Sorry, its a long one! Grab a cuppa first if you can be ar$ed to read through it!!
Resort: Samoens
Date: 12-19th Jan 2014
Who: Group of 16 friends of varying abilities.
Accommodation:
We stayed in Chalet Chez BoBeau with www.purechalets.com. This is a large chalet, which also has a small apartment downstairs where the owners live (Andy & LIz). There are 8 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms, so pretty much everyone has their own private facilities. The property is fantastic, and decorated and furnished to a very high standard. a complete contrast to the cramped chalet (cabin) with wafer thin walls that we stayed in La Tania last year. My wife and I were in one of the bedroom on the top floor with slightly reduced head height in some ares, but this was not an issue as there was loads of space. Other nice touches were plenty of power points, and a radiator, and heated towel rail in the en suite shower room. Our bed was a large double, and there were plenty of pillows, towels, duvets, etc. I did manage to look in most of the other bedrooms when we arrived and would say that all the rooms were of a similar size and standard.
The lounge and dining area are huge, and can easily accommodate large groups. There is also a honesty bar which is a nice touch.
Downstairs there is a games room which is great. It has a good quality and full sized pool table, and fuzbol table.
Outside is 7 person hot tub, which was also very welcoming.
Andy and Liz are the owners of the company ( they have 2 more properties in Samoens), and are always on hand to help out if needed, and this years chalet hosts are Joe and Davina. What a great service they gave! Every evening meal was delicious, and no one went hungry, the breakfasts were perfect, with a hot option every day, and freshly baked pastries. Cakes and biscuits were always eaten up, so that must be a good sign! We had a few members of our group with quite specific dietary requirements, and these were dealt with easily by Joe and Davina, with no fuss at all.
The chalet is located a flat 5 minute walk from the Grand Massif Express. Those who hired equipment during the week used the company next to the GME, which meant that all of us could store our skis and boots there, so this worked out great. I was a little worried how this would work out with the group, as last year is was pretty much ski in/out. I needn’t have! Walking 5 minutes without ski boots is no problem, and the storage in the ski shop had great boot driers so they were always warm. From leaving the chalet, we could be on the Gondola in 10 mins, and it opened 15 minutes earlier that the rest of the area, so you could still make first lift in Samoens 1600. Turns out that quite a lot of our group also enjoyed the fact that you had to take the Gondola down. It meant that they could relax with a drink before getting on, and not have to worry about more skiing. Personally I always like to ski to the end though.
Village:
The chalet is a 10 minute walk from the village centre, again a flat walk. The village is lovely! and although we only really explored a few times, there seemed like plenty to do, such as Ice Skating, or enjoying the weekly market. We ate out at Louisianne which we all agreed was perfect for a large group. Mixture of local dishes and pizzas, and not too pricey.
The Ski Area:
This was my first time to the Grand Massif, and I was extremely impressed. There is something for everyone. I personally loved the blacks from the top of the Charriande express, the corbalanche, and the run down to the Gers button lift. Some of the off piste from the top of Tete Des Saix, down to the Vernant chairlift acted as a great introduction for most of us. With some harder stuff from the other side coming down from the top of the Grand Vans. There were also plenty of cruisey runs, from the top of the Flaine bowl, and through the trees in Morillon and Les Carroz. We were very lucky with the weather. It was clearly warm when we arrived, and the snow was suffering slightly. However it all changed on the Monday, when it got colder and the snow came. We had a couple of great powder days, and some sun in between. Sadly there had not been enough snow for some sections to open, but I suppose that gives me an excuse to come back!
The lift network is pretty good, but compared to some areas does lack a few fast lifts, if thats your thing! It really is only a couple of links, otherwise you will be on fast chairs and gondolas all day! The area was quiet the week we were there too, however there are a few bottle necks on some of the links, but I suspect this is the case on most large linked resorts.
I can also vouch for the medical assistance in the GM. Sadly my wife broke her ankle on the last day of skiing, and they were great.
We did eat out on the mountain, but for me this is not a large part of the holiday, so I can’t really offer much here, as I didn’t pay too much attention. We did like the place at the top of the Sairon lift, and for value there is a good place at the bottom of the DMC in Flaine.
Value:
I spent quite a long time researching (skiiming as my wife calls it) for this holiday. I managed to find us a good deal in La Tania last year, and the group wanted something similar, but with a better chalet and at no extra cost!!
I struck gold with this place! The cost for the chalet was very similar, and for that we got far better rooms, food, service, hot tub, a games room, and much much more space! we did lose ski in/out, but the reality was not as issue. Transfers are also cheap as from Geneva its just under an hour.
All in all this is the best value skiing holiday I have had.
Overall:
As you may have noticed I am a massive fan of Pure Chalets. Not only do Andy and Liz run a great company, but they are great company too. In my opinion they offer a very high level of service, for a fantastic price. It’s no coincidence that this chalet was booked out for the whole season months ago! They do have a few weeks left at their other properties, so if anyone is looking for somewhere, I would highly recommend them.
Sorry its a long read, but happy to answer any questions.
Jon
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Thanks for your report. Grand Massif a top ski area, with something for all but the fussiest of sliders. As a broken ankle sufferer, I wonder if you can tell me what type of fracture your wife has and the prognosis? I had a Webber B with a ruptured deltoid ligament. It was fixed with a plate and 7 screws but it is causing me a lot of grief 20 years on.
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?
Juddernaut, Nothing like that dramatic thankfully. Its a very small break. She is not even in plaster, and can drive already. We've had to cancel the Feb trip, but she should be ok for March. I am not sure of the technicalities of the break sorry, but about as easy and simple as you can get with a broken bone I gather.
jonkgray78, looked like lovely conditions up the mountains and lots of variety. Would have liked to see some shots of the chalet and Samoens itself (I've only been there in summer). Did you ski backwards a lot or were some of the rear shots with the camera looking back. Like your music!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Thanks pam w, Yep, we were pretty lucky, a week earlier and it would have been different.
I just put my chest strap on back to front to get the skiing behind, seemed to work ok.
Sorry about the lack of chalet and village, both of which imo are stunning. You do see the front door on the last shot
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
Would have liked to see some shots of the chalet and Samoens itself (I've only been there in summer). Did you ski backwards a lot or were some of the rear shots with the camera looking back. Like your music!
