 Poster: A snowHead
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Title says it all really - anyone know of anywhere in the Alps which would be suitable for a late March (19th) week for one or two couples which has it's own hot tub but is not catered?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@chopkins13, sometimes catered places will sell you self catered especially at the start or end of the season so worth asking if you see something you fancy. I'm also messaging another snowhead who might be able to help you with this one.
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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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Unlikely unless you pay an awful lot, because they need a whole lot of care and maintenance if they are not to become disgusting bacteria-soups...... and there'd be no management on hand to see what people get up to. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Chalet Sauterelle in Morzine- might be a bit big but is self catered with a hot tub
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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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why is a hot tub so necessary?
and as Pam, suggests, yeeeuch. the worst thing is that I am pretty sure exactly what's swimming in there with you...
ugh.
a log fire however is cheery and hygienic, but please bring your own furry shag pile rug.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Would you like to sin
With Elinor Glyn
On a tiger skin?
Or would you prefer
To err with her
On some other fur?
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@pam w, titter
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I suffer quite badly with painful leg muscles when skiing and a nightly dip in a hot tub works wonders....regardless of the perhaps questionable bacteria content - though I wouldn't rush to put my head under the water and always shower after a dip!!
Maybe I need to temper my requirements slightly to a 'jacuzzi bath' !!!
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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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Hey peeps - Sarah PMd me about this.
You probably won't find a Self catered chalet with a Hot Tub as the maintenance is SO high on them - UK law states that the water must be tested 3 times a day. And once the Cynuric acid reaches a certain point the whole lot needs emptying and replacing - that takes a LONG time, and takes AGES to heat back up again.
As most self catered properties are (financailly) handled remotely, with in resort things like cleaning/maintenance coming in at extra costs being handled by a management company, finding a management company who will inspect your hot tub and maintain in properly will come in a mega costs.
From experience with catered chalet, we now have to lock our hot tub at night as
1. Chemicals are added at night (sometimes in the morning if they've become inactive overnight) and they need to disperse before it can be used
2. after guests get drunk on the chalet wine they cause chaos, running around naked, putting bubbles in it, leaving the top off all night with the jets turned on and
3. Non-guest hot tub raiders invite themselves in to use it (not cool) and yes, this has happened.
When we have self caterers in the Chalet we take the hot tub off the menu because of these reasons.
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@Mountain Addiction, even worse than I imagined.
the MiL has one at her rental apartment (which is right on the Croisette in Cannes, beside a rather expensive posh hotel) - she got complaints once from the hotel because the posh guests of their could see the not so posh guests of hers frolicking and fornicating in the hot tub from their terraces.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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 must add that we stayed at Chalet Koala in La Tania for New Years week last year which was self catered and had a great hot tub. We didn't have any of the afore mentioned issues! I'd be back in a flash except snow cover at that time of year could be less than perfect down to La Tania and the chalet is too big just for two couples.
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If the chalet has a owner management in resort (sometimes living under the chalet in an apartment) you'll get a hot tub, or if they've got their own self catered empire and they do everything themselves then you may get a hot tub. But most of the time it's logitically and finacially not worth it - and they're a real pain in the ski bum to get fixed as the preiously mentioned trashing can get even more out of hand than mentioned -
plus, sometimes people break 'the rules' and take glasses down to the tub, we've had breakages before which have entered the system and literally taken ALL DAY to clean out of the pipes - that is one place you do not want broken glass
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You know it makes sense.
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My kids think I'm nuts but I frequently travel with a pool water testing kit. Mine is only suitable for the basic tests on chlorine treated pools but I'm sure you will be able to buy easy, basic, test kits for the other most frequently used spa treatment systems if you find out in advance what system is in use at the property you are renting!
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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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The filters are a real pain to keep clean, and we have 2 for these reasons - you need to leave it in the nasty powerful solution that basically breaks down everything in the filter then you have to jet wash it out.
Pre-season we have to use a special cleaning agent which breaks down all the body fats that get stuck in the pipes and the hairs that get stuck in that, then empty that out, then refill and rinse through, then empty that out, then refill and balance - the whole process takes about 3 days.
for companies we've worked for in the past, i know for a fact that some chalets answers to most hot tub problems is 'blitz it with chlorine' - but that is most definitely not the proper answer, there are ph levels to balance, alkalinity, free chlorine and the cynuric acid to check, the acid check is unavoidable and where most hot tub problems stem from as there is nothing that can 'reverse' the need for the water to be changed.
If i get to go on a ski holiday and there just happens to be a tub there (i won't purposely book a chalet with a tub) i'm taking my test strips before i get in.
Warm water is where Legionaires disease breeds.
I once had a guest who was having a chalet built with a Hot tub who quized me about hot tub maintence (purely because he wanted to know how to do his) the first words out my mouth were 'You'll need chlorine' he said to me ' I don't want chemicals in my hot tub' (like it was optional) i then explained everything i just did... he decided he didn't want legionnaires and thought that putting chlorine in his tub was a good idea.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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natural as in eco? or non-chemical based - i would not recommend the later for commercial use
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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 it's both and yes it's commercial!
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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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@sarah, It never ceases to amaze me on this (normally most helpful site) how one seemingly innocuous question or comment can unleash a whole world of 'opinion' - maybe we should talk about helmet use instead??!??!
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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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Not exactly hot tubs but all the CGH MGM self catering residences have Jacuzzis and some in the MMV chain do as well. They are good enough to make a difference after a days skiing if you pick a residence that has a warm one. A lot of French Jacuzzis are on the colder side.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Mountain Addiction, isn't it true that water treatment in pools and spas is one of those things that the more you know about it the more you realise the importance of the 'correct' balance being maintained at all times, and how much work/knowledge/experience really should be utilised! It is so much easier to keep a pool/spa functioning safely than to correct it once it has gone wrong! Indeed the 'chlorine bomb' (only for chlorine systems) will sort out a few minor issues but there is often so much more to it than that. Having 2 filters is a good idea. I would be very reluctant to rent out any property with hot tub unless I had someone reliable to monitor and maintain it and I do check regularly any spa in a property I rent!
Many years ago my father (semi retired by then) was supply teaching chemistry at a local school, and in the staff room there was talk of the 'itchy red eyes' amongst a lot of the pupils after using the school's swimming pool. The staff seemed to think that there was perhaps too much chlorine in the pool because it smelt so much of chlorine! My father stepped in realising the potential problems (a properly balanced pool/spa should not have a very chlorine smell) and 'sorted out' the problem. The person responsible for the pool maintenance was the caretaker, who was very concerned by the problems, but he had inadequate training and poor instructions in the written manual to follow!  No doubt these days someone would have sued the school!
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i wasn't aware that non chemical hot tubs were suitable for commercial use - i wouldn't dare! there are too many unknowns surely?
stick with the chlorine for me, but either way, balancing and proper maintenance is important.
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@chopkins13, By the way if you haven't yet booked I'd suggest going the week earlier as some UK schools (private) are off that week.
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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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@chopkins13, les arcs 1950 is all self catering, and each residence has a shared hot tub acess. Despite the dire warnings of those above, I've not caught anything yet. Use every day (after a shower) thence into the steam room . The muscles will thank you for the routine.
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I second the suggestion at looking for somewhere that is a swanky end MGM development as they usually come with those sort of extras, albeit shared with other guests.
There are some very nice hotels about with gorgeous hot tubs if your budget is a little more generous (Check out the Omnia in Zermatt, which has about the best view from and the classiest "tub" I have ever been in!)
For what it's worth from my experience of a couple of trips to Whistler and self catering there and in USA the Tahoe area, hot tubs are much more common and seemed well looked after.
On the "hut tubs get minging" diversion of the thread, I second the experience of how horrid they can get without committed maintenance. When I worked my season we only allowed guests in from 4-7pm 6 days a week, and then there was a daily test and addition of the necessary chemicals, written records, and a weekly drain and refill on changeover day. With a maximum capacity in the chalet of 19 people, the water could get very grim and soupy after 7 days if you didn't keep on top of it. I recall giving the late teen and early 20's kids of a large (and thankfully friendly) party a right old roasting after they managed to sneak in late one night and spend more time in there than the chalet allowed. I think my employers were well respected by the landlords of the chalets for being about the best of their corporate clients for keeping the hot tubs in good order.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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More s c accommodation with hit tubs in North America I found. They like to be pampered over there
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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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We had a hot tub in a condo in Whistler, but it was maintained daily as the apartments were part of a complex.
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@cameronphillips2000, Merkins don't understand European self catering.
"Why were the beds not changed this morning?"
"Because it's self catering."
"Well we know that...we are catering for our selves. But you didn't say it was self maid service!"
True story. Repeated most years.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Arctic Roll, For a normal healthy adult without open wounds, (not drinking the water lol) the risks of even a poorly maintained spa are perhaps akin to river swimming etc, its the usual risk/benefit equation. Most of the time, most people will be fine. Few things in life are entirely risk free 
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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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@under a new name, I know my apartment manager finds them very hard work. They are always in constant contact with her and find the smallest of things to complain tp her about, including the weather.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| We had a hot tub in a condo in Whistler, but it was maintained daily as the apartments were part of a complex. |
We too had a condo with hot tub in Whistler. It was awesome when it was snowing at night. The problems with hot tubs us that I never want to get out of them.
We had one at home for a while. Very very costly to heat so we got rid. They're also not as much fun when you're maintaining them yourself.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not the alps .... But Kicking Horse Canadian Rockies.
But a great self catering house with a very good hot tub. (the hot tub deck had to be rebuilt this august)
Lucky for me I was invited out there twice in 2014.
There is a guy who lives in the cellar who acts as a sort of concierge.
Quite a remote spot but the nearest neighbours about 400 metres away are all friendly and helpful.
http://www.bearpaw-lodge.com/
In January when it can often be -30C you sometimes need to wear a bobble hat if your in the hot tub for more than 10 minutes.
The biggest problem is getting out.
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