 Poster: A snowHead
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Before booking with Bura Snow several members of our group tried to find reviews from previous clients. The only reviews we found were glowing.
Our experience of the Bura snow chalet in La Rosiere was far from glowing!
We booked the whole chalet (16 people) 14 of us decided to drive and the other two flew to Geneva. We were refunded £25 each for not using the transfer service. The “flying two” had to use a coach then a mini bus and finally a taxi (that never turned up!) After contacting Matt…again… they hopped into a local taxi and made their way to La Rosiere from Bourg St Maurice. The taxi driver could not find the chalet, he only spoke French and none of the chalet hosts could help as they didn’t speak any French. Using our school days French we told him we would come and find him. A 2.5 hour transfer actually took over 4 hours. Apparently if only a few fly this is how the transfers work.
When we arrived the chalet was freezing. We were told that this was because they had had all the windows open to air it. Plausible. Every day we arrived back to freezing cold bedrooms. The hosts had turned all of the heaters off in the bedrooms and showers. Showering is interesting as no two showers can be run at the same time! Luckily the lounge/dining area was very warm.
There is not enough comfortable seating for 16 people, in fact by the end of the week there was not enough seating at the dining table for 16 as several chairs broke. The younger members of our party were reduced to sitting on the stools kept on the balcony. The food is adequate, we were not expecting cordon bleu, but did expect enough for everyone. One medium cake does not feed 16! The bread is limited so no chance to fill up on that.
Our biggest gripe would be about the cleanliness of the kitchen and eating area. Using the dustpan and brush to clean a table? Dirty table mats, a filthy sink and we won’t even mention the bin, the cooker and the fridge!!!
We had booked to have a packed lunch each day. A baguette, chocolate bar and a bottle of water (we were not offered cans of drink). Several times the rolls were prepared the night before and left on the dining table (or should that be the work area to repair your snow board!!) We took it upon ourselves to bag them up and put them on the balcony (we had been told under no circumstances to use the fridge…….in fact the balcony was a cleaner, safer place.) The milk (long life not fresh) is decanted into jugs in the morning and left on the side until empty. Needless to say it goes off; we discovered this after having cereal with rancid milk.
The hosts were pleasant. They kept themselves to themselves and had very little to do with us. Serving breakfast in your pyjamas, matted hair all over the place (and in one of our dinners) and screwed up clothes…. I think this gives you an idea of how the place is run.
A couple of afternoons we returned to the chalet to find the door open and no chalet hosts. There is no safe. We then put our valuables in the car for safe keeping.
If this place had some money spent on it, new bed linen, quilts, spare table mats, decent dining chairs and a working fire it would be quite pleasant.
La Rosiere is a wonderful resort and despite the above would definitely return.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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welcome to Snowheads, @Ginaj , 
Never heard of Bura Snow. Looked up their website and see they have the Chalet Mamiray - is that where you stayed?
We stayed there several times, years ago, with Ski Olympic, who were very good. The chalet was tired, the kitchen wasn't up to "commercial catering" but the hosts were excellent and made it work.
Sounds a bit shambolic. How much did you pay?
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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 think shambolic sums it up!! Yes Chalet Mamiray. We paid £12,000 as a group. My first experience of a catered chalet but friends have said not to be put off. They have travelled with Skibeat and highly recommend them. Live and learn!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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750 each. Did that cost cover just the transfer and the catered chalet accommodation? That sounds very expensive - and it not good value. If you'd shopped around you should have got flights for that money too, in a basic chalet, which it was. It was a busy French school holiday week but that doesn't usually have a big impact on costs at a British catered chalet.
It sounds like it was all being run on a pared-down budget, but that's £214 for a double room, half board plus a basic picnic. Not a pared-down price.
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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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Absolutely shocking that the chalet staff couldn't speak enough French to explain to a French taxi driver where they were. Just pathetic.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Ginaj, I stayed there in April 2013. We paid £699 each but this included a full lift pass and ski hire plus transfers so was a reasonable price. Sounds like they have only gone downhill since then. Far from keeping themselves to themselves, the hosts we had just wanted to party with the guests. This is a copy of my review on Tripadvisor from that trip.
"Stayed here with 2 teenagers having been to the resort several times. I booked this chalet due to it being good value (all inclusive). Another reason for booking was that the web site stated it was "just a 2 min walk to the lifts". Upon arrival, it was soon clear that this was a vast exaggeration of the truth. The chalet hosts stated the only realistic way to the slopes was a 8-10min bus ride. Fortunately the bus stops right outside but doesn't really make up for not being able to walk there in 2 mins. I have fed this back to the owner who to his credit has changed the web site - however, in my opinion, this is simply not a walkable distance with ski kit (uphill on snow / ice covered paths).
The web site also advertised the chalet had Wi-fi. With teenage kids who need to be occupied of an evening to avoid being bored of all the adult chit chat WI-fi is another factor which secured my booking. However, an email to guests 2 days before the holiday stated the Wi-fi wasn't working. The reality - as the chalet hosts told us - was that there had been no Wi-Fi all season. I do feel misled that the owner had not seen fit to advise us about this at the time of booking. To side step the issue and say there was other WiFi in the bars is not ideal especially when it means taking the children to the bars and incurring extra costs paying for drinks to access the wifi.
The web site also states they will provide free sandwiches on the transfer bus. A nice idea given it takes about 2.5 hours and a good reason to avoid airplane food. However, there was no food forthcoming (and no explanation) which is another niggle which leaves you hungry until you arrive.
In short, if you promise something for a paying guest, then please make sure you deliver on it.
I also have reservations about the suitability of this chalet for children. I go into chalet holidays with an open mind about other guests and I have no issue with communal living. However, there seemed to be a 'party' culture which meant lots of noise, drinking and music from the living room area up to 2-3am on at least 2 nights. This may not have been a problem but the rooms above the lounge could hear everything from downstairs, there is no soundproofing. The staff warn you on arrival it can be noisy as sound throughout the chalet travels - hey, they even provide ear plugs ! But it's a bit late to warn us of noise once we get there...and the chalet hosts seem only too keen to be part of the party. I did have a sense of humour failure when one of the other guests came into our room at 1am looking for one of the staff bedrooms !
On a positive note, the hosts were very nice people, the food was very good and they know how to cater for their guests in difficult conditions. Overall, the price still represented good value. My quibbles were based on what I saw as false promises which took the edge very slightly off a great holiday. The skiing was fantastic, the weather was great for the most part and I will be going back to the resort. However, I don't think I would venture back to this chalet - just personal preference.
_________________
To SKI = to Spend the Kids Inheritance
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