 Poster: A snowHead
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Dates - 20th Feb to 24th Feb
Location - Villenueve
Accommodation - Hotel Mont Thabor
Party - 4 early 30's. 2 with 9-10 weeks ski experience, one 5 weeker and an early intermediate on his second ski holiday.
We arrived into Turin airport at 9.30am on Saturday morning and were on the road in our hire-car, (Astra Estate) by 10.15am, very reasonable service and price from Sicily by Car.
2 hours roughly to resort, first 90 mins was very easy going, motorway most of the way, however from Montgenevre onwards the roads do get a little hairy, so we were glad there was no snow lying on the roads, no need to put on the chains!!
Bags were dropped off in the hotel and onto slopes by 12.30. We went for a 3 hour pass which cost an extortionate €41.50, but our eagerness to get on the slopes outweighed the inner Scrooge. First impressions of the resort were good, with slopes in perfect condition, albeit the off-piste looked slightly tracked out. 3 day pass cost €142, so 3.5 days skiing for €184 is not on the cheap side.
Hotel: Exceeded expectations, given the price of £80 per room per night. Nice rooms with twin beds, terrace area and spacious bathroom. The only slight drawback was a lack of ironing facilities, which you wouldn't expect of a 3 star hotel. We declined breakfast and opted for the DIY approach, enjoying our shop purchased breakfasts outdoor on the terrace, at a quarter of the price. The hot tub, sauna and steam rooms were fantastic, and exactly what we needed after long days on the slopes. We sneaked an ice cold bottle of prosecco into the hot tub each evening 
Skiing: As none of us are particularly experienced enough to look for off-piste opppotunities, the resort was perfect as there is an extensive erray of long cruisey blues and reds, and some very enjoyable and not too challenging blacks. I did attempt some of the off-piste runs off the Valons chair, though it was somewhat tracked and quite crowded. No queues at the Aravet lift in the mornings, however it was busy up on the mountain, with 5-10 min waits on some of the more busy lifts. Favourite runs were the Red off the top of Pic de L'yret above Monetier, and the Black Casse du Boeuf. It rained fairly extensively on Monday and Tuesday but the slopes, even lower down were not too negatively impacted. The lift system can be slow however and the ski domain should invest in some high-speed chairs or Gondola's.
Food and Drink - Villenueve is very quiet at night, only la Grotte offers anything in terms of lively apres, but on this occassion it didn't bother me, as in a 4 day trip maximising ski time was the primary aim. The food in resort was very good and reasonably priced, from a french resort perspective. Eau Petit Pont was our favourite, so we ate here 2 of the 4 nights. On the mountain the food was just ok but not too expensive.
Ski Hire - I hired with Ski Republic and was very happy with the service and equipment. I went for the Premium hire and got a very nice pair of Movement JAM 85 ski's. Very friendly and professional service all round.
Conclusion: A distinctly different skiing experience, very Gallic and laid back. 4 nights was perfect and I would return for a similar break, but possibly a week here might be too much, due to the subdued atmosphere at night, being still youthful with a fondness for lively apres. That said Serre Chevalier appears to be perfect for a quiet family break.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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@pam w, nor have I. I have an iron and board at my apartment, but I never use it for clothes. Might get used for ironing bedlinen for next set of guests.
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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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@Hells Bells, as my next set of guests are usually getting free accommodation and airport transfers they don't get ironed bedlinen.  My sister has a tiny airbnb cottage and does a lot of changeovers and ironing bed linen. I don't seem to have done any ironing anywhere for months. In the summer I iron a lot of tops, linen trousers, etc but in the winter? Zilch.
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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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@pam w, but I have paying guests who are expecting a high standard, I rarely do it myself in any case.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@rogg, you'll be very welcome just don't use the iron .
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| Quote: |
but I have paying guests who are expecting a high standard
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of course - same with my sister's airbnb people. I do actually have two irons in France - only one of which is for waxing skis and boards. The other has a very quiet life.
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FAQ
I've never felt an overwhelming need to iron anything on a ski holiday. 
