Resort choice help: Italy/Austria Feb 2017

A snowHead

The usual 'help me narrow down my resort choice' question.
Looking to go February next year during UK half term (I'm a teacher so stuck with school holidays). The last few years I've gone over New Years and while I've had good holidays, the snow has hardly been great.

Essentials:
-Fun, intermediate cruising with the occasional challenge (i.e. lots of reds and a few blacks/bumps)
-Resort where I won't pay £££ for food/drink/accommodation
-Chance of good snow (i.e not ice and slush)
-Reasonable extent of pistes, say 100km+
- Would prefer Italy/Austria

Would likes:
- Convenient (pretty?) resort with accommodation close to lifts (I hate ski buses)
- Some trees to ski in if weather closes in
- Not too many crowds/queues, or at least parts of an area where this may be the case. I realise it is half term!!

Resorts I've been considering are Sella Ronda (not sure where would be best base), Madonna di Campiglio, Saalbach, Obertauern and possibly Lech. Open to other suggestions. Currently it will be me and my husband going (in our 30s, moderately fit, both adventurous intermediate skiers/boarders) but a few friends may come along too, mostly couples. Not really bothered by crazy apres, a few options for drinks and maybe one night out dancing. We enjoy food (home style cooking rather than michelin star) so places with nice mountain huts with views would be a bonus.

I'd welcome any thoughts on the resorts I've listed, comparisons, etc.

A snowHead

Bardonecchia

Lech = $$$$$$$ as well as Madonna di Campiglio - pricey as far as Italy goes.

Aosta Valley would be a great option as well.

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Val Gardena in Dolomites - just returned, had a great time.

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@carettam, firstly regarding queues/crowds if it has all of the above then at half term it will almost certainly be busy.
There are many resorts that may will suit you in Austria especially within 90 minutes of Salzburg Airport - I would say that you definitely would not regret going for Saalbach or one of its neighbouring resorts (on the same connected ski area) possibly Leogang or Fieberbrunn both are a bit quieter than Saalbach but will fit your requirements perfectly fine. If you want very pretty try Zell am See, Kitzbuhel or Alpbach amongst many others.

Not a fan of Bardonecchia @HeidiAmsterdam, myself as it's the only place I've been in the alps and been genuinely disappointed - only just had the olympics the year before and we arrived in the 2nd week of march to no snow bar one run from the mid station down to the village. Very sleepy at night and very few other things to do, the only thing that saved the holiday were the Tour operator trips to the Via Lattea which was great! NehNeh

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Thanks, I've been to Aosta, Bardonecchia, Via Lattea and looking to go somewhere new. I feared Lech would be too pricey, but didn't think Madonna DiCampiglio would be so bad?

I have to say, Sella Ronda is possibly top of my list but concerned about queues/crowds during peak weeks.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Lech is by far the best on your list.

Best snow. Best terrain. Best atmosphere.

Cortina is best, if Italy.

Courchevel 1850, if France.

Zermatt, if Switzerland.

Book early. Plenty of affordable places.

After all it is free

I love MdC, going back again this Feb half term. Lovely tree lined skiing, reasonable prices(only 6 Euros a pizza up the mountain), pretty town, nice people, lots of blues/reds and can go over to Folgarida for more km. 2 hours from Verona. Ski areas pretty well linked.

Our hotel is only 50 m from the lift.

Only issue is rubbish ski bus so stay near a lift or at a hotel with a shuttle.

Enchanted Holidays is brilliant and very reasonable. We're using them again this year

I'd say of all the areas I've skied in the Dolomites, Val Gardena is the best, most extensive and most varied. You have easy access to other areas. I would recommend our place if it weren't for your no ski bus requirement as you can access lots of different areas very quickly by car, but you have to drive to get to the slopes. Infact that is a general trend in Italy that there are not as many ski to the door resorts. To be honest I think its a good thing as it means the villages are not as purpose built and have far more charachter. But I guess it depends what you like!

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Agree about Selva Val Gardena, it ticks all your boxes and there are dozens of hotels within 1 minute of the lifts.

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Hi
I would look at Ischgl...
We we're there last year and it is pretty awesome...
Ticks all you boxes...
+200km of slopes, mostly reds and blues, with some very nice blacks - a couple of challenging ones, plenty of accommodation within 5 mins walk of the lifts, excellent lift system, high for Austria with a very good snow record, not that well known to Brits - so half term not such a big problem. Price for a large beer (0.5l) was approx 5 Euro and food wasn't too expensive. Definitely a little bit more expensive than some of the other Austrian resorts mentioned, but nowhere near French or Swiss prices. We stayed at Hotel Garni Caroline - which I can recommend as it is opposite the lift to the dorftunnel, which has a conveyer which takes you to one of the three main lifts. 7 mins from leaving the hotel to get on the lift and you can ski down almost to the hotel...
Worth considering!

snow reports

Ischgl would be one of the two I would recommend as a fellow teacher forced to ski at half term. It does not get the Brit crowds.

But Arraba edges out all the others providing you can do without an extensive night life and table dancing [ Ischgl ] You are right on the Sella Ronde as well as at the point where you head towards Marmolada for stuff that is a little more testing. I have spent the 1/2 term week there and had almost no queues.

I am surprised that someone recommended Cortina, it has a poor and disjointed ski area IMHO. Good people watching at night.

Zermatt is seriously spendy and Lech is almost as bad.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@AthersT, it's his fantasy wish list! wink

A snowHead

I'd get something in Arabba, Val Gardena, Corvara Or Campitello and then you've got the whole of the sellaronda to satisfy your search for fun. Arabba hasn't got much in the way of nightlife but there are some nice bars and they are not too pricey. I love Italy because it's so welcoming and frinedly without being crazy expensive.
I go back to Italy year after year as I'm always on a budget.

The other thing is that Italians know a bit about food and can convert the humblest of ingredients into a delicious feast! Yummy!

The Dolomites are so rugged and beautiful and there's tonnes of skiing!

Ouch!

A snowHead

Agree with Athers; Saalbach is now huge with the Fieberbrunn link, and they are linking with Zell Am See this summer.

Excellent snowmaking too, and at last year's half term virtually no queues anywhere. I think worst was about 5 minutes. Once.

Austria is NOT expensive, at least at that end!

Only downside maybe - too many south facing runs - they got a little slushy at the end of the day lower down last year's half term (though that was unusually warm). Still loads of excellent stuff - over towards Leogang - and often quieter.

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If you can find a hotel in Lech that suits your budget, you should not worry to much about other costs. Skipass is very reasonable, and food and drinks are not that bad either. You can get a -very nice- pasta everywhere for 10 euro.
In France your are paying higher prices for poor quality for on-piste food than in Lech.
As mentioned, Lech suits your wishes 1-on-1

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

@buchanan101, Must start to post a few more on-piste action shots - don't want to create the wrong impression! Little Angel

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Definitely consider ski Monterosa. Plenty of cheap flights to Milan even around half term dates then 2 hours drive in a hire car. Never crowded at half term (I've been there 4 times then), fantastic food on the mountain & you can still get a coffee for 1 euro on the slopes. Personally I think it's best to be in the middle of the resort at Staffal or Gressoney rather than Champoluc or Alagna.

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Thanks for all these ideas, they have really helped.

Just to clarify about ski buses, I don't mind a (short) walk to the lifts, it doesn't have to be ski in/out, but I don't want to stay somewhere that I have to rely on the bus every day. If I can stay close to one area but there are good buses to other areas, that's fine.

I'm keen on Sella Ronda, but need to decide which base is best. How busy does the circuit get during half term, both lift queue wise and on piste? Are both Selva and Arabba comparable for queues/range of pistes?

I like the sound of MdC, so as long as I pick accomm carefully to avoid having to use buses too much. Seems to tick all the boxes.

I did look at Ischgl but thought the apres appeared to be a bit too lively and possibly a bit trashy? I don't want to be in a place with packs of drunks roaming the bars. I like jolly Austrian apres, but a couple bars for an upbeat drink is all I need, rather than rows of pumping bars.

Saalbach seems to fit the bill and the lack of half term queues sound very tempting. Any pointers about where best to stay in this area?

I hadn't though about skiwelt, not thinking that it had the best record for snow. I really don't want to be skiing slush/ice. Thanks for the info on Westerndorf, sounds a nice place to stay and better value than Kitz.

snow reports

Well, since you asked...always willing to help in any way. Much depends on what kind of accommodation the OP has in mind. The important thing in Saalbach is be reasonably central, rather than a yomp or taxi ride outside the village. It also helps to be located near the lift or lifts that you are likely to be using the most. It would certainly be possible at this early stage to find ski-in ski-out accommodation (but we've been getting a trickle of enquiries about half term already, so don't delay).
There are plenty of good, reasonably-priced places to eat, so catered accommodation is certainly not a must in this resort. Airport transfers are also very easily arranged, so there isn't really any advantage in a package. The only difficulty might be finding flights at a reasonable price at half term - some people drive down for that reason.
@carettam, If you'd like a copy of my comprehensive guide to Saalbach, send me your contact details by PM.

You know it makes sense.

Thanks Tatman, that is very helpful. I'll PM later.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

The three I would recommend (having skied all of them at half term) would be:

Sella Ronda (would personally choose Selva or Corvara to stay in - have also stayed in Arabba and La Villa on other non-half term trips). Have done this 4 times at half term - the Sella Ronda circuit gets quite busy, but queues were never too bad, and it is pretty easy to get off the circuit where the queues and people magically disappear. Selva has a bit more life, but need to choose your hotel carefully to avoid to much walking/buses (there are some ski in/out hotels and others close to the key lifts, but some are quite a yomp away). Better placed for some of the more difficult skiing (although the most difficult is over the Arabba side), but easy enough to explore the full area from here (we managed the WW1 tour from here with ease). Corvara smaller and prettier, better placed for the quieter and easier skiing, but can get to Arabba quickly and also well placed for Hidden Valley, Marmolada, WW1 tour etc. Neither is especially great for nightlife, but there are some nice bars etc to be found in both. Never had any issue with snow (although one year it went orange due to Sahara sand!). Definitely the best for mountain restaurants, both quality and price. One negative (and it may just be my impression) - I have never seen so many idiots on the piste skiing well beyond their ability - wife, kids and friends have all been hit over the years, usually by middle aged Germans (the one Italian lad who hit my wife was incredibly apologetic, unlike the Germans who just left small child lying in a heap without even offering to help them/apologise).

I personally did not like Arabba that much as a place to stay, when compared to Selva or Corvara - it just feels a bit charmless compared to the others - but I recognise that this is a personal view.

Saalbach - went last year for first time and are returning again this year, so can't be bad! Would personally have chosen to go back to Sella Ronda, but over-ruled by the youngsters who like the livelier nightlife at Saalbach. Last year half term was like skiing in April - blue skies, hot sun and snow getting rather slushy in afternoon (lovely, in fact) - but as mentioned by someone else above, this was a bizarre exceptional week weather-wise. Queues were not too bad but there were some real bottlenecks in some places, much worse than anything I ever encountered in Sella Ronda - 20 minute queuing not unusual in a few places. So, not sure I would agree with the comment about lack of queues from my experience, but there did seem to be less out-of-control idiots here. The removal of the T-bar at top of Bernkogel and link to Fieberbrunn will be an improvement. Some walks across town to access different areas/complete the circuit, are annoying but manageable (in particular in Saalbach). Good mountain restaurants - although as always in Austria they tend to be a bit similar in food choice - I would say that Sella Ronda has the edge here, but Saalbach is still pretty good for on-hill eating and similarly well-priced. As I say, I would personally have chosen to go to Sella Ronda, but am by no means heart-broken by the decision to return to Saalbach.

Monterosa - specifically Champoluc. If queue avoidance is important, this is likely to be quietest. I really enjoy this area, but I realise it is not to everyone's taste. If weather closes in (especially if it gets windy) then skiing can become limited. But very Italian, good (but not great, with one or two exceptions) mountain huts, super hotels, nice town (quiet, but some nice bars) and varied skiing and brilliant off-piste for all standards. If you do chose Champoluc, I can recommend Ski-2, who specialise in the resort - best tour operator I have ever used - I generally DIY, but would use them again without hesitation.

One other thought is Wagrain, which we enjoyed one year - but it is quite busy.

You won't go wrong with either Sella Ronda or Saalbach, if it is between those two.

A snowHead

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I think the Sella Ronda is now regarded as the best piste skiing in the world. French milage but without packing twenty runs into one bowl and all the associated crowds. I think San Cassiano is perfect. Someone stated earlier it's on the Ronda but it isn't. You have to ski over from Corvara. This makes it much quieter than Selva say but you can ski to Selva very easily. It's also a short ski over to Arabba which has some more challenging skiing.

Lech is lovely but the Sella Ronda is lovelier, more skiing, and better value on the slopes. It also has, by far, the best snow making in the world as we all saw over the festive season.
Bormio is a great resort with a huge vertical an very long runs. Madonna is beautiful and exclusive with better intermediate skiing than Cortina.

Austria is so vast, with so many resorts, I wouldn't know where to start to advise you. Everywhere you ski will be charming except , perhaps St Anton which is nicknamed St Manton for good reason.

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The bottlenecks that we found worst were the chair at mid-station of Schonleitenbahn (needed both on way to and back from Leogang if coming from the Kohlmais side) - definitely 20 mins on occasion (I timed it) - the lift from the bottom of Leogang was often very busy (but the new lift was always completely empty though) and the Zwolferkogelbahn, where the bottom station seems to have been designed to make it a particularly unpleasant scrum. Hochalm 6er and Sunliner 4er also bad if you caught them at the wrong time. Plus I really hated the tin can lift - I mean, just why would you design it that way?

But don't want to give the impression it was particularly bad - it wasn't, otherwise we would not be going back. We had a great week. Just that I don't agree that it is any quieter/less queue prone than the Sella Ronda, if queuing is the key criterion for making a choice.

2b and the Schonleitenbahn is definitely the way to get round the circuit and minimise the walks, and agree that best snow was the Leogang area (and prettiest part of the circus as well).

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

If you do decide on Arabba consider the Hotel Malita http://www.hotelmalita.it/en/Default.asp

Right beside the lifts, family owned and run. Excellent food.

I have stayed there three times and would return without hesitation.

After all it is free

Hinterglemm - part of the ski circus that saalbach is on, night skiing available and you're much closer to the lovely lovely reds, blue and groomed black that are at the top right hand corner of the piste map than you are with Saalbach. It takes them another hour to get there, but some of the best skiing on the circus is up there. Nice wee village. Minimal walking generally. And no bloody buses! I'm with you on that front!

@carettam, +1 for Madonna di Campiglio. It ticks all your boxes and it really isn't expensive. It may be a fraction more than some other Italian resorts, but it is still very good value. Way cheaper than France and, from memory, cheaper than Austria too.

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Thanks for all the help. I think I'm almost set on Saalbach, as it seems to have a good mix of all the things I like in a ski holiday. @Tatman, I can't seem to PM you as my account seems to be playing up, but I'd love your guide to the S-H area.

Help!!

Resort choice help: Italy/Austria Feb 2017

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