 Poster: A snowHead
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... and not too busy 
Hi all, the wife has instructed me to choose a ski holiday in February, which is great cos we haven't been on the snow for an age, but then she kind of threw me a curved ball as she has invited her friend (and her beau) to join us.
That in itself isn't a problem as they are lovely people, and the fact that they are beginners isn't a problem either, its just that I am now under pressure to produce the best ski holiday ever! 
Actually, I'm not under pressure by anyone other than myself, but want to give them a great experience whilst making sure that we have a great time too.
Also we are limited in choice of resort as we are flying directly from the Isle of Man to Geneva with Inghams, so our options are Switzerland / France.
In terms of cost, we will probably be looking at a midrange hotels with a sauna and / or indoor pool (although a decent catered chalet would also be nice)? So a bit pricier on what we normally use, but as friends are coming with us we want to turn it into a holiday and not just skiing til we drop 
In terms of a pretty beginners resort I am looking at Grindelwald? And me and the missus can try out a few of reds and hop over to Wengen now and then?
I was originally looking at something like Val Thorens, but I'm worried that it will be too busy and put them off, so somewhere not too busy with wide gentle blues for them to play on, and a few gentle reds / blacks for me and the missus.
We are thinking of heading out around the 21 Feb, mostly to keep the cost down, but also in the hope the slopes will be quieter?
and cheapish ale ....actually that one is my criteria ... just thought I'd throw it in 
as usual any help or suggestions will be greatly received
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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February is slap bang across the UK and French half term holidays, so very much doubt you will get quieter slopes if you head to France...
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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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I would also like to point out, Grindelwald isn't a pretty resort
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
We are thinking of heading out around the 21 Feb, mostly to keep the cost down
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does not compute. One of the priciest times of the year. To keep costs down avoid the main school holidays. In France that means avoiding the last three weeks in February and the first week in March.
There is no such thing as guaranteed snow, really. Yes, there are glaciers, but if the only snow is on a glacier you really wouldn't want to go there, especially with beginners. In the main season you shouldn't have much problem with snow and beginners need very little to get plenty out of their week - instructors will find snow.
If you could go, say, the last week in January or the second week of March options would be cheaper and slopes quieter - I do agree that very busy slopes can be off putting for beginners.
Beer in France is cheap if you buy it in a supermarket and expensive if you buy it in a bar. It's cheaper in Austria but that's not on your list. There are also more "pretty" resorts in Austria. France has some pretty resorts too, though Val Thorens isn't one of them.
For your friends, the quality of the ski school will be absolutely key. How sporty/fit are they?
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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 wrote: |
| For your friends, the quality of the ski school will be absolutely key. How sporty/fit are they? |
Agreed, and ease of access to the ski school meeting point. Rubbish lessons and a PITA route to the meeting point will put a dampner, at least, on every day of the holiday.
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Hi Pam / Jo and Chris,
thanks for your input, in response to the questions that Pam raised.
they are both quite sporty (run half marathons and such), but beginners to this sport.
The price was based on the prices on inghams, and that week is as cheap as the last two weeks in January, obviously the second and third weeks in Feb are expensive or already full, so I hoped that the last week would be quieter.
I know there is no such thing as guaranteed snow, and pretty is definitely in the eye of the beholder, so these were a bit tongue in cheek, although the beer price is clearly deadly serious.
I'll speak to the missus tonight about the timing to see if we can go forwards or backwards and avoid Feb in France, or if not we will stick with Swizterland
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| pam w wrote: |
| For your friends, the quality of the ski school will be absolutely key. How sporty/fit are they? |
Agreed, and ease of access to the ski school meeting point. Rubbish lessons and a PITA route to the meeting point will put a dampner, at least, on every day of the holiday. |
any suggestions Rob?
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@Sack the Juggler, first question - can you change your dates to sometime out of school holidays?
Second question - what's your budget?
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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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@Sack the Juggler, Les Gets, but probably best to bring your trip forward to end Jan/beginning of Feb. Ski school with The Snow Institute or BASS. If you choose your accommodation carefully you can have good access to the slopes and be central in the village.
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I was going to suggest Les Gets too. There are plenty of SHs who know the resort very well and could advise on precise accommodation.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Sack the Juggler, if it's not too probing a question what's the rough budget, less than 500pp, less than 1k, less than 1.5k or more?
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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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hi all,
thanks for the great input! rough budget for flights and catered accommodation is approx. £700-800 pp (we want a sauna / pool if possible) then we have ski hire and lift passes on top - just checked inghams for Les Gets....  but they ignore it in favour of Morzine / Avoriaz
also just checked Thomson Ski, who also fly from IOM but just to France, and they ignore Les Gets too.
Just having a quick look at Thomson, they have a nice chalet, chalet balcon 1, in belle plagne, anyone used this? and the ski school there?
dates - I'm sure I can move it back to 1st week in March
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samoen? Great Village, restaurants, good beginners area at 1600, pretty much guaranteed snow. Beige et roc hotel with indoor pool, even if a bit small. Possible alternative, also part of the Grand massif.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
pretty much guaranteed snow
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should be OK up there, but could be a different story down in Samoens village. People going for their first ski holiday might like to be able to look out of the window and see it right outside! On the other hand, it's more authentically attractive than a higher resort like Les Gets or Les Saisies (and I wouldn't recommend the latter because of the ski school situation). The proper traditional villages which have been there for hundreds of years, not just since the 1970s, weren't built up in the snowy mountains, but down in the sheltered valleys.
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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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| Quote: |
I'm sure I can move it back to 1st week in March
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still French school holidays - the second week would be better.
Does your location rule out travelling independently, just getting flights and sorting out your own accommodation?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hi Pam,
good point 7 March it is
we could probably travel independently if it was just me and the missus, we usually do if we are skiing in Sweden for example, but with our friends along its easier with transfers if we do it through a travel company - they block book the seats also so not sure if we could do it as cheaply, so for ease of travel we will be using a tour operator.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Flybe do IOM to Geneva and times are pretty good for the week 7-14 March the base fare is £175. I'd think about Pam's suggestion of something DIY.
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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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| Quote: |
with our friends along its easier with transfers if we do it through a travel company
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actually, with four of you, it would be very cost-effective to rent a car.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| tarrantd wrote: |
| Flybe do IOM to Geneva and times are pretty good for the week 7-14 March the base fare is £175. I'd think about Pam's suggestion of something DIY. |
hi tarrant, can you show me a screen shot of that please? When I tried this afternoon it was £264 including baggage, now it's £274, so maybe I'm doing something wrong, but my price was without insurance, without choosing seats, etc?
Really interested to see how you are doing it £100 cheaper pp
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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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@Sack the Juggler, +1 for Les Gets. great place for beginners and more experienced skiers. Good ski schools. Great value ski pass (Les Gets/Morzine, rather than the whole pds) get it early they tend to have a discount also. Mont Chery is fantastic and quiet. Lovely little village with some nice bars and good restaurants. Beer not too expensive. Really easy transfer, just 1 hr from GVA, so not too pricey to get a private transfer (search forums here loads on transfer companies) excellent snow making, really wouldnt be worried about snow conditions. You may have to DIY a bit, but not too difficult.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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might be worth mentioning that Les Gets is a really easy drive - not lots of hairpin bends etc.
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really limited with flying from IOM and certainly TO choices are not in the prettier resorts and as they are all in France you can forget a cheap beer. 8 euros for 500 ml glass of french made kronenburg. Not sure of logistics but if easy to do i would consider driving to Austria. prettier resorts and cheaper beer. If france then do catered chalet and you can drink the free wine and have your own supermarket bought beers and maybe venture out a couple of nights.
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| Quote: |
8 euros for 500 ml glass of french made kronenburg
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More like 5 euros in my local. A bit more for the better beers. 
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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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pam next time i decide to come to France i need to drink in your local as my experience of L2A and Montgenevre was 8 euros. L2A was 5.50 in happy hours between 1700-1800 in certain pubs
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| Sack the Juggler wrote: |
Just having a quick look at Thomson, they have a nice chalet, chalet balcon 1, in belle plagne, anyone used this? and the ski school there?
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Not stayed there, but very close - the apartment complex looked very smart and is piste side. The blue run down to Bellecotte is wide and not overly taxing, although it does get chopped up towards the latter part of the afternoon, being a main thoroughfare.
The run drops down to the Arpette chair which accesses quite a lot of benign blue runs that drop back to Belle Plagne - a great area to learn on, I would say, without travelling too far.
BP centre is a good 6-7 minute walk, although one can ski round to that area along a wide and gentle "road" that passes the higher section of BP (the "road" requires a short, gentle uphill pole/walk to begin with, from the Chalet Balcon apartments, IIRC).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Used the pool at Chalet Balcon a couple of times, nice enough rooms but quite small - like most of BP. Beginners will probably find the piste directly outside the chalet a little intimidating, but as mentioned above you can always take the green from the back door.
I like La Plagne and BP is my favourite village, just checked the Crystal site and it seems good value as well.
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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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| Sack the Juggler wrote: |
When I tried this afternoon it was £264 including baggage, now it's £274, so maybe I'm doing something wrong, ?
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Try clearing the cache/cookies on your computer before revisiting as some travel & airline websites increase the cost the more often you look
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I'm not sure if Inghams cover the area, but Valloire/Valmeinier might be a good shout. Although it's also a fair trek co from Geneva. They're relatively pretty with enough going on to keep people busy in the evenings (especially Valloire which is a bit bigger than Valmeinier). Beer prices on the slopes were reasonable, in town too. Although I made the mistake of asking for a pint of Galibier beer, the bar maid warned me it would be an eye watering €12, but I got the nod from the OH/FD. I made that one last a while.
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You know it makes sense.
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I like Valloire but I suspect it won't offer really good options for ski school.
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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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It seemed predominantly ESF when we were there @pam w, which obviously a lot of people don't like. We've only had Jnr complain about a rather brusk (relatively) elderly female instructor he had for a day out of about 20 or so days we've used them between us.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I don't know Chalet Balcon, but we did our second ski trip to Belle Plagne in mid Dec last year, and am planning on revisiting this year. A good variety of wide blue runs on which to practice and gain confidence.
Can highly recommend Oxygen Ski School in BP. Great guys and they really bought our skiing and confidence on and we will be using them again this year (Dec snow permitting etc.)
I can't comment on the variety of the more challenging runs at the moment, but will hopefully be in a position to do so later in the year. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Good recommendation, newby +1 for Oxygene.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Fri 14-11-14 15:29; edited 1 time in total
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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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@Sack the Juggler, You mentioned you might consider Grindelwald and then pop over to Wengen from time to time. Have you considered staying in Wengen. It's really pretty and there are hotels that Inghams goes to that should fit your budget. Getting the train up the mountain is always special.
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Why not have a look at La Clusaz? It's a traditional French resort with some good greens for beginners to practise on and only one hour from Geneva. You can also ski in Le Grand Bornand which is a short ride a away on the free bus. The Hotel Chalet Alpage (www.chalet-alpage.com) is lovely and should fit the bill. Not the cheapest place for beers though, although the small bar/restaurant on the slopes across the road from hotel is very reasonably priced.
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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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La Clusaz is unlikely to offer small groups with an English-speaking (proper English speaking.....) instructor, as is Les Saisies which would otherwise be good, and a lot more convenient (La Clusaz, nice place, but sprawly). Getting the complete beginners into top quality ski lessons, with a guaranteed small group might make or break this holiday. An ESF group of 12, of which they are the only Anglophones, might be OK. But it might not......
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Hi Guys and gals, thanks for all the suggestions and comments, so far I'm drawn to chalet balcon at Belle Plagne and using Oxygen ski school - just checking through Thomson now 
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Check Crystal too....oddly cheaper on their offering (only cursory look, though).
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Incidentally, Euan Gardiner (sp?) at Oxygene may well be worth looking at. He's been recommended several times by various posters here.
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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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Holiday booked and Euan Gardiner booked by the said beginners!
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Excellent
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