 Poster: A snowHead
|
It's a long one but hope this is useful to others as I couldn't find a whole lot of info before we went away.
Resort: La Thuile
Country: Italy
Domain: Espace San Bernado
Date 8th-15th Feb 2015
Our holiday: 4 x adults (mid/late 20’s), self-catered apartment travelling with Crystal Ski.
Basics: 2 linked resorts spread across Italy and France, (la Thuile linked to La Rosiere) in close proximity to Courmayer and Pila.
Journeys:
Closest airport is Turin and transfer takes around 2 hours. Flew in from Bournemouth airport and flight was around 1.5 hours. Bournemouth to Turin was such a quick and easy trip, no issues whatsoever. Bournemouth airport has a “new” terminal and is so much better than it used to be. We also liked Turin airport. Both are quite small still but modern and more efficient than Chambery, Geneva etc. There is even a “Tiger” shop! Only downside with the arrival to Italy was getting on the coach at Turin, and having to wait for the Gatwick flight to land after us. We waited an hour but there were some poor people who had already waited an hour before us (and were obviously not very happy as would be expected).
Accommodation:
• We stayed at the Planibel apartments which is allegedly 4* (it’s not…would say expect 2-3* in reality for apartments) and is a combination of part hotel, part self-catered apartments. It’s all part of one big complex that has a small supermarket, takeaway shop, couple of cafes in close proximity, clothing and tourist shops, games room underneath the complex and apparently a pool (though we didn’t visit).
• The main perk of the apartments is that they are at the very foot of the slopes (versus being 10 mins away in the old town like the other main hotels) and we had a view of the runs into resort from our balcony. We were able to ski to the bottom between the gondola and Bosco chair and basically hop into our balcony within 2 minutes which was just brilliant.
• The apartment itself although very dated in décor, in terms of size and functionality was ideal for our small group and totally reasonable given the small price we paid for it (hence why probably 3* in terms of the size). We had a separate bedroom and bathroom then a lounge with sofa beds and a second bathroom, plus table and small kitchen area plus balcony. Do not expect an oven! We had a microwave with “grill” and 2 hobs. Pans were of ok quality though we brought a non-stick ourselves. We cooked for 3 nights out of the 6 which was do-able. Electric hobs take forever to heat up. Only main complaint was one of the showers was very poor, and at best like being dripped on by a gnat by scorching/freezing water. Shower was the only real complaint! Lots of hanging space in bedroom plus a safe.
• Be aware though, we were NOT expecting housekeeping as had not been told this would happen as we have every other holiday like this. We arrived back one day a little confused as all the beds had been done, rubbish cleared etc. (all the usual stuff). While we obviously appreciated this in the end, it felt a little like a violation of privacy only considering we hadn’t been expecting it. We always keep our money and details in the safe when out but I was more glad for it given we didn’t know in advance anybody would be coming in.
Skiing & terrain
• Being a masters student at the moment I found out before we went that i would be entitled to a significant discount on my lift pass just by proving my enrolment at the uni. Visited lift pass office who sent me to the tourist info office. cue filling in a form entirely in Italian (with embarrassingly far far too much pointing, guessing and nodding), paid 5 euros for a "pass universaire" piece of paper and on returning to the lift pass office got a 50 euro discount on the regular lift pass price. Even crystal didn't know about it when we donated our passes at the end of the week. Worth doing if your a student, just dont forget your ID from uni and proof you enrolled. http://www.lathuile.net/datapage.asp?id=268&l=3&s=I
•Overall the grooming was very good and we had a week of sunshine following the previous week of a snow dump. Our last was snowing and a powder day which was even better and even quieter probably because the Vis wasn’t as good.
• Fantastic skiing! Good mix of blues, reds and nice blacks. Around 130kms of piste across 2 resorts. Obviously had some repetition by the end of the week (as we ususally try and clock up mileage) but it meant we just ended up skiing the places we knew we had enjoyed. Slopes were so quiet, almost empty at times on the la Thuile side. We quite literally had NO queues all week, apart from maybe a less than 5min queue on 1 or 2 occasions – Unheard of on any of our previous holidays in France. The runs were pretty well linked and there was enough choice and variety for a week for 3 good intermediate/advanced skiers and a boarder, particularly going over to La Ros and back as well.
• One major downside is that it’s not great for boarders; ok and manageable but not great. Lots of flats/places requiring carrying of speed. We spent a bit of time waiting for our friend to walk to catch us up or many a time borrowing poles/being towed. If happy to go faster this will not be an issue but given she wasn’t that confident going fast to overcome the hills the other side of some slopes, this meant she had a bit of walking to do!
• Skiing on the Rosiere side on first day we went – personally hated it. Had been 10 degrees, snow was super slushy and sticky and a huge difference from the la Thuile side. Difference was astonishing! Was glad when got back over to our home side. The notorious drag lifts are indeed long and they sharply pull you a bit at the start, although they’re not the massive pain everyone makes them out to be if you’re ok with drags. Don’t fall off the first lift though as you’re in the middle of nowhere but the second lift is fine as by a piste – haha! We went back to La Ros later in the week when temperatures were lower and it was much better but still seemed to have “stickier” snow and was significantly busier all round. There is the start of a nice black run down to Ecudets chair – the top was great fun but the mid section through the trees was awful at 11am having been in the shade. Icy, rock hard, solid boulders rolling all over the place. Was easier to stick to the ice sheets rather than attempt to slow down in the boulders! A tricky run but the red at the bottom leading to the lift was rewarding.
• Red 7 – this is a long cruisy but narrowish red at right hand side of piste map which having been told about it, we felt was overrated! It’s just a long road run basically which takes forever as its very shallow. Didn’t bother again after doing it the first time. Red 6 from the top down into resort however was one of our favourite runs. Nice combo of fast cruisy sections, steeper bits, tree skiing and option to dip in and out of off piste in the trees, few little jumps on and off the piste etc. Fun! There’s a great red “bowl” leading down to the Argillian and Arnouvaz lifts and we spent a lot of time here as well as the red runs down to the Fourclaz express.
• World cup black run is also great (think it’s number 2). Top section was incredibly steep though and many people falling or just skidding whole section. We mostly missed this bit out and just jumped straight on it from the halfway point from past the Clotze restaurant next to gondola station. The blacks are good although not all seem graded as would be elsewhere.
Food and drink
• Butchers in the village was great. Bought all our meat here for self-catering. Absolutely delicious meats cheeses salamis. Supermarket was ok but seemed expensive at times. We brought lots of bits out to resort ourselves and topped up from the butchers/supermarket. Quick breakfast from the café next to the Bosco chair was lovely! Breakfast was choc banana crepes and a cappuccino for brekki a few days. Glad we didn’t discover it on day one else we’d have spent a lot more money I think! The gelato in there is an absolute must too!
• Weren’t staying there but the old town seemed good for evenings, but still pretty quiet. Very pretty at night. Pepita’s café next to the garage was just brilliant. Beautiful, delicious food. Have the steak and the tiramisu (the best version I’ve ever had!) Also ate in La Raclette (pizzeria) in the Planibel complex. Tasty pizzas and good service. Local Aosta valley wine was nice too.
• Sadly didn’t make it to Chocolat the chocolate café – heard great things about it though. Also serendipity café seemed very pretty next to the Miramonti and has a good rep. Le Coq Maf did tasty cocktails and with every round of drinks bought out a full snack platter. Great! Small though and décor seemed a bit uninspiring.
• On mountain: Prices were ok generally about 6 euro for sandwich or pizza. We mostly made packed lunches and sat in the snow but ate out a couple of times. Le foyer café near the Chaz Dura lift did brilliant stand-up-spoon, cream topped silky hot chocolates and doughnuts. Wish we’d eaten here earlier in the week as had only previously stopped for a beer and then later a choc. Food smelled great.
• Clotze bar we found only ok. They have a system of ordering at the bar then going to sandwich desk to have your food made. Fine in principle but was rather annoying as spent ages waiting to see the board to choose what you want only to be told you then have to go queue at the bar to place your order and come back and queue again! Sandwiches we had were ok but nothing amazing. Possibly just a poor choice on our part but not our favourite place. To be fair the music was really good though!
• Restaurant at the top of red 6 home run. Oriental décor inside. Good beers and run loungers outsize. Stopped here a couple of times.
Après/Nightlife:
• Unfortunately would say overall pretty limited. Don’t expect anything like Val D/Mayrhofen/Ischgl etc.
• Bar by the gondola station we stopped at few times for drinks at end of day. Not much going on. Ok for a beer.
• Kings pub – old school impression of a traditional brit pub?! Bit ropey. Drinks were ok and they offer free Wi-Fi however we spent more time trying to connect than actually using it and when on it was very slow. Not really worth the effort. Someone said the Cage is much better but unfortunately we didn’t make it here.
• Brother in law and friend went to the Konver "Music café" over the bridge for nightlife at 2am. Feedback was that it was all a bit odd, music average and not many people there. They wouldn’t have gone again if it hadn’t been the last night anyway and they said they wouldn’t recommend to others.
• Large games room under Planibel complex. Was ok for few games of air hockey, mini bowling and they had loads of arcade games. Killed an hour or so here one eve to see what it was about!
• Spent one evening at the spa – a definite must do! Really nice relaxing evening even if you’re not a spa person like my husband! Ended our day around 3.30pm to get back to the apartments and get changed. We caught the 4.10pm bus to Courmayer (heading towards the gondola) and stay on until you reach Pre-Saint Didier. You’ll need to get off at the first stop in the village and follow the easily visible signs to “Terme.” Big of a scrum to get on the bus in Thuile though! If we hadn’t got there in the queue/fought our way on with everyone else the next bus was at 4.40. Even at 4.45 the queue at the spa desk was a bit busy so recommend getting the earlier bus
Overall:
We really really liked this resort and the skiing was first class, the people lovely and food brilliant. The après was quiet but for us in no way a deal breaker to return, we just would have liked a bit more choice really. The numbers on the slopes and no queues sold it to us! I think if you were staying in a hotel like the Miramonti or the glacier then you might not notice the après at the end of the day so much. Looking forward to returning again here in the future.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 19-02-15 23:47; edited 2 times in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
FiFi_Trixibell, thanks for the excellent and detailed report. I was there 23-30 January but I haven't had anything like the time available since my return as to be able to put together such a detailed report.
Agree with your comments about Pepita Cafe and the coffee shop closest to the Bosco Express chair. We had a better experience of La Rosiere though. It is noticeably warmer, although we found the snow there to be good. We especially liked the red run down under the Fort chair and the Relais du Petit St Bernard for food / drink
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
@JohnHSmith, Unfortunately I didn't really have the time, mostly procrastinating a masters assignment!!
Yes we liked the look of the Relais du petit st Bernard but only saw it as we were coming up on the chair and wished we'd stopped for a beer!
I think my experience of La Ros was no reflection of the resort and skiing itself (with the exception of the increase in business!) - my initial reaction was just one of pure struggle at not remembering how to turn properly in what I can imagine was more like April slush! very silly. The second visit across in much colder conditions was so much more enjoyable which surprised me as it proved I prefer hardpack conditions for sure. The very long blue run all the way down from the top (12/13?) was a great fast carve down before doing the runs to Ecudets. Still not sure I was swayed enough by that side though to go and stay there in future but great to experience the two. We did stock up in the carrefour and stuff out backpacks with camembert and pastries though after a tartiflette lunch which was nice! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
@FiFi_Trixibell,
Nice report and a lot how I remember it from quite a few years ago now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
@FiFi_Trixibell,
Excellent review - brings back great memories from our trip there last year. Next time, try the pizza in Le Foyer. It's superb.
I'm sure someone will, sooner rather than later, open a decent bar at end of the slopes to cater for the après ski crowd or else the existing one by gondola station will have a bit of a makeover - it's ok but considering location, could be much, much better!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
@FiFi_Trixibell, thanks for this - La Thuile is on my list of resorts to visit (love the idea of the quiet slopes in particular) so I was interested to read about your experiences! We were hoping to manage a sneaky last-minute cheap second trip this year, but unfortunately this is not going to be possible so it'll go on the shortlist for 2016 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@catclaires, definitely try and get out there! For february I was just shocked at how few people there were. People seemed to get up late so if we were on first lifts it was quiet, then by about 3 it was just the 4 of us it seemed most of the time!
@Paul100, I do agree, it seems like such a shame there isn't just a little bit more going on at the bottom of the slopes but then if there was, I can imagine word would get out!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@FiFi_Trixibell, good to see that the Planibel apartments haven't changed. They looked dated when I visited about 15 years ago.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
