 Poster: A snowHead
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Getting fed up of paying silly money for an apartment we are never in as we ski long days then eat and sleep. Begrudge paying £1000 for a week but like going to large French resorts due to the expanse of skiing. Been thinking if we can do it differently and make some sacrifices to reduce the cost as we tend to go twice each year...once in late jan / early Feb and once at Easter. Tend to book direct with PV as feel secure in our booking and the formula doesn't change much. There are loads of cheap apartments on the web but am nervous of many of the things offered as read many a story about fictitious owners / properties and people getting fleeced. So...after ideas and help from you knowledgable lot please...how can we do it safely and cost effectively. We will be driving so maybe someone in a satellite resort that is not as popular and has poor ski links is an idea...then we can drive to the main resort for skiing. Are 2 adults and 2 kids..kids are very good skiers so no restrictions on what they can/ can't ski. Also no lessons involved as they ski with us now. Thanks in advance for your help.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A good place to start for accommodation choice is the tourist office website for your chosen resort, then go on to research the local estate agents who also rent. This is a fairly safe option but does take time to research. Can be a bit hit and miss as the estate agents don't release properties at the same time and very often you will find properties in estate agents also promoted by the tourist office.
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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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These guys are good:
https://www.homeaway.co.uk
If you book through their system, then you are protected. And you can see lots of reviews of the properties, and talk to the owners direct. If the owner chooses to deal direct with you, then if they have been with the site a couple of years, and they have good reviews, then you should be fine. Small studios and such like are rarely scams, as it's just not worth the trouble.
You will have a great selection of properties here; much better than www.airbnb.com etc.
In Val Thorens for instance, you can rent a small studio apartment for around £270 per week in late Jan/Early Feb. This will sleep 2 in the lounge on a sofa bed, and 2 kids in the corridor in pull-out bunk beds.
Here's a good example, the owner has been on the site since 2005!
https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p6040579
I have done this in VT a number of times. The apartments are very small, with just one bath/shower and WC. But they normally have a balcony with a great view, and are ski-in & ski-out.
Enjoy!
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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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@backhojo, be careful about putting in your credit card details before you have a confirmed reservation on Homeaway/Owners Direct. They now charge a fee to the customer on some listings so ask for these details up front. Your card is charged for the full reservation amount at the point of making a booking request, but this is before the owner has accepted the booking. If the owner declines then your card will be refunded, 5-7 days later. There was a piece on You and Yours on Radio 4 a few weeks back about a lady who made 3 booking requests in turn, which were all declined but all charged anyway, and had no access to funds for a week until the listing site returned the money.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Mon 26-09-16 7:13; 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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I've used airbnb several times, but not for skiing. I don't like the fact the owner (host) can cancel the booking. Yes, there is some financial penalty and a black mark on their profile, but if that happened one week before your ski holiday, especially in a peak week, you'd be up poo creek. I've airbnb on city visits where I could probably find another airbnb or hotel in worst case.
However, for @backhojo example of staying a drive away from a resort, cancellation would be less likely I would guess.
I've also used holidaylettings.co.uk, which was ok.
I guess the main thing, like any online transaction, is use reputable websites, do some background googling, see how long the person has been registered for, read profile and feedback etc.
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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 have used local estate agents with success. They tend to include properties on their books that are not as central, or may be in a satellite village. Best bargain a couple of years ago-a lovely apartment in St Marcel (a mile from St Martin de Bellevile). It slept 5 in two bedrooms in a restored restored old village house. Nice living area. 400 euros plus 75 for end of stay cleaning for the first week of our school Easter hols starting at the end of March. My sister is a teacher, so for her and her family it was a real bargain week.
That was through www.agencedesalpes.com. The website is easy to navigate and they seem well set up for dealing with non French speakers. They also have places to rent in Les Menuires.
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We usually use Owners Direct but this time we found what looks to be a decent apartment in Chamonix through booking.com
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Just be aware that most of the main listing sites now charge guests a surcharge which can add quite a lot to the actual accommodation cost, for little (if any) discernible benefit to the guest or owner. If you see a property on there, try to find it directly with the owner (most have their own website so some time spent Googling would be worthwhile)
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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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why not just ask on here, there seems to be pleanty of folk with small apartments that they rent out.
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The cheapest way we have found to ski two weeks with school age kids is to do two consecutive weeks at Easter. Then you automatically save the cost of the second journey, overnight hotels etc Accommodation and lift pass costs are also cheaper at that time than at Christmas or half term.
I'd suggest looking at the websites of the self drive TOs and you will find places that are cheaper than £1000 a week in Jan or at Easter and also include the Eurotunnel flexi plus crossing in the price (in the case of Peak Retreats who we use).
A few egs:
Val Cenis or another Maurienne resort and get the slightly more expensive pass that gives you days in different resorts.
Stay in Montgenevre (Hameau des Airelles) and ski the milky way
Les Carroz for the Grand Massif - friends have stayed in Le Front de Neige which is really basic but well located for skiing. (Less of a hike than Samoens).
Ski collection (a subsidiary of Peak Retreats) has some cheap places in Flaine and the prices also include Eurotunnel.
I'd also recommend looking for early booking discounts for self catering.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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There are loads of folk on snowheads who rent out chalets/apts. Where are you looking to go?
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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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@backhojo, check my signature if you are interested in Serre Chevalier.
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thanks for all the replies. keep them coming ! I have heard mixed view re homeaway and this is confirmed by the differing experiences on here. we are looking at easter (1st April - 1 week) and ideally Espace Killy as not been there for a while. We will probably do 3V in the winter and happy to book tunnel then take a chance on a late deal so we can go with the snow conditions. its a non peak week (1st week in feb) so should be fine. we did Serre che last year and conditions were not great - we were stuck as we had booked a long way in advance. Most of the milky way was pretty ropey with only 30% of the italian resorts open. other resorts (3V, Paradiski) had better snow and more options so this motivates us to try the last minute thing for winter. easter however is peak so we need to book in advance.
not sure what the protocol is on here re asking about specific apartments owned by members ?
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You know it makes sense.
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@backhojo, the French holidays start 4Feb i
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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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I'd be amazed if 1st April is peak anywhere. IME Easter is never peak, and 1st April isn't even Easter weekend.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Agreed, everything after the end of the 4 week French winter holidays is low season for apartment rents round my way. Prices will more than double on 4 Feb.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@backhojo, It is the start of Paris holidays on the 4th Feb so it will be pretty busy and at close to peak week prices. The week commencing 1st April should be pretty quiet and, if you are booking directly in France, will be at mid to low season prices.
I find booking.com to be a very safe option if you can find anything you like on there. We advertise a couple of apartments with them and they do provide a lot of protection for the customer. We don't receive any payment form them until the month after the customer has left, if for any reason the apartment becomes unavailable we have to find something similar or superior and cover the extra cost.
Their customer service people are also excellent in case of any problems and the reviews on there are always genuine, you have to have booked your accommodation through them before you can review it.
We now always use them when booking a hotel or apartment elsewhere.
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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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@backhojo, we are 2 adults 2 kids, go to Paradiski a lot (Les Coches), been to ADH (Oz-en-Oisans) few times, Tignes once, Les Contamines, Le Norma. Always booked through tourist office and/or local renting agents. Never paid more the 550 Euros and often less. Always ski Christmas week and when the schools break up in March. Never had any problems, been fleeced, whatever.
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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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@backhojo, a PM would be the right way to contact snowHeads property owners.
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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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@Hells Bells, how do I know if people are property owners. I can see some have. It in their signatures but that's reliant on someone posting ...is there a directory of owners somewhere ?
When I say 1st week in Feb I meant travelling out on sat Jan 28th and returning on Feb 4th, we always go that week and it works well. Easter hols seem to be busy when ever we go ...1st April is kids school hols around here. Maybe this will help in that it's 2 weeks before the Easter weekend.
Thanks for all your replies. It's giving us ideas
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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This may suit your needs http://alpineaccomodation.com Nice village. Stand in the garden and you're looking at Vars/Risoul which takes 12-15 mins to drive and you can park next to a piste. Puy St Vincent, Les Orres and Serre Chevalier all lie within a 30 min drive.
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I've stayed here a few times - both in winter and summer. On the slopes in La Tania, available 1st April for £391. Has an underground parking space included and ski locker room is right on the slope. https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p6657283#calendar
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@backhojo, as HellsBells you can PM me, you can look at our site and make me an offer! . There is a total of 195km of skiing pistes to 3400m high. Just over 2 hours from Zurich and Geneva.enjoy
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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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These may not be up to date, and some may not rent out at all now, but a quick search on the forum should show those of us who are still renting out.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@reidobi, looks interesting. We went to serre che last year and had a day at Risoul and one at PSV. We said it would be good to come back another year and spend more days in Risoul. This looks ideal as gives us lots of different options. Thanks
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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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Just my personal opinion but if you want to ski "long days" and are skiing with children I would want to be ski in/ski out or at the least lift in/lift out. Driving to the slopes everyday would be a PIA even in Spring - unless you deliberately want to ski several resorts in a week.
There are some Snowheads with great apartments/chalets but I wouldn't be working on those lines as a priority as you are restricting yourself to a tiny portion of the rental market. Sure if something comes up or takes your fancy go for it but I would be hunting across the market.
We've rented an apartment in Oz-en-Oisans ADH direct from the owner a couple of times. PM if you want his email. I would be surprised if he was charging any more than 600 Euros and I can vouch for him and the apartment. He speaks good English.
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backhojo,
If you send us a contact email via the reservation page on the website, I'll send you more details on all the skiing around us.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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@reidobi, will save your details for 2018....as we skied the area last year we want somewhere different for 2017. However it looks really interesting and could work for us. Thanks for your help
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Layne, interesting point...food for thought. We have done some days driving to the slopes but not envy day, I can see what you mean and will give it some thought. Kids are 13 and 10 so not tiny and they ski ESF gold star so can ski the legs off us !
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@backhojo, When I find an apartment I like, through Owners Direct, or from local tourist office information etc, I always do my best to find information on the internet about the owners, any reviews anywhere, that sort of thing. I always pay the deposit by credit card, (that can be restrictive because not everyone wants to take a cc but I want that security) So long as you pay more than £100 that way the whole cost of the booking is covered by the credit card provider under section 75 of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act. The balance I usually pay by bank transfer. Making the payments that way is the least costly for the way I bank and gives me the best insurance I can hope for when making an independent booking.
Years ago (before the internet) when I phoned tourist offices for their lists of available apartments it was usual to send a eurocheck (they were useful things!) for the deposit and pay the rest in cash (sometimes another eurocheck) during the stay.   Showing my age there!
When my boys were the sort of ages of your two we often took the caravan, sites are rarely ski in/out but some only require a short walk to lifts. It is undoubtedly more hassle to drive somewhere each day, and find somewhere to park, but it does open up the possibility of cheaper accommodation and the ability to go to different resorts during your stay. For example whilst staying in Bourg St Maurice one Easter the easiest access skiing at Les Arcs was not wonderful but it was not much of a drive to Val D Isere where the snow was better at that time.
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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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@CaravanSkier, we have a motorhome and briefly considered it however there are too many hurdles to jump over....it's a uk spec motorhome and as such would not work in the low temps...freezing water tanks etc . There are continental vans with insulated tanks . To convert ours would be a big ask. Plus driving to the sloes would be a pain, unlike with a caravan where you have a separate vehicle ! Also the internal space is not huge and drying of ski clothes and storing of skis would be a significant challenge I think. We will stick with bricks and mortar (or wood !) and do ,as you suggest, some good online research ref the owners. Thanks for taking time to reply
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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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FAQ
Its a fair few years since we bothered to take our van! But in terms of drying stuff/storage pretty much all winter campsites are well set up with drying rooms, boot rooms and ski storage etc. Plus many sites operate a free shuttle service to the slopes, or have a stop for the local free navette right outside the site!
