Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Chalet Verwall, Obergurgl

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I'm booked to stay here in March with the kids. Has anyone used it? what are the facilities like? How far away from any kind of civilization is it? I've never skied in Austria so any inof on the are etc would be good too.
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Hi
I assume you are traveling with Esprit, we have been to Obergurgl before with them and stayed in their other Chalet (Alpenblume). The Verwall is more modern and closer to the meeting area for the kids ski lesson. It is approx. 50m from the edge of nearest slope from which you can ski to nearest lift. If you have booked ski hire from Esprit, they use the shop that is again about 50m or so from both Verwall and Alpenblume Chalets or at least they did 2 years ago. The only down side I can think of and it is a little one is that both chalets are at the bottom end of town and about a 5min walk to the town centre however there are regular free buses.

Ski area though not large is fine for a family skiing with kids as you can pretty much get back to village from anywhere on the mountain in about 20mins, lift system is great as uphill capacity far outweighs number of beds in village and the only queue I have seen in March is at the gondola that links Obergurgl and Hochgurgl. The Top Mountain Star bar is well worth a visit as the views are exceptional, food and views at Hohe Mut Alm again worth a visit and apre ski at Nederhutte is pretty lively and an easy ski back to Chalet.

We are going back again this March 23rd and staying in the Alpenblume as we cannot find anything to beat the childcare Esprit offer for under 5's.

If you have any more questions please get in touch and I will try and help.
latest report
 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?
Thanks! We're taking our own ski gear. My kids are 8 and 10. Did you use the Coco Club facility? My daughter (who will be 11 by the time we go) is a bit concerned it might be a bit lame for her rolling eyes
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
bagginsmum wrote:
Thanks! We're taking our own ski gear. My kids are 8 and 10. Did you use the Coco Club facility? My daughter (who will be 11 by the time we go) is a bit concerned it might be a bit lame for her rolling eyes


Not in this particular resort/hotel but our 11 year old was very happy in the Esprit coco club last time we went, but I think it will depend on the ages of the other children there at the time.
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Our kids were/are quite a bit younger and generally were asleep by adult tea time, however all the kids that went to various evening clubs appeared to have a good time. As your kids are a bit older you should find there are few evening events around the village that they may also like. I believe last time there was night skiing, tobogganing and display by ski school with fireworks etc
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Thanks everyone. We're going with 3 other couples and children so we will have 8 kids between us ranging from 2 to 11!
What are prices like in Austria for lunches/vin chauds as compared with say France? We've just got back from La Tania so anything has to be cheaper than Courchevel!
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
€3 hot choccie, €3-5 for a big beer or gluwein, €7-8 soup, €5 chips, €10 sausage and chips, something like that
latest report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
mbeaney, hi can I jump in on this one, were staying at the Alpenblume in 23 sleeps time as my son counts down Very Happy did you hire skis through Esprit or direct, there's 2 adults and 1 child we need to hire for.
Thanks
ski holidays
 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.
geoffknight, I have always booked ski independently of esprit, tends to work out a lot cheaper
snow report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I am not to sure about hire as we have our own gear and hired for kids through esprit last time. I do think Esprit do some offer like kids free when adults hire. If you want to hire independently I think the nearest shop to chalet one of the Intersport Riml shops so could easily book direct with them.
snow report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
geoffknight, going through AlpinResorts or SnowBrainer gives good prices, if the code given by the auto clicky doesn't work try "news101"
ski holidays
 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.
NickyJ, mbeaney, thanks I'll do some on line checking, went on line last year in La Plagne and ended up with a .5 mile walk when there was a rental place in the hotel, and to add insult to injury the hotel one had the skis I wanted to try, but the online place didn't Sad
snow report
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
geoffknight, Hi there, just wondering how you got on? We are staying in the Alpenbume on the 16th of March. How are the staff this year? Any tips?


Cheers

Jon
snow conditions
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
bagginsmum, don't worry.

Obergurgul is fantastic. Great snow (high and cold), good variety of runs, very very good value mountain restaurants: Neiderhof, Davids Hutt- in fact just about all of them. Great value- a family of 4 can have a super good, super fast lunch- table service with drinks, coffee and a couple of desserts for €50.


Good lifts and since it is Austria not France native English speaking instructors.

We stayed with Esprits other Chalet- Alpenblume- which was great in terms of the room (massive with 2 bedrooms a lining room and kitchenette) and location- easy walking distance to the nursery slope and easy enough for th ebus to Hochgurgul / the nearest lift.

Food a bit ropey- we went 1st week of the season and both Espirt places in Obergurgul are chalets rather than chalet hotels. An important distinction.

Childcare was EXCELLENT. Our 3 year old was treated like minor royalty and our older kids aged 10/11 (his birthday was in Obergurgul) and 8 had a great time in coco club- they can't get enough of it. In fact they desperately love Esprit holidays because of Coco club. Lots of mucking about and sliming. After last years holiday we wrote to Esprit to thank them for the childcare- especially for our youngest.

In my opinion they have a much better ethos re kids than some other slightly posher companies who mix families and distressed gentlefolk (i.e. Mark Warner). But food can be a downer (in both). Which was a shame but it ain't superdelux. We were very happy and our kids had- as usual a wild time.


But it takes all sorts so I can't say if your family will like it.
ski holidays
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
jonkgray78, in a word - Brilliant, despite mixed weather during the week, 3 days of poor visibility, 1 mixed and 2 blue bird days. Staff were great, really good resort Manager, Michael who runs a good happy team in both chalets. Food was good for both kids and adults. Our son who's 10 in May had a great week, he was in the intermediates group with AM lessons and PM fun skiing, and went from reverting to snow ploughs on steeper blues last year, to skiing blacks, off piste powder and through the trees with ease and really confident by the end of the week, all due to his instructor Rob, we never got to find out his second name, he is English and takes en Esprit group most weeks. I can't praise him enough for the instruction and confidence he has given my son, on the Saturday we skied together from 9.15 to the last drag of the day. It was the best days skiing I've ever had, to ski with him on all slopes, off piste, over jumps which I don't do, but did to stay cool with him ( and enjoyed them Very Happy) plus through the trees, was just fantastic and I am still having flashbacks on how proud I felt to see him ski so well. I have the ski tracks app, and had recorded 50kph during the week, on Saturday we recorded 75 kph together rolling eyes and all the time he looked in control. I actually felt that he was pushing me to ski more adventurously.
Food on the mountain was good, huge servings, one main will feed two easily, and reasonably priced.
We had a really great group of families on our week, never got round to asking if they were Snowhead Embarassed if they read this, thanks for making the week great.
Have a great time, the snow should still be good after the top ups we had whilst there, make sure you ski the whole area, we found the Hochgurgl side fun to ski, bar the far left T bar served slope, everything else was all good.

Best way for me to summarise the week would be my sons words just before he fell asleep on Sunday once home " that was the best holiday ever Dad "

If my numbers come up tonight well see you there on the 16th
Toofy Grin
ski holidays
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
geoffknight, That's great, and good to hear, really appreciate the review.


Hope the numbers came up !

Jon
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
jonkgray78, no not yet! Sad
snow report
 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?
Thanks for the reviews. We're off on 9th March. If the kids are happy then I won't worry about how gourmet the food is wink
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Quote:

bagginsmum
user
Po Did you use the Coco Club facility? My daughter (who will be 11 by the time we go) is a bit concerned it might be a bit lame for her


I am on my 5th Esprit trip this year. Echo a lot of the above, you are being looked after by gap students so don't expect a la carte food but that is why it is so cheap. Childcare is outstanding and the reason we keep going back. My kids have done cocoa club the last few years (10 and 8 this year) and think its great but it depends on facilities. The last 2 years they have been the only 2 kids in there and they had a huge room with a small plastic football and a goal and that is all they did every night.

The Chalets are hit and miss, Peisey was very very big but the hosts had a different perception of cleanliness to me and we needed to politely mention the food in the gaps in the grooves of the wooden dinner table, it was clearly weeks old. Last year in Les Gets the chalet was tiny and the only seating area was one of those wooden chalet benches where the cushion slides off when you sit down, nowhere to relax other than lie on your bed. My son clambered under the bed and came out covered in thick dust like cotton wool and I had to scrape off hand fulls with my fingers.

The reality is that it is down to the personal standard of the kids that look after you and some are better and more conscientious than others. This is our 5th trip and we go back because of the child care so all the other stuff isn't an issue for me.... I love my luxury but I have stayed in a lot worse than esprit ad I know what to expect so can over look the slightly basic accommodation and food.
ski holidays
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
jonkgray78, how is your wife's ankle healing up?
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Quote:

How are the staff this year? Any tips?

If the answer to the second question is "no" the answer to the first is probably "pretty bloody miserable".
snow report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
The chalet manager at the Alpenblume, Leigh is a teacher taking a break, so not a gap year student! our room was fine, with a pristine bathroom. The food was really good, well cooked and good quality ingredients, the goulash on arrival night was faultless, no sign of fat or gristle on the meat, a sign of the good things to come. Hot breakfast options every day apart from the chalet staff day off, bacon, eggs sausage and beans, plus all the usual continental choice. FWIW we found the food significantly better than we had last year in La Plagne at the Tera Nova, which is graded 3* in France and 4* by Crystal, and the poor quality and way it was cooked made us look elsewhere this year.
snow report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
pam w, Wink

NickyJ, Doing well thanks, she will be fine by March, and she is driving now which is making life easier! Just doing all the insurance claim stuff. I am sure they make it as hard as possible in the hope that you will give up!!

geoffknight, We are booked into one of the new wing rooms as we wanted a bit more space with 5 of us, I've heard they are pretty good? Food sounds good, there are beans, so my son will be happy, he'd have beans on toast every day if he could! Did you book any adult lessons? My wife is keen to have some while we are there.

Jon
latest report
 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.
jonkgray78, we had a look in the new wing on the last day, space? it's like the final frontier, there huge, you will rattle around like a f*art in a bottle! We didn't take lessons ourselves but one of the other mums did and she made great progress, so much so she was trying to wangle an week away with her sisters later in the season.
pam w, we did tip, both the chalet staff and the childcare team individually, as I think did everyone else.
latest report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
jonkgray78, great news!
snow report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Thanks everyone for all your info. We had a brilliant time, the staff were fabulous with the kids. My daughter fell in love with Lewis one of the snow rangers and was begging to go to Coco club every night. Our room was fine, basic but fine. Food was reasonable, friends who stayed last year said it had improved massively. I absolutely loved Austria, a refreshing change after feeling robbed in France recently. We spent far too much time in David's Hutte but the kids adored skiing through the trees around there
snow report
 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.
bagginsmum, glad you had a good time
snow conditions



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy