 Poster: A snowHead
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Vanishingly unlikely I'd say, @garfy1971.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@ed123, 
Having never stayed at a chalet with strangers we were slightly apprehensive when we used Ski Famille 3 years ago
We stayed at Chalet Aigrette in Les Menuires with 3 other families. We found the bedrooms on the small side but they were perfectly comfortable. Good communal areas. Pool table, cinema room with a couple of games consoles and a smaller games room for little ones and a decent living room
We tended to lunch up the mountain
The food was very good indeed at the chalet - cake on return from a long day followed by pre dinner nibbles with a glass of something. I think the host was a trained chef and he knew his wines. Dinner was a 3 course affair - I have a video somewhere of him describing the wines with gusto and the dinner spread. If anything, there was too much food. The kids all got on well and bonded on the slopes/the cinema room. Parents bonded at the dinner table - there were a few late nights! Still in touch with one of the families
No issues with the hot tub. Didn’t use the sauna
Mums booked a masseuse midweek when the aches and pains set in. I’m sure you’ll have a great 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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17. There's always a kid called Charlie, aged about 3, who has longish, curly, fair hair and always wears dungarees. He's hyper-active and tears around the place, climbing on furniture and knocking over people's drinks/phones/whatever. We know it's called Charlie because his parents say, "Oh Charlie, pleeeese don't do that, darling" all the time, but never actually stop him.
Even by the end of the week, no one knows whether the demon, (but angelic looking), child is a Charles or a Charlotte.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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And it's sheer impertinence even to wonder.
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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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@pam w, it was a long, long, time ago! And no, it's always OK to wonder. Thought isn't a crime. It may be impertinent to ask but even now, when peering into a pram, people still say, "How sweet! Is it a boy or a girl?" And most proud parents don't respond with , "Well, how impertinent!"
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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When we ran our chalet (long time ago), a guest actually demanded a shelf in the fridge for him to put his things… i did tell him with a group of 10 to cater for it was a request i could not fill. I came in one evening to find he’d rearranged the fridge and squashed food items, pushed the salad to the back so it froze, and removed things which needed to be kept chilled - i told him that he’s affected the quality of dinner for everyone in the chalet but he didnt care as long as his needs were catered for. I hated that guy - and he didnt even tip.
We generally didnt let guests use the crockery and cutlery (except what was left out for afternoon tea) we leave everything else we need for the evening service clean after breakfast so to come in and find things dirty, be expected to clean up again, and get kids tea, and dinner ready, and maintain quality- wasnt really ok.
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| Extremophile wrote: |
| When we ran our chalet (long time ago), a guest actually demanded a shelf in the fridge for him to put his things… i did tell him with a group of 10 to cater for it was a request i could not fill. I came in one evening to find he’d rearranged the fridge and squashed food items, pushed the salad to the back so it froze, and removed things which needed to be kept chilled - i told him that he’s affected the quality of dinner for everyone in the chalet but he didnt care as long as his needs were catered for. I hated that guy - and he didnt even tip. |
Somewhat OT, but I’m curious: does a chalet host/owner (or hotelier) have any recourse in a situation such as that? I presume you couldn’t throw him out without a refund (or maybe you could, if he’d put you food standards/hygiene at risk, & your T&Cs contained a (reasonable) clause that allowed you to do so). But could you e.g. bill or charge him either for the food and service he’d damaged or for using the fridge/entering the kitchen when you’d told him not to?
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| JayRo wrote: |
| Extremophile wrote: |
| When we ran our chalet (long time ago), a guest actually demanded a shelf in the fridge for him to put his things… i did tell him with a group of 10 to cater for it was a request i could not fill. I came in one evening to find he’d rearranged the fridge and squashed food items, pushed the salad to the back so it froze, and removed things which needed to be kept chilled - i told him that he’s affected the quality of dinner for everyone in the chalet but he didnt care as long as his needs were catered for. I hated that guy - and he didnt even tip. |
Somewhat OT, but I’m curious: does a chalet host/owner (or hotelier) have any recourse in a situation such as that? I presume you couldn’t throw him out without a refund (or maybe you could, if he’d put you food standards/hygiene at risk, & your T&Cs contained a (reasonable) clause that allowed you to do so). But could you e.g. bill or charge him either for the food and service he’d damaged or for using the fridge/entering the kitchen when you’d told him not to? |
I wanted him gone, but throwing him out would likely mean more stress than letting him stay - ultimately he’d be gone in a few days anyway - they were all in the same group, and i did explain to him about food safety etc when i said i couldnt meet his request/demand, everyone in the group just accepted his behaviour as apparently ‘that’s just him’. Luckily the things that should have been kept chilled hadn’t been out the fridge long enough to cause a problem, being that my partner picked them up from skiing at ~4.30 ish, by the time they got dropped at the chalet, my OH came home, got changed etc and back to work it was less than 90 mins, so likely the stuff had been out for about an hour, not ideal, but not long enough to cause problems.
The one that could have caused serious problems was when some guests left the fridge open all night - we came in in the morning to find a fridge full of warm raw salmon (and other things, but warm salmon  )which was meant to be served for dinner that night and we’d left in the fridge to defrost. In the bin in went and we charge them for more salmon - replacing yogs and milk was no biggie, but ~€50 of salmon wasnt coming out of my pocket.
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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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How incredibly annoying. What an absolute plonker.
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Maggi - my comment about "impertinence" was tongue in cheek, but as a very new young Mum I did wonder why people couldn't begin to relate even to a very tiny scrap of a thing in a pram without knowing its gender. I love babies and often talk to them but never ask. Any more than I'd ask an androgynous 16 year old.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@pam w, people ask the sex of the baby because, let’s face it, what else can you say apart from “what are you calling it?” Of course the appropriate reply is “don’t know”
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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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what else can you say
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Some people can talk to trees, some can talk to babies, @johnE.
My opening gambit is something like "Hello. You are very sweet, aren't you?".
As for chalets, I always regarded the kitchen as a sacrosanct sort of a space. The idea of jostling a few of your own bits into the fridge is preposterous. When I spent a sailing holiday on a big yacht in the Lofoten Islands one of the rules was that only the skipper and her husband could do anything related to food prep in the galley, and certainly not interfere with the fridge or other storage. That rule, like the rule to use safety lines on deck, was adhered to without question by all concerned. I guess if people lack basic awareness there's not a lot you can do with them but I suspect they'd have put anybody they thought was endangering the boat off on an ice floe somewhere.
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@Extremophile, I assume you removed the items put in the fridge by the guest and put them straight in the bin. After all you were responsible for the kitchen and the hygiene ( assuming they were not drugs that is)
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You know it makes sense.
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| johnE wrote: |
| @Extremophile, I assume you removed the items put in the fridge by the guest and put them straight in the bin. After all you were responsible for the kitchen and the hygiene ( assuming they were not drugs that is) |
 genuinely thought questions like this would be unnecessary - im not going to type a minute by minute account of rectifying the situation. I even said about replacements, some of which the guests paid for.
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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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We went to La Plagne with Ski Famille in 2021 and we’re going for the same week as you this year to their new chalet/ hotel in Les Menuires this year.
Last time we went with friends and between us all we booked all rooms apart from one, the family in that room socialised with us in the evenings too and their kids got on with all of ours.
This time we’re going with just our own kids- ranging from 3.5 years to 15 years so it’ll be interesting to see what it’s like. I think the chalet/ hotel set up will end up being a bit less ‘personal’ which I don’t really mind.
Food wise there was plenty and same with the wine. We ate out for lunch but everything was very relaxed and I’m sure they’d allow you to use the fridge- the kids in childcare all eat in the chalet for lunch so there are people about. Do you have kids booked in?
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Poster: A snowHead
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I’m sure they’d allow you to use the fridge
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Have you read the posts above, @Shivx5? What if everybody wants to use the fridge? Treating the chalet fridge as your own is NOT part of normal chalet etiquette, any more than it is in a hotel, regardless of where the kids are eating.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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When we ran chalets guest use of the fridge was completely forbidden - as mentioned, as chef and host we were responsible for food hygiene, and many people do not understand the correct way to organise a fridge. If anyone needs medication etc refrigerated ask the hosts and they will look after it.
Also, in general coming back to the chalet for lunch is not appreciated. Staff will normally prepare and lay out afternoon cake etc before going out skiing, and really don't want people making a mess. In one chalet we caught out a couple of guests coming back at lunchtime - with the clear intention of scoffing the afternoon cake for their lunch. We did have one budget conscious family wanting to prepare thier own lunch to take out with them, they went and bought all the ingredients, and we let them use the breakfast table, between breakfast and us cleaning up - much better than the posh group who insisted in swiping all the breakfast stuff to take with them!
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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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@Motherofthree, There was a drinks fridge in the corner of the living room which us guests filled with beers/wine/water. You might be able to use that if you have a similar setup in your chalet. 
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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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@Motherofthree, another unwritten rule of chalet etiquette:
| RobinS wrote: |
| ... We did have one budget conscious family wanting to prepare thier own lunch to take out with them, they went and bought all the ingredients, and we let them use the breakfast table, between breakfast and us cleaning up - much better than the posh group who insisted in swiping all the breakfast stuff to take with them! |
It may be okay to wrap up your uneaten breakfast in a bit of baguette and take it with you. But it is generally not acceptable to eat your own breakfast, and then make up another one for your lunch! Sometimes one person does it one day, and the next day everyone else thinks it is a good idea. The result is that either anyone getting up late finds there isn't any breakfast left, or that there are no baguettes for afternoon tea or with dinner!
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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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Think I shall share this thread with young MiniRoll, who is off in 4 weeks to be a chalet slave in Morzine...
Our experience of Chalet holidays pre-dates her (well, OK, she was in an Esprit chalet at age 3 but obvs has no recollection). But we did 10 years of chalets before she joined us, and a few "boys trips" too. In all cases, the company has been fine ( you've obviously got a lot in common - you're all sliders - as a good starting point) and yes, here will be the occasional knobhead, you tend to rub along, live and let live, as well as store it up as a fund for apres-stories on your next trip.
We've shared with groups of "considerably younger than us" ers, Jehovah's Witnesses - which was enlightening, familles, singles, couples, novices, experts - but mainly People Like Us: PLUs. Its only a week: if you are a misanthrope then clearly not for you, but most people will tell you it's worth it for the craic. And you may well meet people who become skiing buddies for life.
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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 did a number of chalets both before (5+) and after kids (5) - very different and only think 1 bad across them both.
in terms of the ones with Kids we were always with Esprit who were really good (although heard its been massively cut back since Covid). In terms of the other families normally they have been OK, thankfully have always been fairly similar to us and most evenings could have a good chat with them once the kids were in bed.
We always enjoyed the chalets as it meant we got to meet other people and often we have ended up going out with the other families later in the week - thankfully when ours started skiing the last day where we had them we were with another family of skiers who helped them massively as it was so much easier for them on Skis vs us on boards so sometimes it can work really well.
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| Extremophile wrote: |
| genuinely thought questions like this would be unnecessary |
You did? How long have you been reading Snowheads?
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| JayRo wrote: |
| Extremophile wrote: |
| genuinely thought questions like this would be unnecessary |
You did? How long have you been reading Snowheads? |
Ah yes, silly me… i forgot how some heads just cant help themselves.
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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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@Shivx5, Thanks for your reply. We are not going to book our children into childcare, as they will be skiing with us. Two of our children are teenagers and the youngest one wants to ski with us too (they are all reasonably confident skiers by now). We were looking at the new chalet hotel in Les Bruyeres too and it looks great, but chose one of the traditional chalets in the end.
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Thanks for all your replies, very interesting to read! I have realised now that we probably won't be able to store our own food in the chalet fridge and that's fine. We will buy lunch on the mountain instead, bring some dry snacks from England or make our own packed lunch with ingredients that we will store in a plastic bag on the balcony. We are mainly going to the 3V to ski, and it wouldn't surprise me if we will be the first people to leave the chalet in the mornings and the last ones to come back in the afternoons (hoping there will be some afternoon tea left for us)!
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Tue 24-10-23 10:11; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@ed123, Thanks for your reply, this is hilarious! I'm sure there is some truth to your impression/experience of what staying in a shared ski chalet with strangers is like 
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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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@Motherofthree, if you’re looking at keeping costs down it’s always a good idea to eat a decent sized breakfast, have a coffee stop with snack bar, and then at about 2pmish a crepe or other small hot snack, this way you get to ski through french lunch which is reliably predictable between 12 and 2. So you get quieter pistes and quieter restaurants. See if you can scout out 3 or 4 places that do small hot snacks to give you a variety of routes to ski to and from throughout the week.
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@Extremophile, Thanks for your tip, sounds great to be able to ski through the French lunch. The problem is just that none of our children eat much for breakfast, they tend to have a bigger lunch instead. I'm sure we'll find a way around it though.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Motherofthree, the alternative is to get some food from a supermarket- theer will always be one reasonably near the bottom lift. Bread, ham, cheese, cream cheese, smoked salmon, fruit, juice, crisps. Alternatively- just go to a restaurant and suck it up! It does get irksome with a family especially with picky eaters. Whilst I'm sure everyone who takes a family skiiing can easily afford the rsetaurant prices- I often can't swallow the value for money.
Austria is much better VFM wise, likewise Italy. Quality of the service, food, ambiance and price. Italy for the famous €1 coffee and austria for schnitzel arriving as if by magic.
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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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@Motherofthree, it amazes me how much people are prepared to pay for lunch. A plat du jour should cost 16- 18€ per head and is usually some nice food, even if it is more than I'd usually eat at lunch but the real good value comes with the snack and sandwich bars.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@johnE, why does it amaze you that people who have plenty of money and enjoy a good, restaurant lunch consider it good value for THEIR money?
I spend what I what on the food that I want, sometimes it might be a plat du jour thing, sometimes a blow out. I've never had a picnic lunch on the mountain. I'm lucky, I can afford it and don't have to pay for anyone else
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@ed123, Yes, in previous ski holidays we have alternated between eating lunch in mountain restaurants, and having a packed lunch, which has worked well for us.
@johnE, I think €16-€18 per head for lunch in a mountain restaurant sounds reasonable. The main issue for us with having lunches in a restaurant at lunch time every day, is that it takes away time from skiing, which is what we like to do the most! If you have a packed lunch you can have it in a gondola or pretty much anywhere outside, and it's usually much quicker!
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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 takes away time from skiing, which is what we like to do the most!
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and in busy weeks lunchtime is one of the nicest times to ski, with fewer people on the slopes and lifts.
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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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@Motherofthree, I agree
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