 Poster: A snowHead
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| pam w wrote: |
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I did get a bit fed up of porridge, bacon, eggs and beans for breakfast - For Goodness' Sake! - on holiday in France and eating English food!
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Didn't they offer bread and jam? |
Yse, thank you. But croissants? Cold meats? Cheese?
The bacon came from a butcher in Meribel - that's what I call taking advantage of a niche in the market!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Llew, Well personally I liked the self service place painted green in Plain Drainse - not exactly gourmet but they seemed to do the standard fare well enough.
Personally I can't stand hanging around in a formal restaurant at lunchtime - I can do that when I'm back in London...
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so is the reason for the big difference in prices between France and Austria purely down to greed? Or are there other factors? We have flights booked to Geneva 7th March and are planning on picking up a late deal, we were aiming for France as we were worried Switzerland would be to pricey, reading through the thread that wouldn't appear to be the case though?
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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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davejsy, the French 'mega' resorts seem to be a bit expensive, the smaller resorts are not as bad and I found Morzine quite reasonable for example.
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davejsy, Excluding the obvious resorts renowned for price, Switzerland by and large has been cheaper IMO
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rayscoops,
What sort of prices were you paying there this season?
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I agree about the whole situation with resorts.
When I learned to ski in Belle Plagne about five years ago I blew about five grand for my son and I for just one week. We were sharing and apartment with my brother and his daughter and boyfriend.
The smile on the proprietors faces in the bars on New Years Eve had to be seen to be believed!
Nowadays me and my better half manage to ski the whole season for about five grand all in!
If you can avoid the resorts you can save big time.
Just how important is it to ski straight from your front door?
Down in Bourg St Maurice you can receive charming service in a traditional hotel restaurant and a four course evening menu for about eighteen euros with the house wine at about eleven euros. The Petit St Bernard.
Take a picnic for lunch and enjoy skiing while everyone else is waiting to be served their lunch.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Mon 9-02-09 19:38; edited 1 time in total
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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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i think prices are coming down. Was in chamonix a couple of weeks ago and many restaurants on the mountain were offering lunch at 12euros for a main course (e.g. chicken and chips. spag bol) and a pudding. Cant reallly complain at that. large bowl of soup and a bread roll came to 6 euros normally.
.....Although drinks prices were still v high...6 euros for a pint pretty much everywhere.
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Mitchell, it was March last season actually but I can not remember because I drunk too much in the happy hours  , .... it did not seem as bad as 3 Valleys, Tignes etc though
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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so where would  's recommend thats good value given all of the above (thats within about 2hrs drive of Geneva)? Either France or Switzerland.
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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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I wouldn't call Samoens, Morzine, Les Gets as being 'mega' resorts (well not in the same way as Val D, 3V etc) but when I was there in the summer it was noticeably more exp. then 3 x previous summer hols in Austria. So yes, there are cheaper French resorts than the 'mega' ones, but even they are dear compared with elsewhere (in my experience).
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Is Austria the new La Rosiere?
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You know it makes sense.
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I dont believe that prices have changes since last year a whole lot. The lift prices in my resort are the same as last year. The restaurant prices and menus are the same.
Dont see what the problem is.. Unless this is just a whole load of bleating about the price of the Euro or Swiss Franc. In which case maybe you should direct your complaints at Mr Brown for selling out your currency, to rescue the irrational exuberence of borrowers and lenders alike in the UK.
Im not really sure how you can expect the French or Swiss people to make less money just becuse the pound is worth nothing, so either join the Euro or accept the consequences and pay up with good grace.
When I first cam to Switzerland the exchange rate was 15 francs to 1 pound its now about 1.7...
I guess it doesnt take a rocket scientist to spot a trend there.
Still the upside is for us is that in a bumper snow year, theres more powder to go around 
As a suggestion you could always try paying with those gold foil covered chocolate coins instead.
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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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Had a long weekend at Cairngorm.....lunch £4.75 incl a coke. And great pow, people that speak english, and cheap beer!
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Poster: A snowHead
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nixmap, I just got back from Valais, Switzerland. My season ticket (paid in CHF) has gone up from last year. On hill prices for food and drink (in CHF) have gone up from last year, regardless of any exchange rate changes.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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nixmap,
can't, I had to eat them all as I'd run out of real money following my last ski trip.
By the way, your argument doesn't hold up. Non essential items are reasonably priced, its the essential ones which are extortionate. In ADH I can but a large bottle of water in the resort supermarket for about 50C, but at a piste side take away hut (only about two hundred yards away a small bottle is 2 euros fifty). It is a rip off, plain and simple. The French might soon find that people go 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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| Quote: |
Just how important is it to ski straight from your front door?
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Very - the kids love skiing but hate walking with their gear anywhere (8 & 6) - so I would willingly pay the extra to be on the slopes cos its me who ends up carrying everything!
Apart from that luxury - we self-cater, shop in the valley and don't eat out. Haven't seen any problems this year
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nixmap, One of the resort self service restaurants was offering a "recession baguette" big enough for 2 to share.
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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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Should it be eaten from both ends simultaneously on Saturday?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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.5ltr glass of Coke is currently €3.40 on the mountain in Kaprun.
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Schokolade mit Rum is €2.50 - €3.00 on the mountain in Hochkoenig. Grosse bier is the same.
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In Meribel
At the Rondpoint - not an expensive place - a litre of beer is 12.50 (10 during happy hour). At an imagined 1.5 to the pound, that's £4.75 a pint.
A ham & cheese baguette in any sandwich bar I found €6.50 - €7. At 1.5 to the pound that would be £4.30. In Pret, in London, what? £3.50.
A tiny Mars bar in the newsagent, €1.10. At 1.5 that would be 73p - so well over £1 for the full sized version on a pro rata basis. In WHSmith at Gatwick, 60p (which is pretty outrageous too!).
If we apply the real exchange rate, then the costs are truly yet even more extortionate.
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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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Austria rules ! 
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James the Last, surely the Rondpoint IS an expensive place James?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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James the Last, er - this may be a silly question but I'd like to know where you're getting your money changed! I'll have some of that 1.5 exchange rate please....
So 6-7 Euros for a cheese/ham baguette - isn't that £6-7 rather than your £4.30? I don't see what you're getting at 
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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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cathy, the clue is in the laast line of the post.
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Frosty the Snowman, yes I saw that - but I didn't see what the point was of giving an exchange rate of 1.5
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You know it makes sense.
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cathy, maybe just to show that it is not the exchange rate that is making the prices extortionate, it is just simply the prices that are extortionate - full stop ?
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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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| cathy wrote: |
| Frosty the Snowman, yes I saw that - but I didn't see what the point was of giving an exchange rate of 1.5 |
Well that was (very roughly) what it was last year, so he was showing that even using last year's rate the prices would still be bl***y expensive.
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Poster: A snowHead
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1.5 is a sort of fair rate. Last week, petrol was 80p or €1.20 a litre. Before Mr. Brown started devaluing our currency (which is inevitably going to lead to major inflation as the costs of imported goods rise), 1.5 was a sensible rate. At 1.05, Europe is expensive for us, and the UK cheap for the Europeans - so clearly the rate is (in some sense) "wrong" currently (but clearly this is (broadly) an indication of what the "right price" will be in due course).
So masmith, yes, prices are extortionate per se.
red 27, The Rondpoint seemed cheap for Meribel. (Yes, I know, I wasn't expecting Wetherspoons prices, but even so...)
rayscoops, Austrian ski passes seemed to be about €200-250 for a week.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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in alpe d'huez a couple of weeks ago:
plat du jour (roast chicken stuffed with something - poss chestnuts) in the very "sympa" combe haute = EUR12
truly enormous pizza in La Grange = EUR12
both pretty reasonable even with the exchange rate IMV. both restaurants have full table service too
something for all the France haterz to chew on 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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| James the Last wrote: |
rayscoops, Austrian ski passes seemed to be about €200-250 for a week. |
Not all of them, by any means. Although most are not much below the €200.
Zillertal - €186 (all season).
Ski Welt - €186.50 high season, €154.50 low season (21st march onwards now)
Obergurgl/Hochgurgl is within your range for high season (€212) but €186 low season.
Saalbach/Hinterglemm €195 high season, €185 low season
Kaprun €192 High, €172 low.
Schladming €189 High, €176 low
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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alex_heney, so why are you all trying to say Austria is the skiing equivalent of Lidl? A week in 2Alpes is cheaper than in any of those resorts.
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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 but the difference will be lost after the first beer is purchased 
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Sitting out on a sunny terrace having lunch and a glass of something cold is all part of the holiday for me. We go half board so only need to worry about lunch and drinks, but still things are a bit tight for us at the mo and we are going to have to make compromises. Boo Hoo.
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im still using euros i bought last year.. bring on the pints!!!
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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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CANV CANVINGTON,
Yes, thank God we've got some left aswell. Somehow, whatever the price I don't think we'll end up stone cold sober on this hol! At least we've got a balcony, my white wine from Spar will stay nice and cold on there! Just need to remember to take a corkscrew.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| alex_heney, so why are you all trying to say Austria is the skiing equivalent of Lidl? A week in 2Alpes is cheaper than in any of those resorts. |
Nobody is trying to say anything of the sort.
But holidays to most Austrian resorts are going to work out cheaper overall than holidays to most French resorts. There are, of course, exceptions.
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FAQ
even cheaper.
