 Poster: A snowHead
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This was the first time we booked our own trip. Usually we tag along with a bunch of friends to either Austria or Italy on a chalet week organised by someone else. We were fortunate to live in Switzerland for a couple of years so made the most of weekend day trips to the likes of Verbier, Leysin and Villars, and we managed a fantastic weekend in Zermatt. We didn't get anywhere at all last season as we were so busy, and after a possible trip to Whistler didn't come off it wasn't looking good. We managed to get our act together and hit the websites a couple of weeks before we went, and almost stumbled into the best week we've had in the mountains
"Oh, this one in Courchevel looks ok. Never been there but heard it's good."
"Oooh, it links into Meribel."
"Oooh, that looks quite a big area."
"Look, there's one of those Folie Douce places"
"Wow, the weather on the cams is looking good."
Amateur hour...
We booked a Skiworld chalet through Igluski at about £300 off what all the other sites seemed to be charging. Full price was over £900 for a "Superior" chalet - absolutely no complaints, but I don't think I'd have been that happy if we paid full price. The staff were great and the food was really good. No scrimping on the portion sizes or the wine, and most people were too full every night to even look at the cheeseboard... The afternoon cakes were superb, but sadly only got half eaten at best as most were still in the bars! There was a hot tub, which was a welcome extra over other holidays, but other than that nothing out of the ordinary. Rooms were fine and clean. Great value for what we paid, but those paying over £1100 for the same week next year may feel short changed.
We were only a few minutes walk from an escalator up to the main street, across the road from the main lift. We got a locker for 69e for the week, which came in handy when the escalator wasn't working. Ski rental was through Precision Sports through alpinresorts.com £60 for the week seemed pretty reasonable, especially against Skiworld prices. No issues in the shop, and we were the only ones in there both times we went.
Then the skiing... Good grief, it was amazing. We are in no way expert skiers, and are happy cruising along the pistes exploring the resort. The conditions, save for one day, were great which obviously makes a difference, but I don't think we've been to a better area. So many long runs that seem to go on and on and on. We know we need lessons really, but we were having so much fun we never got round to it. There weren't many runs that you had to do over and over again, and we only had to do three button lifts the whole time we were there. We got over to Val Thorens, and also down into La Tania, Les Munieres and St Martin de Belleville but probably barely scratched the surface. The pistes were busy in places but nothing too bad at all. A couple of bottlenecks, but the only place we had to queue for more than a couple of minutes was the lift out of Meribel to VT, and even that wasn't too long.
Food on the mountain was very good, and not overly expensive. We didn't book, but stopping early enough we were never turned away. A hearty lunch for two with a couple of beers was around 50e, although we didn't venture into 1850... One food highlight was the Folie Douce, both in Meribel and VT, where we stopped a few times and had a great meal.
Ah, the Folie Douce. I'm a firm fan of the Mooserwirt and recommend the place, and St Anton, to everyone but I think the torch may have passed. The backdrop is just superb, the atmosphere is incredible and the guys there put on a great show. One afternoon Skiworld arranged transport back and we got a wristband that made beers only 5e each which is not to be sniffed at. We never got to stay to the end as we had to get back across to Courchevel, but we are going to look at staying in Meribel next time so we can spend more time there, and also in the Rond Pont - another good spot. Definitely a different vibe to the Moose, but it has to be experienced at least once. We ended up going most days...
Courchevel Moriond itself is fairly quiet, although there are some decent places. Fire and Ice at the bottom of the piste is a great spot at the end of the day if the weather is fine. Bubble Bar is good for sports, and Schuss Bar is a nice, traditional bar. We went for dinner in Le Petit Savoyard for some traditional fare, and the fondue stacked up well against all the ones we had in Switzerland.
The trip was a perfect combination of a great ski area, good bars and restaurants, fantastic conditions and decent accomodation. Despite the total lack of planning we ended up having the best week since we started skiing and will certainly look to come back next year.[/b]
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