 Poster: A snowHead
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| j b wrote: |
| Snow&skifan wrote: |
| We're travelling from Zurich using the stunning railway. |
I'm sure you will enjoy that, just make sure your travel times mean you are doing it in daylight. One tip if you haven't been before - while the other RhB narrow gauge trains leave from platforms within the railway station, the ones to Arosa leave from the station forecourt. The train functions as a tram through the streets of Chur before starting the mountain railway bit.
We have a couple of times been to Lenzerheide, the linked resort to Arosa, and found it reasonable value booking ourselves. I think a bit under £1000 pp including ski hire, and that was February half term. On top of that was food though (it was self-catering) but we watched the budget when eating out and cooked simply on the kitchenette other evenings. |
Our costs are looking like:
Hotel on a B&B basis 4 adults in 2 nice rooms £2,600.
Flights LWG to Zurich will full hold luggage £800.
Trains, we have gone first class as a treat, we often do that £600.
Lift passes, I'll book in advance for 3 and they do a helpful age 26 or under reduction. The fourth skier is fair weather, a lesson I've learnt is wait and see!
Tuition, we won't need any.
Ski rental, looking into that, can you recommend please?
Lunches and dinners, I'm very aware that Switzerland is expensive, we will have 14 meals out in one form or another, I'll probably try to box clever with Italian, Rosti or similar.
For the very first time two of the group are contributing.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Snow&skifan, we were in Lenzerheide so knowing our ski hire shop won't help you. There is a big cable car linking the resorts, and we went over to Arosa several times. Including staying till the afternoon and taking the train down to Chur and the post-bus back to Lenzerheide - both are included on the ski pass.
I am sure you will make the odd trip to Lenzerheide which adds a lot of skiing. It is set out on both sides of a valley with a lake in the middle so skiing the opposite side will take a bit of planning; in fact you might find it convenient to use the postbus/train combination to return rather than start heading back earlier.
As you suggest, if you look at the menu prices before choosing a restaurant you can find options at reasonable prices - and being Switzerland you can be sure it will be good quality. You need to be especially careful about buying drinks which are very expensive in restaurants, though I seem to remember buying a bottle in a supermarket to drink at home was around UK prices.
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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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| j b wrote: |
@Snow&skifan, we were in Lenzerheide so knowing our ski hire shop won't help you. There is a big cable car linking the resorts, and we went over to Arosa several times. Including staying till the afternoon and taking the train down to Chur and the post-bus back to Lenzerheide - both are included on the ski pass.
I am sure you will make the odd trip to Lenzerheide which adds a lot of skiing. It is set out on both sides of a valley with a lake in the middle so skiing the opposite side will take a bit of planning; in fact you might find it convenient to use the postbus/train combination to return rather than start heading back earlier.
As you suggest, if you look at the menu prices before choosing a restaurant you can find options at reasonable prices - and being Switzerland you can be sure it will be good quality. You need to be especially careful about buying drinks which are very expensive in restaurants, though I seem to remember buying a bottle in a supermarket to drink at home was around UK prices. |
Cheers. For no particular reason I drink less booze than years ago, a couple of beers or radlers hit the spot!
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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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14days in ValGardena/Santa Cristina, walk to lifts, self catered 2bedroom, 2bath, flights, transfer, lifts, eats and drinks, own gear for 2 - around 8000 euros 
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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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Yeah, their pizzas are delicious. Speaking of lunches the Edelweiss Rifugio is one of our faves and well worth a visit.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I am always trying to beat the system as it were, but I suspect that if I added everything up (which I don't) the bill would be around 2k pp for two adults and a teen. Area is always Austria or Italy and the accommodation usually half board 4 star with pool.
Given that we a stuck with half term I don't think that is too bad considering the experience.
It could be argued that it should be more expensive as the lift infrastructure is subsidised by local taxpayers.
Sailing is also good value (if chartering) This is because the yacht owner is, in the vast majority of cases, taking a hit overall when depreciation, mooring, coding etc is taken into account so is effectively paying for a couple of days of your holiday!
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| stellaps wrote: |
| Yeah, their pizzas are delicious. Speaking of lunches the Edelweiss Rifugio is one of our faves and well worth a visit. |
Really liked it there, but the two days we arrived late morning customers had done table hogging … sending advance parties at god knows what time (mid morning?) to mark a table as theirs for very long lunches. It low light lightly snowing, pistes pretty empty, it was interesting how most couldn’t be bothered to ski much at all.
Robert Erlacher’s Hotel Luianta had a very nice alternative restaurant.
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| Quote: |
Sailing is also good value (if chartering) This is because the yacht owner is, in the vast majority of cases, taking a hit overall when depreciation, mooring, coding etc is taken into account so is effectively paying for a couple of days of your holiday!
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Well, as they say, if it flies, floats, or ............. rent it!
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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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| v1cky24 wrote: |
In 2009 I went to Banff/llouise
It was some Inghams deal I spotted and booked immediately. It cost me £1600 for 2 people for 10 days |
Eh, during the financial crisis there were some excellent deals to be had. In Feb 2009 I went to Aspen and paid a princely $89/night at the newly renovated Limelight Lodge, which now goes for a minimum $1000/night!! (The rack rate was ~$400 at the time, the online special was $150/night - but my sister spotted that there was a promotion through a Denver radio station.) Lift tickets didn't strike me as terribly expensive so let's guess they were ~$60 because that was the "normal" price at US resorts in the 2000s. I would love to go back but would need to win the lottery first.
Even crazier: just after the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, there was a $20.02 deal in Park City, where my sister & I paid $20.02 each for accommodation AND lift tickets. (I thought it was $20.02 for tickets and $20.02 per person for the hotel room, but my sister swears it was both - she was in charge of planning our ski hols back then). We gave away our lift tickets to PC to the breakfast attendant and paid to ski at Deer Valley for 3 days.
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| AndreaC wrote: |
| v1cky24 wrote: |
In 2009 I went to Banff/llouise
It was some Inghams deal I spotted and booked immediately. It cost me £1600 for 2 people for 10 days |
Eh, during the financial crisis there were some excellent deals to be had. In Feb 2009 I went to Aspen and paid a princely $89/night at the newly renovated Limelight Lodge, which now goes for a minimum $1000/night!! (The rack rate was ~$400 at the time, the online special was $150/night - but my sister spotted that there was a promotion through a Denver radio station.) Lift tickets didn't strike me as terribly expensive so let's guess they were ~$60 because that was the "normal" price at US resorts in the 2000s. I would love to go back but would need to win the lottery first.
Even crazier: just after the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, there was a $20.02 deal in Park City, where my sister & I paid $20.02 each for accommodation AND lift tickets. (I thought it was $20.02 for tickets and $20.02 per person for the hotel room, but my sister swears it was both - she was in charge of planning our ski hols back then). We gave away our lift tickets to PC to the breakfast attendant and paid to ski at Deer Valley for 3 days. |
We had 11 nights in Chateau Lake Louise over Xmas 1999, a First Choice package at £2k in total. I've still got the invoice, I couldn't believe our luck.
UK general inflation since has been 88%.
Costed up on Crystal now for Dec 2025 it's £9,234 for basic rooms. We had huge lake facing suites.
At that time it was said that Banff and Lake Louise were cheap in winter, they just wanted occupancy, making all their money May to October.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The best value ski holidays are Bashes
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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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| Snow&skifan wrote: |
| At that time it was said that Banff and Lake Louise were cheap in winter, they just wanted occupancy, making all their money May to October. |
Still true up to a point - hotel rooms in the summer are at least 2x and often 3x more expensive, something like $600/night for the simplest motel style room in August.
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| Snow&skifan wrote: |
| AndreaC wrote: |
| v1cky24 wrote: |
In 2009 I went to Banff/llouise
It was some Inghams deal I spotted and booked immediately. It cost me £1600 for 2 people for 10 days |
Eh, during the financial crisis there were some excellent deals to be had. In Feb 2009 I went to Aspen and paid a princely $89/night at the newly renovated Limelight Lodge, which now goes for a minimum $1000/night!! (The rack rate was ~$400 at the time, the online special was $150/night - but my sister spotted that there was a promotion through a Denver radio station.) Lift tickets didn't strike me as terribly expensive so let's guess they were ~$60 because that was the "normal" price at US resorts in the 2000s. I would love to go back but would need to win the lottery first.
Even crazier: just after the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, there was a $20.02 deal in Park City, where my sister & I paid $20.02 each for accommodation AND lift tickets. (I thought it was $20.02 for tickets and $20.02 per person for the hotel room, but my sister swears it was both - she was in charge of planning our ski hols back then). We gave away our lift tickets to PC to the breakfast attendant and paid to ski at Deer Valley for 3 days. |
We had 11 nights in Chateau Lake Louise over Xmas 1999, a First Choice package at £2k in total. I've still got the invoice, I couldn't believe our luck.
UK general inflation since has been 88%.
Costed up on Crystal now for Dec 2025 it's £9,234 for basic rooms. We had huge lake facing suites.
At that time it was said that Banff and Lake Louise were cheap in winter, they just wanted occupancy, making all their money May to October. |
You did well there! I paid £519pp in 2008 for 11nights B&B in a decent place on Banff Avenue with Thomson inc BA flights to Calgary. Skied Lake Louise and skated on the lake in front of the Chateau. On the way back, I was chatting to another passenger who had actually paid more for his flight! 
Something similar can be had for around £1300 with Crystal for 2025...not that bad actually! 
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FAQ
