 Poster: A snowHead
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whereas this is truly nasty pastiche architecture
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Avoriaz is minging close up, but form far away it's not too bad - you can see what the architect was going for, anyway.
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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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I have to say for a combination of very ordinary scenery by alpine standards and awful architecture I find the Belleville valley pretty unbeatable, it totally lacks shapely peaks has few trees to relieve it and the architects involved clearly had a bit of a grudge against humanity and probably a hangover too.
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Just want to say, I thought Cervinia was fine, and even pretty if you stayed near the proper village. Just below the village, there were mass ugly buildings, but I stayed in the village, and didn't have to look, so I didn't mind. The were hidden behind a hill before you get to the original village. And I didn't pay anymore to stay in the village. Snow as great just before Christmas, as everywhere else it had rained. Skied over to the other side of the Matterhorn. It wasn't on my bucket list, but given similar circumstances, I wouldn't hesitate to go back. Hung out in the village after skiing around an open fire outside. It was all very, very pleasant.
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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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Zermatt - got the 'ugliest' bar prices imagineable.......
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@pam w,all the shots are quite interesting. The second photo reminds me of Frank Lloyd Wrights 'Falling Waters'. Remarkable piece of Architecture, I'd love to see it in the flesh, where is it?
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| c44rver wrote: |
| Zermatt - got the 'ugliest' bar prices imagineable....... |
True statement. Made a circuit through Zermatt including lunch. Ouch! and now 20% more expensive.
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I have to admit to being a bit of a Flaine fan.
Although not a traditional or pretty village in the conventional sense it certainly feels like a village and is completely honest in what it is. Any purpose built resort will be a blot on the previously undeveloped land but I feel that the Architects did a great job of making it fit in with its surroundings to the point that it can be difficult to see at times and is much less visible than the colourful newer development up the road.
I probably have a slightly strange view coming from a structures background!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Didn't Flaine blast loads of rock too, to make the pistes? Not seen any summer pics, so can't comment on the beauty or ugliness in that respect.
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I know in recent years they have "remodelled" slopes to make them friendlier. I am not sure how I feel about things like that but assume it probably happens at lots of resorts to some degree.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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..
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Fri 13-02-15 21:51; edited 1 time in total
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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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| snowymum wrote: |
| If I had a choice of not skiing at all or going skiing and staying in an ugly building / resort of course I'd go skiing whatever the accommodation. However the look of the resort and accommodation is definitely a factor in my choice. |
I'm the opposite, accommodation is the absolute last on my list in pretty much any holiday I go on. Always trumped by location and price. Went to watch some motorsport in Monaco and ended up staying in a hostel (that we were the very first guests in) that appeared to be in the red light district. A trip to Milan in the same year saw me and a mate staying in a 32 bed dorm, because it was cheap and reasonably close to a metro stop. On a ski holiday I'd be less keen with a dorm share but quite happy for it to be ugly and utilitarian if it means that I'm close to the slopes. Afterall, I'm there to ski, not look at buildings.
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You know it makes sense.
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@SnoodyMcFlude, I suspect you are half my age! I slept on a beach once. Now I like my home comforts!
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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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| Quote: |
I'm the opposite, accommodation is the absolute last on my list in pretty much any holiday I go on. Always trumped by location and price. Went to watch some motorsport in Monaco and ended up staying in a hostel (that we were the very first guests in) that appeared to be in the red light district. A trip to Milan in the same year saw me and a mate staying in a 32 bed dorm, because it was cheap and reasonably close to a metro stop. On a ski holiday I'd be less keen with a dorm share but quite happy for it to be ugly and utilitarian if it means that I'm close to the slopes. Afterall, I'm there to ski, not look at buildings
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I'm with @snowymum, although I'm on a skiing holiday to ski I am not there exclusively to ski and even spending 8 hrs a day skiing that is still two thirds of the time when you are not skiing.
Decent accommodation a comfortable bed and attractive surroundings add a huge amount to the appeal of a skiing holiday.
Price is important but location counts if it is in somewhere pleasant I have no need to ski in ski out and have always managed to get decent accommodation even if it is a bit away from the slopes.
Ski in ski out generally adds to the price detracts from the comfort and is often aesthetically displeasing. I never quite get why ten minutes to and from the slopes at the beginning and end of the day is so tough.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Well people do ski holidays for different things. Personally I didn't go all the way to the airport, fly across Europe and transfer at the other end to cook myself or eat bad food. Every place has its pros and cons:
Picturesque villages e.g most of Austria
Pros:
Pretty towns/villages; nothing like skiing round a corner and seeing the valley unfold below you with a pretty village at the bottom
Lots of tree runs; usually broad variety of runs
Good hotels with good food; every 4 star hotel in Austria seems to have a brand new spa facility!
Generally reasonable prices
Decent apres ski
Cons
Low lying means in poor seasons you can get poor skiing
Not ski in- ski out
Purpose built places
Pros
Snow sure
ski in- ski out
Much less likely to end up skiing over giant piles of slush
Cons
Resorts usually ugly
Apres non existent to poor; drinks a rip off
More regular whiteouts and high winds
Resorts largely orientated around self catering or chalets (this may be a positive for you, especially if you have young children!)
It's a tradeoff
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
Although not a traditional or pretty village in the conventional sense it certainly feels like a village and is completely honest in what it is. Any purpose built resort will be a blot on the previously undeveloped land but I feel that the Architects did a great job of making it fit in with its surroundings to the point that it can be difficult to see at times and is much less visible than the colourful newer development up the road.
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I agree with you. If you approach Bourg st Maurice from Moutiers and look up to Les Arcs with a lot of knowledge you can spot the high rise of Arc 1800 and 1600 but the garish new wood-clad building of Vallandry stand out like a sore thumb.
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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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| snowymum wrote: |
| @SnoodyMcFlude, I suspect you are half my age! I slept on a beach once. Now I like my home comforts! |
Hadn't thought of that, although I feel increasingly elder than my DOB in '85 would suggest...TBF though the trip to Monaco was one that my dad booked.
| T Bar wrote: |
I'm with @snowymum, although I'm on a skiing holiday to ski I am not there exclusively to ski and even spending 8 hrs a day skiing that is still two thirds of the time when you are not skiing.
Decent accommodation a comfortable bed and attractive surroundings add a huge amount to the appeal of a skiing holiday. |
I'm definitely there to ski 8 hours a day (more if I can), and after that I can sleep anywhere  Obviously comfortable bed and nice location would be nicer, but my tight budget means that I either ski and rough it or stay at home and watch TV. Would love to have the money to pay for nicer spots and eating out, but reality is that it has to be cramped concrete jungle and Sainsbury's own instant noodles (35p a pack if you're wondering).
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@SnoodyMcFlude,
I'm over twice your age (Edit actually I am not I misread your DOB but I am still quite a bit older) and have roughed it quite a bit but do now appreciate a little comfort though have slept on plenty of floors and sleeping bags in the interests of economy even recently.
My point is though that I manage to ski on quite a reasonable budget a lot of the time by staying a bit outside the ski resort and I can certainly do it a lot cheaper than the prices I see advertised for some of the concrete jungles. I have been paying for a family of four which concentrates the mind.
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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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| Bene wrote: |
| hedley wrote: |
| Bene wrote: |
Although it's low (non-existent) on my list of priorities I headed to Val Thorens last year expecting it to be pretty horrid. I didn't find it to be the case at all, plenty of newer chalet looking buildings no real high rise concrete structures I can recall. I was up the top end-Hotel Tango. Les Menuires on the other hand did look Fugly. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that.
Nicest? I liked a snowy Kitzbuhel and Courmayeur of the ones of been to so far. |
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Wengen must be up there for one of the prettiest? |
It may be but I've not been. |
I do apologise. The ? above was a typo.
It came over as if I was poo pooing your comments.
That was not my intention 
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Sorry!
Re-resurrecting this thread.
| T Bar wrote: |
@SnoodyMcFlude,
My point is though that I manage to ski on quite a reasonable budget a lot of the time by staying a bit outside the ski resort and I can certainly do it a lot cheaper than the prices I see advertised for some of the concrete jungles. I have been paying for a family of four which concentrates the mind. |
I completely agree. I've been going to Austria in recent years and it is as least as cheap. There is plenty of self catering around if you look.
A ski holiday is a holiday after all. The atmosphere of the resort is one of the main pulls for me. I also find the welcome from the locals a bit warmer than in France!
I'd echoed the previous comment about Cervinia, staying in the top of the village it looked okay to me. Not pretty but not offensive either.
Unlike AdH.
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I've been to dozens of resorts, many of them mentioned under "ugliest" in this thread.
IMO nothing beats "Super Devoluy" in the southern french alps. After having been to Avoriaz, Les Menuires, Val Thorens, Cervinia etc etc etc I was truly shocked to see a resort that - in essence - consists of one big 10+ floor high wall of an appartment building.
Yes, there's enough resorts that have big and high appartment blocks. The "Brelin" appartment building in Les Menuires comes to mind (but deserves an architecture prize IMO). But those resorts consist of many buildings. Here the whole resort is just ONE big block of concrete!
Since then (must have been 15 years ago I came there, touringcar stop on my way to a different resort) they built some smaller buildings at the foot of this monster. But still, for me Superdevoluy beats the other resorts hand down.
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Brelin, the big building on the right - Star wars in the french alps
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Flaine looks terrible when it isn't covered in snow. When the building ARE covered in snow I think they look OK.
Avoriaz - some of the buildings look terrible. I think the newly renovated Falaise buildings look pretty good.
Meribel - mooch chalets perhaps, but far better than the usual alternatives (see above).
The problem is usually that if you want pretty, old-world charm then you are probably in a Fairly low resort. If you want snow-sure, then you probably have to put up with ugly.
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As mentioned about a week ago, Le Corbier in Les Sybelles has to be the ugliest place I have ever spent a week, and that's in the context of visits to Val Thorens, Tignes, Avoriaz, Alpe d'Huez and Whistler (that block at the lift base is not nice).
But I can forgive VT quite a lot of ugliness because I've always had good snow when I've been there. And that is what I really remember from each trip.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| pam w wrote: |
whereas this is truly nasty pastiche architecture |
i'm off to Whistler in 10 days time... woohoo.
And will be staying in that pathetic pastiche of a chateau you can see there... the Pan Pacific.
it is miserably uninspired architecture there but....
if you only had a choice between that and bad french concrete... i'd have to take the Americanese disney sh@te, i guess. Thing is, it shouldn't be a choice between only those two extremes...
My first ski trip was to La Plagne... followed by Les Menuires. Mercy... Les Menuires was hideous, but it had a secret benefit of having access to a ountain on its right,errr, the Pointe de la Masse which was good and quiet due to pretty much being only accessible from Menuires.
Val d'Isere seems fine, but admittedly this is in comparison to the French concrete specials... and the skiing. Maybe they made the first 'village' bit as you get up to the resort, La Daille, so ugly on purpose... then when you carry on up to 1850 and the rest it all looks sublime after that.
And if you're staying in La Daille, you console yourself with the choice of what would anywhere else be a perfectly good gondola access relegated to second place behind a mental brilliant funicular train up through a mountain.
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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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| Quote: |
I find the buildings at Aime La Plagne to be magnificent. If you catch it in the right light coming from the Plagne Centre area, you can suddenly see what it is about. In the late afternoon, its shadow echoes the shadows of the mountains and you understand what the architect was seeing. Give it a try
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Hmmm.
I've given it a try.
I do "get" what the architect was trying to do. Sort of mirror the shapes of the mountains, ridges and buttresses.
However I think rather than tone it shouts. I think the buildings in Tignes, Avoriaz and Flaine try similar things but are way more successful. I think it is incredible arrogant to make architecture that attempts to stamp its authority on the mountain, it should defer to it. That doesn't mean everything has to be twee chalet-lite but I do think it needs to be a bit more respectful than that.
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My feelings towards it are not helped by the experience of walking through the dank, dark lower levels which rather show its been unloved since the early 70s.
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You know it makes sense.
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I've been to Flaine a couple of times and the original parts do blend in well with the mountains. It was also all originally built in the Bauhaus style so there was meant to be some consistency. There used to be some great black and white photos in the it shopping area showing the buildings and interiors when it first opened, hopefully they are still there. So if you going to Flaine, google the history and it puts it into context. Also it may be the only ski resort with a Picasso sculpture at the bottom of the slopes, near the church, both of which are worth checking out to appreciate the original idea.
Re ugly resorts, the Planibel complex in La Thuile spoils a village that has some rustic old parts.
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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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@Onnem, You beat me to it with Superdévoluy. It sure is ugly. That said, we're really quite fond of it; we're going back for a third trip this year.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I'm actually very fond of Avoriaz. At least the architect tried to do something different - didn't he commit suicide though, due to all the criticism of the place?
La Plagne is the biggest dump to me. Not that fond of Tignes either. Flaine is at least Bauhaus, so there's a school there rather than just haphazard buildings put together from concrete. I've got lots of good memories of Flaine too, so maybe I'm being kind to it. Don't remember finding Alpe d'Huez particularly offensive but that's probably after 4 years of Flaine in comparison.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I don't think La Plagne on a whole is so bad it's just that massive triangular concrete monstrosity slap bang in the middle that kills it.
IMO though there's plenty of nice mountains to look at wherever you visit without worrying about the buildings.
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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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| wadgebeast wrote: |
I'm actually very fond of Avoriaz. At least the architect tried to do something different - didn't he commit suicide though, due to all the criticism of the place?
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no its a rumour, he fell from a bridge and had a couple of broken bones but it was never "confirmed" that it was a suicide attempt...
edit..it was the mairie, not the architect.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I think Le Corbier deserves a mention too.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@dw832 Le Corbier is Les Menuires light, architecturally similar, but without the public multi-storey car park smell.
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Not a ski resort. but Celtic Manor from the M4 is pretty hideous. @Onnem, I think you win though - your superdevoluy will take some beating.
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Never seen Avoriaz in ski season but it is awful beyond description in the summer. Very good swimming pool though, particularly in low season when the kids can go round and round the water slides for hours without queuing!
Flattering ascent from Morzine on a bike too. Just don't look up!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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La Plagne ugh
Avoriaz fairly UGH especially in summer but better than La Plagne.
Les Menuires aka The Manure really really horrible when seen from the road. Not so bad from above. Best skiing of the three! 
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FAQ
However the next time we visited in summer we took the grandes platieres lift up and had a lovely walk back down to Flaine and chatted to a few locals who were most friendly.
