should I book Meribel now?

A snowHead

Hello all
Well I have been trawling the internet reviewing, researching, price checking etc and I think I have found a nice place in Meribel that will suit our requirements.

We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 boys 13 and 15. This will be our 5th week skiing but we still like just cruising round on blues and greens with the odd gentle red thrown in. We like to go at the end of Janaury and usually try to chose the week where the least amount of schools are off (we take the kids out of school during this time as the school they go to does the same with their annual ski trip).

I was looking at different airports and for us going from Newcastle, it is cheaper to fly to Lyon and hire a car. I did look at flying to Geneva like we usually do but for some reason it is double the price. Also to hire a car will cost in the region of £235 and the cheapest airport transfers I could find were £400+ so although hubby was not that keen on driving, this seemed the best option.

So I was looking between Courchevel 1650, La Tania and Meribel and came across a lovely apartment in Meribel Village which has a swimming pool and is less than 50 metres from lifts (I think its P&V les fumes)? Being in this part of the village would (on paper) seem handy to us. It is at the botoom of the Golf chair lift. It is close enough to ski to Courchevel and also if we fancied going over to Val Thorens it would also be close by. We looked at the ski lift pass and it works out cheaper to get a family 3 valleys pass (i think its £208 each) than get a Meribel pass.

I ihave also noticed that there are a lot of places not available because the owners havent put the prices for next season on. All we really need is a supermarket, we arent interested at all in apres ski. Might be nice to eat out a couple of nights.

So do you think this sounds ok for our requirements? Should I book it early? Just a bit apprehensive, but dont want to wait too long in case the prices go up. I have priced this going with a tour operator and there is a differnece of about £850

A snowHead

polo99, I have no idea about your requirements, but if you are going DIY I would book flights now and you can book accommodation in a little slower time if necessary. If you are looking at private accommodation owners would be unlikely to put their prices up - the prices are set for the season and that's that.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

polo99, try hiring from the french side at Geneva rather than the Swiss. Easyjet may come down in price from NCL

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not criticising as I have no strong views... but will the 15 year old be 16 and doing GCSEs next year? in which case term time might not be ideal...
otherwise as above - get flights - and if you like the accomodation, book it - the best meribel stuff does go quickly...
if an owner doesn't yet have next year's prices - email them

Alasdair

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Don't ignore driving out, it is cost effective with 4 in the car, we travel from Devon, stay in a Premier Inn in Folkestone or Dover on the Friday night and set off 1st thing on Saturday morning. By the time you have paid for flights, car hire, car parking, extra for skis, with four in the car it begins to make sense, particularly if you have had a few bad airport experiences.

There are good buses up to Village but a car would give you the option of driving to La Praz, or down to the supermarket in Meribel, or doing a super market on the way up the hill.

We have not stayed in Meribel Village, but there is no reason why you cannot get to the whole of the 3V's quite easily, and you have a nice run down Lapin at the end of the day.

If you do fly to Geneva, car hire on the Swiss side should get you winter tyres and chains included. I have not done this, but a mate uses a UK based broker to hire his car, and gets better rates than on-line.

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polo99, it will be fine for your needs. Easy ski out with no queues in the morning and they uprated the Golf chair a couple of seasons ago. There's a Spar supermarket nearby and you can eat at the Lodge du Village or take the free bus into Meribel Centre for a wider selection. Stop at Geant in Albertville or Carrefour in Moutiers on the way up for a cheaper and wider selection of food supplies.

Did you book winter tyres for the car? A Lyon hire car won't normally have them and in January you've probably got at least a 50% chance of needing them on the road to Village (especially coming back down). If the upgrade's expensive/unavailable buy Michelin Easygrip in Geant on the way instead. Sell them on ebay when you get home if you don't use them (or even if you do!). Geant sell cheap chains too but they're probably too heavy to fly back with. Lyon's a more straightforward drive than either side of Geneva so I wouldn't worry about that.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Hi Guys thanks for the replies.
Raceplate, thanks for the tip about the golf chair and supermarkets. We are planning on hiring chains for the car (its an extra £35)

DavidYacht we have done the ferry and drive before and although the ferry crossing wasnt too bad, the drive is not something I would like to repeat again. It took us over 10 hours to drive from Amsterdam to Niederau. Driving all the way from Durham to Dover then having to drive from Calais to Meribel is not on the cards. When we did it the first time, we didnt really save much money.

holidayloverxx, our requirements are really just ski in/out or as close to the slope as possible. Nice big cruisy runs, not bothered about night life in the least and would like somewhere that is slighlty bigger rather than save a few quid and be like sardines. The problem I made last year when we went to Ellmau was we left it to last minute and found that we would find an apartment we liked then email the owner and it would have gone so this year I didnt want to be left in that predicament. It got so annoying last year that in the end we ended up going with the tour operator! which wasnt that bad lol
akirk, thats why I am starting early this year lol, but I think I am a bit too early. I have emailed a couple of places and they said that they have not yet got their 2014 prices yet. we have a budget of about 850-1000 for accomodation only self catering so hopefully this will get us something nice. so far the les fermes seems to be the best value as it has a swimming pool too.

After all it is free

polo99, highly recommend staying in les Fermes

Been there last two Easters and booked already for next year. Cannot be beaten for location, 1 min to chair lift and 1 minute to pub! In jan I expect the swimming pool will be nice and quiet for you as well Very Happy

The Spar is very limited so follow Raceplate's advice and shop on the way up. Village bakery however is very good for your daily bread etc

polo99, for late january you could comfortably afford to wait to book accommodation - but advice to get cheap flights as early as possible is good. And if you find the exact accommodation you want now, no reason not to book - booking private accommodation DIY you are not likely to get last minute bargains, as with TOs. If you were able to get snow tyres for your hire car it could make your travel quite a bit easier, should you hit a very snowy period (as you would hope to do!). Chains are a pain - I'm quite used to them, and can get them on and off quite quickly, usually, but they are still a pain!

I don't blame you not wanting to drive from Durham to Meribel, just for a week. I wouldn't either, and I drive to the Alps myself a lot, as you know.

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Mines another vote for booking flights early. I have just booked two from Stansted to Lyon for £64.

I also got a good deal with my accommodation provider for early booking, and had several other discounted offers for early booking although this was during early May and it was frustrating that much of the accommodation was not yet openly priced. It seems that if you can get to the owner, (email) rather than a rental agent, they are very happy to offer a good price and make the booking. You do of course need to be careful you have found a legitimate deal, and whilst I am happy with security in my case I have still paid by credit card to get that extra certainty. I`m not sure how I would deal with an offer where a credit card is not accepted!

It seems to only be Tour Operators who offer much discounted last minute deals.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

pam w, we do it all the time to Serre Chevalier, usually for two weeks at least , although EOSB in VT is just for a week. No, we don't save anything on the cost of the holiday, but it's so much more flexible than flying.

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Hells Bells, but you take your dog, don't you? And probably lots of stuff for the apartment (funny how we thought that having our own place would mean sauntering out with a small elegant handbag!). I wouldn't drive for a week unless I had loads to take - I can get to Gatwick cheaply on the train and I'd hire a car for the week. And I live on the south coast! But then I am fortunate to be retired and able to say I wouldn't go for a week in the first place! For some people having to drive that far would really take the edge of enjoyment off the holiday. The drive doesn't bother me overmuch, but now that I am invariably doing the whole drive single-handed I would normally stop overnight to avoid a sparrowfart start, which adds to the cost. My car is feeling its age - done 117K miles and I am keen to avoid buying a new one for a couple of years; got to give the old girl (maybe both of us old girls) an easier life.

pam w, yes of course we do. Just organising stuff to take for our next trip, and then going down (for a week) in September to paint and refurbish for the winter. Our car is only 4 years old, and is pushing on 75000 miles now. Time for a newer one I think.

You know it makes sense.

Never book your flight early. You're immediately limiting yourself...

Always book your accommodation first. After all this is (apart from the skiing) the most important part of your holiday. If you book your flights, then find you can't get accommodation to suit you/your group etc it will massively affect the enjoyment of your holiday. Some friends of mine run a catered chalet, who have a Sun- Sun changeover, they'd booked themselves a Sat - Sat flight earlier in the year because they thought they would save money. They ended up staying in a Hotel for the first Saturday night, then had to walk to the Chalet (cos the bus was at the airport) then they were in such a bad mood about the whole fiasco they ruined their own holiday !

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

polo99, contrary to most of the advice here my view is if you have found everything you want and at the right price for you, why not book it now? I have had both my Christmas/New Year weeks and a week at the beginning of February booked since the same times last season and I did not know the actual prices when I booked. I booked my fortnight at Christmas when I paid my bill after the last holiday at the same time and I booked the February week when I realised that the shite hole I was staying this year was exactly that! As consolation I went with my skiing buddy and booked the rooms we want in one of my regular hotels for the same week in February 2014. All my friend has to do is book her flights out to me which should be easy enough as she flies to Munich and I pick her up.

You seem to know what you want and where you want to go, so get in early and get the pick of what has not already been booked by the regulars. OK you may save a few quid here and there by hanging on until the last minute but do you want to risk it? If you do really prefer to hang on then, I would not book the flights either, that way you can take your pick according to what is being discounted anywhere in Europe that week.

I've been booking my accommodation for my regular trips a long time in advance for ages. Like most German/Austrian residents, having found what I like, I want to make sure I can get it when I want, so if that means booking next season as I'm there in the current season, so be it! I deal direct with the owners rather than an agency or intermediary so I get what I book and also a reduction in price as a loyalty bonus in some places.

A snowHead

Hi polo99. We went to meribel in march from Newcastle. Have you considered chambery, we drove to les allues and it only took just over an hour and wasn't a hard drive at all ( our first time driving in France). Airport is small and car hire very accessible. Meribel sounds like it will tick all the boxes. Loads of green,blue runs and connectivity between courcheval, val thorens is incredibly easy due to fantastic lift system in 3v. Hope this helps! Ps there is a super u on way up mountain that stocks everything you will need.

A snowHead

thanks for all the replies. why on earth do i keep looking? i thought i had definitley made my mind up. we are definitly flying to lyon and hiring a car (yes pam, we are hiring chains from the company wink

) but i then got swayed at La Tania at a ski in ski out apartment called les folyeres? this would still be in an ideal location as i would have meribel on one side and courchevel on the other side, although the benifit of staying at the les fermes in meribel is that it is also really close to courchevel.

So my question is now, what would be the best place to stay - la tania or meribel village. we only would like a couple restaurants maybe to eat out at night that serve quite british cuisine. we do not want apres ski in any way shape or form.

the thing that holds me back from la tania is that doesnt everyone in la tania need to queue at the same place to uplift onto the pistes making a bottleneck?
Roger C, how was the pool at the les fermes? was it warm or just verging on freezing?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

polo99, I'd choose La Tania but I don't know that area well, so probably best get a good range of views!

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Polo
I will complicate things further by suggesting you might prefer La Plagne or Les Arcs for "cruising round on blues and greens with the odd gentle red thrown in". Some of the three valleys links are on genuine reds..eg. Val Thorens to Motteret/Meribel from what I recall. If you only want to ski the Courchevel end there might be more cruising there..we only touched on Courchevel on our visit as we were based in Val Thorens.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

polo99, La Tania has more going on than Village does and there are no queues in January. It's also closer to Courchevel than Meribel Village is; Village is 3 lifts to get to the top of the Loze which is the same place LT deposits you in 2 lifts. Folyeres is a perfect central location.

You've also got a genuine selection of restaurants from Michelin starred to the British Pub le Ski Lodge, 2 pizza take aways and an excellent deli that does quality take out food/rotisserie chicken etc. to eat in your apartment. Lots of info here: http://www.latania.co.uk

Any more questions, just ask. I've done seasons in Meribel and LT and my apartment is in LT.

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polo99, another +1 for La Tania, for what you're asking for you really can't go wrong. And will be very quiet in Jan, we went for 2 Easters and never had a queuing problem. I've also been in a non-holiday March week and have good memories of skiing with no one else around.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

polo99, you might want to have a look at this: http://www.pv-holidays.com/gb-en/apartments-tania-christiana/accommodation_TAC-H_fp?hc=TAC25&duree=7&dated=2013-12-13

55m2 duplex last week of Jan €1160. Very nice building, good company, perfect location.

I also forgot to mention that for 2 teenage boys LT will be way more interesting than M Village.

After all it is free

pam w, what makes you say la tania over Meribel Pam?

snowymum, I remember talking toyou a while ago and I know we have similar requisites. I doubt we will make it over to Val Thorens but was hoping to do Courchevel, La Tania and Meribel and maybe Motarett but I see from the piste map that although it looks like we can very easily make it over to the heart of Les Menuires on blue, the way back looks a lot different. I can only see maybe 2 options but we could be pushing for time doing it that way, unless there was a very very easy red from Meuires to Meribel. La Belle Plagne has been on my short list a number of times. Maybe next year, I really cant look anywhere else lol or I think I might crack up. i think Courchevel and Meribel will suite our criteria of nice long cruisy runs with the feeling of travel.

Raceplate, Thanks for the link. I had a look at the Christiana apartments and they look reallynice. The only down side (if you can call it that) is that I really struggle to cook anything without a proper oven. I just dont have the culinary know how to make do with 2 hobs and a microwave.

Overall, I think I may have been swayed to La Tania. I like the idea of the true ski in ski out. When we went to Ellmau this year, our average time that we made it to the top of the funicular ready for skiing was 11.15! half the day gone i know!. When we went to les saisies and Valmorel they were both ski in ski out and it was great just getting ready and snappng our skis on outside our apartment and skiing off for the day.

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If one has a car and snow chains then it doesn't really matter where one stays, does it?

I was staying in Bourg St Maurice and skied 3V in 3 different days (Corchevel, Meribel and Val Thoren). It is the easiest way for me to explode the area and I have been to 3v perhaps half a dozen times before. I arrived at each area early enough to ensure finding a free parking space near the lowest chairlifts. In that trip I drove from Newcastle to Tarentaise Valley and sampled every resort from Valmorel to Val d'Isere. One should take advantage of a car when go skiing with it. There are 1600km piste in Tarentaise Valley and Meribel has got about 200km of it.

Driving to ski does change my skiing perspective as I live in Newcastle. Distance wise I find Austria is on par with France but a lot more snow sure, easier to get to, more affordable and car-friendly. It is almost an unwritten rule that an Austrian skiing resort will not survive unless it has sufficient and free parking spaces for the visitors in the winter. I have only paid once in Saalbach for parking but when I showed my receipt to the ski pass office they discounted the parking cost on my ski pass purchase. It is quite acceptable to book random days than a fixed starting day of a full week.

Driving to ski is suitable for chalet owners and skiers going for more than a week. In my case I drive every year and each trip lasts about two weeks. I used to be a part of a syndicate running a place in Chamonix but got bored going back to the same place year after year. I know driving to ski is not for everyone especially those who can't get two weeks off from work. However with a car one can ski different areas or different countries in the same trip.

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saikee, each to their own I guess. We dont plan on driving as we have done that before and we didn't enjoy it. I found it very stressful. I also know that for us as a family that travelling to different places with the car is out of the question as, well ther are just too many reasons why to list but that is a personal choice for us I know it horses for courses. We just want to go to a place that we will stay that will have lots of mileage if we want, with nice cruisy runs, be able to ski in and out or as good as. Whatever question I ask my husband about this holiday he just says "whatever you want", "i dont mind" (something is wrong he is not usually this submissive, maybe he wants something? lol) we just want to get to pick the right resort for the week so that it will be enjoyable for all of us (even if that does mean the hire car sits in the car park from us arriving to us leaving).

Flying from Edinburgh to Lyon is £325 including 4 cases. Flying to Chambery from Edinburgh is £540. Flying from Newcastle to Chambery is £640 so I think we will probably go for the EDI - LYS and hire a car as its only £200 as opposed to transfer quotes i have had for about £450.

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polo99, the hire car's much better IMO than a transfer if you're going to an apartment. Never underestimate the value of being able to stop at a proper supermarket on the way up!

With regards to the cooking, it's a 4 ring ceramic hob with a microwave/grill. I don't know what your standards are but I frequently spend weeks at a time with the same arrangement (I'm in the P&V Britania building) and eat pretty well but I suppose it's a bit of a bloke's diet.

Assuming you eat out a couple of nights a 5 night menu for me would probably be: Steak and Gratin potatoes (potatoes from the deli), Chinese (cook-in sauce, microwave rice), rotisserie chicken and microwave chips (McCain Frite-up!), Boeuf Bourguignon and Gratin (from the deli), Indian (either cook-in sauce, microwave rice, grilled naan or takeaway delivery from Extreme Cuisine). On top of that there are all the other options from the deli - lasagne, pizza, tartiflette, fish pie, duck (occasionally), lamb shanks (if you ask her nicely and give her a couple of days notice!) and lots of strange things called vegetables. I frequently double up on the Bourguignon which is excellent and I guess you have to like Gratin!

The LT deli is here: http://www.lasaucissesavoyarde.fr/ Her name's Kirsty and she's a Kiwi.

Everything else you need is available from Carrefour in Moutiers, plus they have their own deli counter, rotisserie etc. but Kirsty's food is better. Take a wok with you from the UK if you can (there's largish frying pan supplied but it's not non-stick).

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I don't know

A snowHead

None of the above

A snowHead

Timberwolf, very helpful and insightful. Thanks ill take that on board
Raceplate, some really good meal menus there I will maybe have a look with different eyes. But if I bung you a few quid could you just pop round to the apartment and make them for us lol. Will you be out there then? what do you do out there

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

polo99, Oh please, please go to Chambery!!! The car hire place is very handy for the terminal. At Lyon you have to walk all the way through the terminal the bus stop, (miles!) then get a bus to the car hire depot. Chambery has few shops and facilities - not ideal if you get delayed, and can be affected by weather a bit more, but I would always choose it over Lyon. It's just over an hour's drive to Les Arcs on a good day.
As a wild card, try also Grenoble airport. It's also easy for the car hire place (about 50 paces) and as easy as Lyon for the road network. I have not checked to see if you can fly there from "up north" though.

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I like this thread an interesting read and of course we all have our own opinions. I like Raceplate's, suggestion of taking a wok with you. Can you wear it as a medallion on the plane (or is the story about the paella pan worn this way on a trip back from Spain an urban myth). I usually take a very sharp knife, but in the checked baggage. I will not comment upon his diet. I mange to cater for up to 7 using two hot plates, a microwave and a small oven but with the occasional piarade (the shop in Arc 1600 used to rent them out).

Snowowl is clearly a much faster driver than me. I usually get as far the peage at Albertville in 60 minutes from Les Arcs, but she has a point about Chambery; it is the closest proper airport. Or alternatively get a taxi to the station (remember to book one for the return) and get the train to Moutiers and then the bus up to Meribel.

Back to the original post: If you like place then book it. Meribel has lots of nice cruisey runs and some enjoyable excursions into the rest of the 3V. Worry about how to get there later.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

johnE, Mr Snowy has an even heavier right foot than I have...!
All apartments have a minimum of equipment (ours has enough for 12 but sleeps 4-6) and you shouldn't need to take a wok/paella pan. I would take your second favourite kitchen knife in checked luggage. You can live for one week on improvisation. You can borrow specialist stuff like fondue sets from the supermarkets.

You'll need to Register first of course.

LOL, well you will laugh but our trip out to Ellmau this year, my husband bought a frying pan and a toaster because the apartment that we were staying had neither. (Im not sure if the resort apartmens actually have frying pans, so that might be a good idea to take the frying pan on holiday with us as we tend to eat a lot of fried food Embarassed

) The frying pan was the best money we spent all holiday and we brought it home with us. Its just not the same trying to cook bacon in a saucepan Laughing

The reason I chose Lyon Airport is because it is £200 cheaper to fly to this airport. I dont really mind that it is an extra hour in the car. Also I am not sure that we will pass Moutiers if we are coming from Lyon.

I wasnt really worrying about how to get there lol, I was quite happy with Lyon and a hire car. My questions were which resort - La Tania or Meribel Village. From what I can see I think La Tania has the best value for money and suits our requirements.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

polo99, in no particular order: you will pass Moutiers whichever airport you come from. You might be buying a toaster again (and/or a kettle!) Get them in Moutiers, you can't buy them in resort.

There's a fair chance I'll be there at that time but I haven't made any plans yet. I often do go in January; the way my leaseback works I can usually ski 5 weeks in Jan/Feb for 2 weeks 'allowance' but it depends what my work commitments are. If I'm broke maybe I'll take you up on your offer although Kirsty will do a better job http://www.lasaucissesavoyarde.fr/en/traiteur/ wink

When I've worked out there in the past it's always been as a driver/ski host. I'll show you around one day if I'm about.

After all it is free

polo99, when the weather is bad Lyon is a much better bet than Chambery - you have much less risk of being diverted from Lyon.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

they look just the sort of runs we are after. I have to ask though, the Jerusalem run looked almost like a blue. were there any difficult bits and why is it a red? and also, how can you tell that the red is going to be easy before venturing down it or do you just go on a wing and a prayer

Help!!

should I book Meribel now?

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