 Poster: A snowHead
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I need tips in order to reduce the amount of ear bashing from the other half.
We're looking at the w/c 6th December and driving down from the Gloucestershire.
At the moment the plan is Friday night shuttle and stay in Coquelles. Early start (6 ish) and be in Tignes Le Lac (TLL) for 4 ish.
My questions are:
1. Any recommendations for good (cheap) places to stop in Coquelles - we looked at the Formule1 Ritz but the wife won't do shared bathrooms so any place we stay needs to be en suite.
2. On arrival at TLL - I can see it's traffic free - can you drive into the resort to drop the luggage (a la Val Thorens) or do you need to lug it from the car park?
3. Can anyone tell me how snow sure the resort is so early in the season - anecdotal feedback on conditions in previous years would be welcome.
4. How busy is the resort early season, will the bars and restaurants be open or is it a ghost town?
Any guidance would be welcome
Cheers
Bert
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Generically Etap (now Ibis budget) or hotel B&B are better than Premiere Classe. All of these are en suite.
Dunno about the rest sorry
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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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Where are you staying in Tignes le Lac? If it is le Bec Rouge, then the old road goes right past it and you can unload from the road and then go and park. See http://www.tignes.net/en/practical-info/resort-map-91.html for a map.
On occaisions in early Decemebr there has been no snow at village level but there is always the glacier. Does the SCGB not publish snow depth records anymore?
I must admit if I planned a 6:00 start from Coquelles then I just wouldn't bother and keep driving overnight. So sorry I cannot help you there
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Bertie Wooster,
1) I always drive a bit further into France to stop.
2) You are allowed to park near your accommodation to unload in Le Lac.
3) Could be lots, could be just the glacier.
4) Everything should be open.
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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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Bertie Wooster, Can't Jeeves sort it all for you 
There are several hotels near Cite de Europe which I think are linked from the Cite de Europe site or Eurotunnel one, there is also a Holiday Inn nearby.
I have stayed here, which is easy to get to from Tunnel, but not for a few years http://www.hoteldugolf-calais.com/en
I would echo rjs, and see whether you can get a bit further into France - 2-hours driving will get you to Reims and there are plenty of budget hotels around their, check teh Ibis website
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Bertie Wooster, I can't say much about TLL in early season but we've done the same drive as you several times from Gloucestershire - leaving Thursday lunchtime in order to get to resort Saturday morning to get 8 days skiing in. There's also a little less UK traffic than on Friday but there always seems to be an accident around Leatherhead on the M25 so we always try to have a 90 minute contingency. We've stayed in the Coquelles Etap/Ibis Budget probably a dozen times now and have no problems with it, we're not fussy and it's only one night. Just make sure you also fuel-up in the Carrefour in Cite Europe after getting off the train as it's cheaper and it saves time the following morning. There are plenty of restaurants in Cite Europe, which is a 10 minute walk away, and for us that's the proper start of the holiday. It seems a long way to drive but the KMs tick down quickly in France and the worst part of the drive is from Glos to the Shuttle. It works out to roughly be a 25/75 split UK/France travel distance from Glos to Albertville.
We then stay somewhere within an hour or so away from resort on Friday night, for the 3V, Killy or Paradiski we'd ideally stay in Albertville and again make sure you fuel up there as it should have the right cold-weather additives. This then gets us into resort mid morning on Saturday before all the traffic and in time to have a few runs before lunch.
If you do travel up to resort on Saturday evening it can take ages - at last new year it took 3.5 hours from the valley in the afternoon/evening compared to the 1/2 hour we took in the morning. We decided years ago to do the bulk of the drive on Friday when our son was a baby, it's worked out well for us and you avoid the bulk of the Saturday resort traffic. I also don't see the point in driving all night just to arrive in resort like a zombie and losing a day anyway to recover.
For the return trip, we leave resort on Saturday evening after all the traffic's gone, get fuel and food around Chambery and usually stay at the Macon-Nord Etap. It's then a long drive on Sunday to get back to the Shuttle around 16:30, cross the Channel and drive back to Glos for around 10pm, traffic permitting.
Usual stuff about winter tyres, snow-chains, spare bulbs, breathalyzers, etc applies and there are dozens of threads on SHs already to cover those.
PM me if you need to.
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6Bertie Wooster, 6th Dec the resort won't be full (at all) but you will have most shops etc open. The drive up the valley will be much easier than later in the season -- even with snow there won't be much traffic. We normally do a shop in Chambery and get to Tignes for 7 or thereabouts. Reims is a good place to aim for on the first evening --- couple of hours down the road and plenty (admittedly chain) restaurants close to a ETAP/IBIS Budget. For the trip back we drive to Lyon, stop in an F1 with Courte Paille nearby for a steak frites and do most of the journey on Sunday. With planning and a good aeriel you can get the Archers Omnibus on longwave on the way back.
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IBIS Budget is a good choice. Like everyone else, I'd get a few more hours into France before stopping for the night, stopping around 1030 (have a meal en route) then have a more civilised start in the morning. Start around 0730 then stop for breakfast at 9.
It's more than two hours to Reims - quite a bit more if it's wet with a speed limit under 70 mph - but I do like to get south of Reims before stopping for the first time. Feels like you've really made progress. Start stopping too soon and it's endless.
Tignes will be a tad ghost-towny in early December but you might have some fantastic conditions and lovely quiet pistes.
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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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I agree with all those who say drive a bit further into France before stopping, at least to Bethune. Much better to get away from Calais area for the safety of your car apart from anything else. Don't go to F1 or anywhere else with shared bathrooms. After that you pays your money and it gets better the more you pay. You just have to see how basic you want to be. We have started using non chain hotels just off the motorway rather than the chains, use various hotel booking links. I'm not saying the ones we have found but much better and a decent breakfast. The further s you can get after the channel the sooner you will be in resort the next day. Leave your car in the free parking down in the valley after you have unloaded at the hotel and use the free shuttle bus to return. It will save the cost of a week's parking and the car is not left at (very) high altitude all week so may not be so snow covered.
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| Quote: |
It will save the cost of a week's parking and the car is not left at (very) high altitude all week so may not be so snow covered.
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but leave the handbrake off... 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I've been plenty of times to Tignes in early to mid December (there againthis year 9th-12th) and each time there's been plenty of cover (don't forget that as the main base height is 2100 metres that it should be cold enough by then to have the snow cannons running if there hasn't been a lot of natural snow) - a good clue to how snowsure Tignes is is that the link to Val D'Isere opens at the end of November.
As others have said most shops and restaurants will be open by then - oh and if you do pay for the parking the car park in Le Lac is underground so no worries about having to dig your car out of a snowdrift.
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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'll have been there for 2 weeks by then - just like the last 2 seasons. The resort will be in full swing - no ghosts at all. Don't forget the resort has been building up from opening on 4 Oct. It would be unusual for there to be no snow cover by that time - normally the links down to Val will be open - Boisses should be open but Brev is not normally scheduled to open its lifts until the late teens of Dec. Don't forget to have snow chains - you may well need them if only to get close to the accom for unloading. As for parking - if you are a diesel then it could be a huge false economy parking outdoors - it can be bitterly cold in December even down in Boisses - Lac3 Car Park will still be a balmy 10 degs.
+1 for BB hotels for cheap en suite. The one near the motorway in Troyes has a couple of restaurants within 200m - unlike some of their sites and a Le Clerc petrol station nearby.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for all the suggestions they will make Jeeves' planning of the finer details a lot easier.
I would love to drive a bit further into France but the wife is picking me up from a charity bash in London on the Friday and she doesn't relish the thought of me being crashed out in the passenger seat snoring and farting all the way to Reims - Ibis Coquelles it is.
Anyone used the Sanef tag for the tolls - are they worth the investment?
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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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In a Churchill Insurance Voice - Oh Yes!
Mine is actually with AREA (Lyon area) but if you do nt have a French bank account you need to go with the SANEF gang from Harrogate. I know sH Tigski is very happy with his.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Sanef tag.....Bliss, no more poor passenger having to wake up and hang out the window  . I've had one for a couple of years now
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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+1 for the Sanef tag. It saves having to wake up your passenger to find change in the dark. You can gain 10 minutes at busy tolls and it's always fun watching the big 4x4s fly past at 90mph+ just before the tolls and then taking 20 minutes to catch up again
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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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Bertie Wooster, we stayed in the Ibis Calais Tunnel Sous La Manche a few weeks ago - it's fine, quite good value and you've got all the restaurants in Cité Europe if you want to eat. I second the Sanef tag - you can always hire one from Tolltickets. (They've got a pickup point at the Folkestone services which is very handy.)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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+1 for tool doofer. The downside is that you see the cost all in one. Just got my bill for the (1 way) trip in August = £78.16
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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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| chocksaway wrote: |
In a Churchill Insurance Voice - Oh Yes!
Mine is actually with AREA (Lyon area) but if you do nt have a French bank account you need to go with the SANEF gang from Harrogate. I know sH Tigski is very happy with his. |
I've got mine with APRR just linked to my English credit card - no problem at all and slightly cheaper than UK Sanef.
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