 Poster: A snowHead
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So I've always wanted to visit Switzerland but not got there yet - briefly looked in the past at Saas Fee but there has been something stopping me from booking. So what I'm after is any advice/help in the resorts.
We would probably go half board in a Hotel as I have read it may be pretty expensive to eat out? - we don't eat a lot during the day normally Panini/soup etc . We normally have a couple of drinks after skiing, nice meal with bottle of wine then maybe just a walk out after our meal, not raving it up too much!
Skiing wise we prefer wide reds/blues we can ski blacks but my husbands dodgy knee doesn't like them so much now. don't like too many drag lifts or walking too much from lift to lift. We are looking to go middle of March time as we are in Saalbach in February. We normally ski Austria/Italy, we have dipped our toes in France.
So any help/advice on the resorts would be great.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Switzerland can be punishingly expensive, as much as I love it. My tip is Arosa-Lenzerheide. A large choice of decent hotels, a pleasant place to promenade after dinner and with the link between the resorts, loads and loads of enjoyable blue and red cruising. Pretty snowsure too in March. Also easy to get to Arosa on the train from Zurich with the railway station smack bang in the village centre.
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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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@Pam B, Mürren is about as Swiss as it gets, car free, picturesque, public transport to resort, stay with Ema at the Eiger guesthouse.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| LOTA wrote: |
| Switzerland can be punishingly expensive, as much as I love it. My tip is Arosa-Lenzerheide. |
Good tip. My 4 nights B&B in a nice hotel in the middle of Arosa has cost me 400CHF (£250 ish) in Feb so while CH can be expensive - if you want it to be - it doesn't have to be
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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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I've always fancied Murren. Only visited that area in the summer.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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We went to Davos a couple of years ago and loved it to bits. We booked everything ourselves so rented an apartment and got the train fron Zurich. As everyone has said the only draw back are the prices in Switzerland but would reccomend it to anyone
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@Tamland, I also love Davos but it's perhaps not the best place for one's first "Swiss" experience... Canary-Wharf-on-Snow is more like it.
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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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Swiss prices not really so bad.
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Murren is lovely not sure I would go there for its selection of blues and reds though which from memory of admittedly a long time ago are rather limited. Wengen may be a better alternative though it is as much English as Swiss.
You could stay in Klosters to ski Davos and get a less town like atmosphere for the same skiing.
Flims has a good selection of runs for all and Arosa Lenzerheide sound great but I have never been.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I love Swiss skiing. Must admit, I wasn't that impressed with Arosa though - not as picturesque as I expected.
I've done lots of rail safari trips around Switzerland. Nice to ski in the big international resorts but would also recommend checking out the smaller places such as Rochers de Naye, Chateau D'Oex, and Bettmeralp. There are some cracking resorts with thermal spas too like Leukerbad and Ovronnaz.
This map's pretty handy for planning such trips.
http://rogerlascellesmaps.co.uk/SkiRail_Product_Information.aspx?area=SkiRail_Product_Information
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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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Thanks for the replies I probably should have said but looking to do package with Tour Op as we live in northeast England and flights are limited so choices are Grindelwald, Saas Fee, Zermatt, Verbier or Wengen. Any thoughts on these resorts?
Thanks
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@Pam B, Well Zermatt will probably be more expensive than some of the other resorts you mention, but if you have never been to Zermatt before I always tell skiers that it's one place they should visit at least once in their lives. It has the most photogenic mountain in the World in my view (the Matterhorn), a wide variety of skiing, and some of the best mountain restaurants there are.
If you don't go to Zermatt then from the resorts you list I would say Wengen. I'm a regular visitor there, and imv the views of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau are second only to the Matterhorn. There are some excellent blue and red runs for you, the blue from Kleine Scheidegg down to Brandegg which takes you past the North face of the Eiger is particularly nice. If you're doing a TO package to Wengen then some of the better value hotels are the Bernerhof and the historic Falken. If you do go to Wengen (or Grindelwald) then you can get a 20% discount on your liftpass if you book it more than 21 days in advance from http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/winter/tourism/book-rent/early-bird-2-to-10-day-sportspasses/early-bird-2-to-10-day-sportpasses/ - this will almost certainly be cheaper than pre-buying your liftpass through the TO.
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You know it makes sense.
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Verbier is epic: big reds and a good sized area if you can get across to the other 4 Valleys resorts. It wasn't stupid expensive out on the slopes although if you went out in the evening you could spend a few hundred pounds in the bars quite easily 
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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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Go to Zermatt on a catered chalet holiday for three reasons:
- The catered chalet will take care of your food needs (we made sandwiches for lunch from the breakfast selection) and they serve wine with dinner and usually leave the bottles available for guests to drink into the evening as you talk to the other guests - half board at a hotel would be similar although probably without the endless supply of wine?
- Zermatt has loads of beautiful long and wide reds and blues and most of the lifts are chair lifts, trains or gondolas (can't remember many drag lifts) that are very forgiving.
- Zermatt is beautiful
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Poster: A snowHead
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Saas fee the only one on that list that I have been underwhelmed by. Limit area, glacier super flat.
Wengen significantly nice than Grindelwald and better placed for a day trip to Muerren.
Verbier also rather excellent, and over to 4 vallees has lots of "intermediate" terrain.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Zermatt fabulous. Lift pass is expensive, ( for Europe), however worth it. Hotels are better than French on average, same price or cheaper for the quality, and eating out need not be any dearer than France, but it can be if you want it to! It also has every bit of Après at all sorts of levels. I am biased as we are back there for the 4th time in 5 years after varying resorts for the last 30 years. Would I have got to another resort if I had gone to Zermatt first? I am now spoiled. 
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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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March is the best month to go to Zermatt.
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I would give Verbier a miss from your description of what you like. It is a perfectly decent resort and I am not knocking it but it does not really have lots of reds and blues that are easy to hand. To cover distance you have to go over to the other valleys where there are quite a few surface lifts / walks which it appears you are less keen on. As a resort it is not particularly charming but specialises in lively night life which also does not sound as if it is what you are looking for.
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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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Zermatt is expensive, always has been even the Swiss say so, I'd suggest Wengen, it's much prettier than Grindelwald and has a bit better access to reds and blues than Murren, lot of nice mountain restaurants for lunch, there's just two drag lifts left in the area now Bumps and Tschuggen both of which can be avoided. If you like good food I'd recommend the Hotel Alpenrose, or for an economy trip the Bernerhof (which is in the high street)
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