hiring skis you can leave them at the hire shop next to the gondola then walk about 20 steps from there into the chalet (we didn't hire through Esprit but used the same shop that they used). They have brought all the childcare into the Pepi Gabl this year, so no separate drop offs anymore, no matter the age of the child. There is a lovely nursery area at Nasserein. All the ski instructors that Esprit used for the Sprite/Spritelets were British which was a lovely touch. We were in one of the refurbished rooms and it was very nice and with a bit more space than the one we had in Gressony. It was right above the apres bar though which meant it got a bit noisy in the afternoon but this all died down around 6pm. The wellness area here is much smaller and the hot tub was more of a spa bath, but the sauna was lovely.
Obergurgl/Hochgurgl was smaller but the pistes were lovely, especially over in Hochgurgl, but enough stuff among the tress in Obergurgl when the weather closes in (which we had a lot of during our week unfortunately). You also have the option of a day down to another resort (Soll?) on your ski pass if you want more variety. It was a while back now so memory not that clear.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Tue 8-03-16 15:58; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Same as @CaurnieBred, for what we did hire, we booked through AlpinResort but with the same shop. It was a fraction of the price than going through Esprit.
This time we have booked the ski hire through Esprit as I couldn't find any way of booking the ski hire online for Gressoney.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Cheers for the replies.
We have booked belle plagne for jan and st anton for feb.
The thought of using stand up toilets in ski gear is a total nightmare ! Italy has been crossed off list for this reason alone!
We are going to obergurgl next sat.
The link up to lech really appeals to us as lech is our favourite resort.
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@heidi1, talking of toilets.... Visit those in the main lift station in Lech. They have a device which cleans the toilet lid in the ladies.
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Plenty of sit down toilets in Itaky !!
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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.
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Plenty of sit down toilets when we went Selva (Dolomites) - had no issues there. This was not the case in Monterosa where they were few and far between - even the toilets in the gondola station restaurants were squat ones. But I coped and, as I said, it would not put me off going back. However, it was def a topic of conversation over dinner when you found a mountain restaurant/cafe that had a sit down toilet!
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@heidi1, "Italy has been crossed off list for this reason alone!"
Man up!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Get a she-wee ... Im Just about to book for champoluc for two weeks next year,.. Never get fed up of the place..
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| heidi1 wrote: |
Looking for a ski holiday in gressony.
Normally we go to austria or France.
Thinking of a change as our daughter has kind of got in the way if skiing!
We need a resort with chilcare, hence esprit in gressony.
Does the area have enough to ski on for good intermediates?
Not keen on getting on and off buses once up on slopes.
Any advice appreciated
Cheers |
You need to define good intermediate
If you ski off-piste the area is superb.
If you are happy cruising on a relatively small number of pistes and only interested in groomed pistes it's great.
However if you ski fast you can ski every single piste in one day. Everything is groomed. If you like the French ungroomed Naturide runs you won't get them in Monterosa. Personally I wouldn't go unless I was planning to be with a guide for at least a few days
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I'd back yorkshirelad over peanuthead any day. In Gres you have also Champoluc linked to the left and Alagna to the right. Tons to do.OK, it's quiet at night but that might not be something of concern to you. My group is going back next year for 3rd visit in 10 yrs.
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You know it makes sense.
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Dont do night clubs, so i do après ski in the bistro, then dinner and a few drinks in the hotel and im happy as pig in muck... Theres a few bars in the village you can go on a crawl around if drinking loads is your bag,, but i can drink in the uk any time... But i only get limited days skiing.. So hate to miss them due to a thick head..😀😃
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Italian toilets do require careful planning. I skied Champoluc/Gressoney a few years ago and loved it. Despite the toilets ( just aim to be in the right place at the right time). Cervinia is pretty dodgy on the toilet front. Are Italians made differently?
Sella Ronda is much better
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Poster: A snowHead
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| CaurnieBred wrote: |
Obergurgl/Hochgurgl was smaller but the pistes were lovely, especially over in Hochgurgl, but enough stuff among the tress in Obergurgl when the weather closes in (which we had a lot of during our week unfortunately). You also have the option of a day down to another resort (Soll?) on your ski pass if you want more variety. It was a while back now so memory not that clear. |
It's Solden. 10 Euros extra for one day there. Didn't bother last year and probably won't this year. I know Obergurgl/Hochgurgl is not large, but I'm not bothered about always skiing new stuff, and after booking Obergurgl for ski in/lift out, I'm too lazy to get in to the car for a drive. Solden is supposed to have great skiing but it's an ugly vulgar resort... There IS the mountain restaurant from the latest Bond film there though..
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