 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm just wondering what people view as the best European resort? Personally I love Val D'isere. There's loads of terrain to go at, it has decent nightlife and restaurants. The lift system is also great I think, you can pretty much stay on high speed chairlifts all day rather than queue for cable cars or have to get drag lifts. It's only issues for me is the long transfer 3.5 hours and the off piste gets skied out really quickly.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I don't think you'll ever get a consensus on "best". It comes down to "favourite" depending on your own personal choices. Technically it's hard to look away from the mega-resorts around Europe but skiing is all about enjoyment factor and personal tastes.
The correct answer is obviously Les Arcs, though.
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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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St Anton, close thread.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I don't know, I haven't skied them all yet 
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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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| SteveKirby wrote: |
| St Anton, close thread. |
best, not over rated.
I've never been there, but according to the polls, and Peter Hardy who s reviewed over 500 resorts , Bacqueire Beret is the best resort in the world.
For me and many other snowboard, Arabba takes some beating -hence the massive popularity of the bash.
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[quote="cameronphillips2000 Arabba takes some beating -hence the massive popularity of the bash.[/quote]
I know of somewhere that may pip Arabba and there's only a lump of rock between them. 
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@mk28, I was in Val D'Isere four weeks ago and loved the skiing, but the prices for food and drink were pretty shocking. €12 for an Aperol Spritz(my wife's après tipple of choice)! This week I'm in Kaltenbach in Austria and the same Aperol Spritz is €3.50.
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@valkyrie yes prices can be quite high there. I stay away from places like Folie Douce etc for this reason. You can still find drinks a bit cheaper if you know where to look. I just got back from my first time in Zermatt and that seemed to be about 20€ a cocktail. A lot of the well known resorts are not cheap though.
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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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Wherever there's a basH on.
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I am surprised that Arraba with it's limited apres ski is appearing here. With a dodgy knee I do best on piste and loved Arraba for it's access to lots of high mileage loops.
But Ischgl is my favorite resort.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Ischgl is next on my list. I was also a little underwhelmed by St Anton.
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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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| mk28 wrote: |
| I'm just wondering what people view as the best European resort? Personally I love Val D'isere. There's loads of terrain to go at, it has decent nightlife and restaurants. The lift system is also great I think, you can pretty much stay on high speed chairlifts all day rather than queue for cable cars or have to get drag lifts. It's only issues for me is the long transfer 3.5 hours and the off piste gets skied out really quickly. |
I'm with you! Val d'Isere is my fave resort, I absolutely love it.
Ischgl, Saalbach and St Anton are also up there in terms of 'best' though.
The thing is, everyone's list of things their perfect resort should have is different.
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taking everything into account i love mayerhofen
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You know it makes sense.
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Mega Resorts
St. Anton: Definitely
Val D'Isere : Absolutely
Meribel : Yes, but not quite up there with Val.
Verbier : Yup. Lotsa €.
Ischgl : Great apres, but you'll probably find better booze / € ratio on Majorca
Kitzbühel : Brill. Gotta be done.
Ski Welt : Ok, but Kitz is better.
Saalbach : Never got to like it myself but loads of snowheads will jump all over me for that.
La Plagne : Nah
Les Arcs : Nah
Small Resorts:
In France : No idea, never been
In Austria : Too many to mention, but there are loads that are worth a visit.
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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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Think the Title should be changed to
"Best allround European Ski City"
Ans. Innsbruck
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Poster: A snowHead
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They all have their upsides and downsides. VDI is good for reliable snow and excellent for lift served off piste. But the skiing can be a bit bleak and quite a high number of days are lost or curtailed because of closed lifts.
Other resorts have more character or better apres but less reliable natural snow.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Monaco.
Easy-ish access to e.g. isola 2000 and when you are not skiing it's a marvellous place to feel grounded in the reality of super yachts.
And it has a NOBU.
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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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| under a new name wrote: |
Monaco.
Easy-ish access to e.g. isola 2000 and when you are not skiing it's a marvellous place to feel grounded in the reality of super yachts.
And it has a NOBU. |
I thought there was loads of KNOBU's in Monaco...
I really rate Ischgl, especially as the area pass includes a few nice quiet resorts only a short bus ride away.
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The reality is that it always depending what you want from your holiday. Unless you are a large group of skiers looking to cater for lots of different requirements then the best all round resort isn't important. There are resorts that are worth multiple visits, others worth a single trip, and maybe a few that you could just avoid altogether. I think people who only ski one or two resorts or ski regions are missing out. I think people who assume only larger ski areas are great are missing out. There are a ton of really nice European ski resorts that don't ever (or extremely rarely) get a mention on Snowheads.
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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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Quite a while since I have been there - but Alpe D'Huez has to be close to a top resort (unless you are after 'cool'). Extensive piste system,with pistes ranging from easy peasy to pretty much as tough as it gets (the Tunnel). Also good for off-piste which isn't instantly hammered St Anton style - , because the resort has (or had) the reputation of being a 'family' one. FWIW, when I used to go there , I thought St Anton primarily was for off-piste skiers - on piste was not that exciting (though of course the mountain restaurants were good).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
I thought there was loads of KNOBU's in Monaco...
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@Valkyrie,Kaltenbach has a great mountain restaurant, can't remember what's called buts it's to the left of a drag lift. fanatic food and really cheap
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but it's Ischgl for me
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Best all round European resort?
There isn't one and the question is an oxymoron. So for example mega resorts will never have the charm and beauty factor but they will have the best lift systems and most varied terrain. To get good snow conditions you need to go high but that will also mean an hostile environment prone to inclement weather and poor visibility.
You can only define best resort on a case by case basis. There is no best all round resort per se.
My personal best all round resort taking into account my current circumstances - wife and two kids 11 & 9 - and preferences is Paradiski. I very rarely step into a bar or restaurant or use the shops or ski school. I want easy access (we drive), plenty of apartments (we self cater), lot's of varied skiing, some decent mellow off piste, good snow making and altitude (we ski at the back bottom ends of the season) and good tree skiing (I like to have a good ski even on bad weather days), some snow parks for the kids to rack up some air time.
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Based on customers who pay their own money to go there, La Plagne -- the world's most popular ski resort -- is the best.
Based on general skiing and buzz, Verbier is the best.
Based on general skiing and scenery, Zermatt is the best.
Based on general skiing, snow reliability, and affordability, Val Thorens is the best.
Based on hardcore thrills, Chamonix is the best.
Picking one from the above, Verbier tops them all.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Depends, but if you are after best all round then the Dolomites is the place to be.
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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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The one that wins each year on the annual skiing awards is Val Thorens.
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| Layne wrote: |
Best all round European resort?
There isn't one and the question is an oxymoron. So for example mega resorts will never have the charm and beauty factor but they will have the best lift systems and most varied terrain. To get good snow conditions you need to go high but that will also mean an hostile environment prone to inclement weather and poor visibility.
You can only define best resort on a case by case basis. There is no best all round resort per se. |
Actually I think various parts of the Arlberg tick all those boxes.
I generally have favourite resorts for different conditions (i.e. I'd far rather be in a tiny one lift family resort on a powder day than the Arlberg, but a few days after the storm the Arlberg will have WAY more cool stuff to do) rather than one overarching favourite, but if I could only pick one ski area to ski in for the rest of my life it would be the Arlberg - and I wouldn't be particularly upset about it either.
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You know it makes sense.
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| emwmarine wrote: |
| The one that wins each year on the annual skiing awards is Val Thorens. |
If you mean the World Ski Awards, they're hardly unbiased and a money making scheme IME (as in trying to extract cash from people they nominate, not from nominees paying to win)... For example nominees can pay for materials and badges to promote themselves as nominees - and IIRC the winner even has to pay for their trophy! Also FWIW the voting is (at least was two years ago, I didn't check if it was the same last time) heavily weighted towards people with an 'industry' email address rather than paying customers.
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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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| clarky999 wrote: |
| Layne wrote: |
Best all round European resort?
There isn't one and the question is an oxymoron. So for example mega resorts will never have the charm and beauty factor but they will have the best lift systems and most varied terrain. To get good snow conditions you need to go high but that will also mean an hostile environment prone to inclement weather and poor visibility.
You can only define best resort on a case by case basis. There is no best all round resort per se. |
Actually I think various parts of the Arlberg tick all those boxes. |
Various parts but not one part?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Austria resorts for me. Saalbach, which I only discovered a few years ago after 35 years of skiing is great for all round enjoyment. Great Apres, fantastic mountain restaurants, good and varied skiing, a great hotel (Alpin Resort) and of course the Hinterhag! St. Anton, Ischgl and Zermatt( I know it is in Switzerland!) all rate highly.French resorts are great for the skiing but lack a certain ''je ne sais quoi'' in the Apres department.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Layne wrote: |
| clarky999 wrote: |
| Layne wrote: |
Best all round European resort?
There isn't one and the question is an oxymoron. So for example mega resorts will never have the charm and beauty factor but they will have the best lift systems and most varied terrain. To get good snow conditions you need to go high but that will also mean an hostile environment prone to inclement weather and poor visibility.
You can only define best resort on a case by case basis. There is no best all round resort per se. |
Actually I think various parts of the Arlberg tick all those boxes. |
Various parts but not one part? |
It's one resort/ski area with one lift pass. Of course there isn't great tree skiing and old wooden buildings on top of the Valluga, but there is a short ski away. All within the one resort.
*edit: forgot the word tree. plenty of great non tree skiing off the top of the Valluga
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Fri 30-12-16 18:21; edited 2 times in total
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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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| clarky999 wrote: |
| Layne wrote: |
| clarky999 wrote: |
| Layne wrote: |
Best all round European resort?
There isn't one and the question is an oxymoron. So for example mega resorts will never have the charm and beauty factor but they will have the best lift systems and most varied terrain. To get good snow conditions you need to go high but that will also mean an hostile environment prone to inclement weather and poor visibility.
You can only define best resort on a case by case basis. There is no best all round resort per se. |
Actually I think various parts of the Arlberg tick all those boxes. |
Various parts but not one part? |
It's one resort/ski area with one lift pass. Of course there isn't great skiing and old wooden buildings on top of the Valluga, but there is a short ski away. All within the one resort. |
Is it a good family resort? Is it good for beginners? Is it reasonably priced? Can I rent a budget appartment, etc, etc?
I am sure the Arlberg is the best all round resort for you... but that was the point I was making.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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IMHO, this thread is close to worthless. Individual preferences are based on so many variables. Names are popping up here of resorts that I consider decidedly average and others which I consider very good are not being mentioned.
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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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| achilles wrote: |
| Quite a while since I have been there - but Alpe D'Huez has to be close to a top resort (unless you are after 'cool'). |
While the terrain is very good too much of it is largely South facing to make it a true contender.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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St.Lech am Arlberg 
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| Layne wrote: |
| clarky999 wrote: |
| Layne wrote: |
| clarky999 wrote: |
| Layne wrote: |
Best all round European resort?
There isn't one and the question is an oxymoron. So for example mega resorts will never have the charm and beauty factor but they will have the best lift systems and most varied terrain. To get good snow conditions you need to go high but that will also mean an hostile environment prone to inclement weather and poor visibility.
You can only define best resort on a case by case basis. There is no best all round resort per se. |
Actually I think various parts of the Arlberg tick all those boxes. |
Various parts but not one part? |
It's one resort/ski area with one lift pass. Of course there isn't great skiing and old wooden buildings on top of the Valluga, but there is a short ski away. All within the one resort. |
Is it a good family resort? Is it good for beginners? Is it reasonably priced? Can I rent a budget appartment, etc, etc?
I am sure the Arlberg is the best all round resort for you... but that was the point I was making. |
My point was only that it ticks all your original boxes... But yes parts of the area tick your new ones too (other than maybe budget apartment).
Sure there is no one resort anywhere that is perfect for everyone, but surely the point of the thread is to see which gets closest? In which case the Arlberg gets my vote.
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You can stay in affordable apartments in Pettneu etc. Obviously because it is Austria you aren't going to get 1000s of shoebox ski in/out appts.
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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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@Eddy,
| Quote: |
Saalbach, which I only discovered a few years ago after 35 years of skiing is great for all round enjoyment. Great Apres, fantastic mountain restaurants, good and varied skiing, a great hotel (Alpin Resort) and of course the Hinterhag!
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Glad you found us eventually!
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| clarky999 wrote: |
| emwmarine wrote: |
| The one that wins each year on the annual skiing awards is Val Thorens. |
If you mean the World Ski Awards, they're hardly unbiased and a money making scheme IME (as in trying to extract cash from people they nominate, not from nominees paying to win)... For example nominees can pay for materials and badges to promote themselves as nominees - and IIRC the winner even has to pay for their trophy! Also FWIW the voting is (at least was two years ago, I didn't check if it was the same last time) heavily weighted towards people with an 'industry' email address rather than paying customers. |
Well we all got excited and thought they were a jolly good thing when our own Rob@rar got nominated. Nobody was saying they were biased then and anyone could vote.
When the vote for best resorts came out anyone could also vote. The facebook pages of many resorts were trying to get their followers to all vote. I can't see how that's biased. Sounds a bit more like sour grapes.
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FAQ
