Where to stay for £1000 each

A snowHead

Hi.

Myself and wife, along with another 2 couples are planning on going away for a weeks skiing over Christmas this year. We have a budget of £1000 per person for flights and accommodation and would prefer a catered chalet with meals included. We don't really have a preference on which country to go to as long as theres around 100 slopes to use. I've had a look, mainly at Austria and have noticed that the accommodation is very basic and small. As 2 of the group will only be skiing once or twice during the stay, we were looking for something with a bit more quality as they will be spending a lot more time there.
Somebody has mentioned looking for places away from the slopes as you get more for your money. I would like to know if £1000 is to little for this type of break, if not can you please tell me some places for me to look at.

Thanks.

A snowHead

Nope, should be doable - here's one option, in a major linked resort, catered, and with plenty to do for non-skiers.

http://www.igluski.com/ski-resorts/switzerland/verbier/chalet-hotel-de-verbier_924?holidayId=1447952511

That was from a very quick search, I'm sure there are plenty more options.

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

@deuce22, should be possible in lots of places. Early season snow conditions not always reliable, especially in recent years. Several threads on this forum give opinions and advice about that, for example, the one below.
If you are flexible, don't need to book early and are avoiding peak new year weekend, then booking late has benefits I think.
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=131942#3068989

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I would have thought that £1,000 was quite possible, although you have picked one of the more expensive weeks with questionable snow. I think you might struggle in Austria to find catered chalets. They are most commonly found in France. You will have much more choice there.

My guess is that the quality of a £1,000 holiday including flights and transfers will be middling. You probably can't expect the best food or the biggest/nicest chalets.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

What about Hotel Cachette in Les Arcs 1600 with Crystal.

Leaving Sat 23rd Dec. 852GBP per person from London. Half price lift bundles and 75 GBP per person savings may apply.

http://www.crystalski.co.uk/search/sr.15

Arcs 1600 has a funicular that links with Bourg St Maurice.....which is a proper village to explore.

Remember that if in a Chalet, the staff take 1 night off....so can be quite expensive to eat out.

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@deuce22, Welcome to snowHeads!

You didn't say whether you and your friends were just looking for piste skiing only or some off piste as well. Christmas is quite early in the season so natural snow conditions then can be unpredictable, but if you are only looking for piste skiing then the Sella Ronda area of the Italian Dolomites has superb snow making facilities, and the pisteurs are masters at maintaining the pistes. Although I've not been with them myself I've heard good things about Colletts who offer a choice of catered chalets in the region. The scenery of the Dolomites is outstanding, and the lunchtime mountain restaurants offer great food at very reasonable prices.

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

@deuce22, A £1000 for one or two days skiing strikes me as very expensive. It is quite important to see what your friends are planning to do for the rest of the trip.

After all it is free

Thanks all for the help.

I'll take a look through what you've suggested. We are only going for piste skiing, none of us are good/experienced enough for off piste.

I agree, £1000 for a day or two skiing is a lot, but it's more for the experience of being in a place like these over Christmas. My missus is happy enough to chill out most days, but she doesn't want to be stuck in a place that is not very comfortable. My one friend has done plenty of rough travelling, I'm sure if it was up to him he'd just pitch up a tent.

Thanks again.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Catered chalets in Austria aren't terribly common, you might want to check out hotels. Check out the Alpine Palace and the Alpin Juwel in Hinterglemm. Both next to the piste (opposite sides of the village) and both look lovely. Might be more than your budget though.

We've been away at Christmas in Austria for the past few years. We find it's a pretty cheap week to be away. Certainly if you make compromises on accommodation (we managed a week in Hinterglemm catered for £1,400 for three of us last Christmas). £1000 each should give you lots of options.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

I would look at Skiworld they are chalet specialists and have some very nice upmarket chalets with special menus. Courcheval would be good or Zug on the outskirts of Lech. eg

http://www.skiworld.co.uk/ski-holidays/austria/lech/alpenland?id_accom_price=945992154&searchDt=23%2F12%2F2017&searchDuration[]=9&searchCountry[]=7&searchAccomType=%2C+%2C+&searchDepartFrom[]=1&searchAdults=2&searchOrder=low&sref=search-results

St Anton can be accessed by ski or bus.

Ski Miquel have a couple of options that might suit you. Bad Gastein is an interesting town with a ski resort attached. The Alpentherme in neighbouring Bad Gastein is lovely.

You know it makes sense.

So much choice for what is a pretty good budget for the time of year, hard to know where to start really but one of the first resorts that comes to my mind on reading the above is Chamonix. Great town with stacks of things to do when not on the slopes, plenty of attractions up the mountain for non-skiers too. Short transfer from Geneva.

I suggest using an agent. People have suggested Crystal Ski and Skiworld among others. Agents such as www.ifyouski.com deal with all the major tour operators and can usually get you a slightly better price than going direct to the operator. They also save you having to speak to 4 or 5 different people to gather quotes from multiple TOs.

Outside of France I'd give the Dolomites (Selva, Canazei, Corvara) a look too, although chalets are a bit hard to find there...

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

I think Chamonix is a great place for those doing less skiing....but the skiing is in disjointed areas and is not the best place for lots of easily linked, intermediate skiing.

A snowHead

If the £1000 budget is a little flexible, a very good place in Megeve could be possible. Very scenic, with loads of enjoyable linked intermediate skiing. Attractive town with activities for non-skiers. Short transfers from Geneva. However, the same warnings about early season snow reliability apply. Potentially expensive if lured into luxury goods shops!

A snowHead

Have sent you a private message re Christmas

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

Ski Miguel are OK for a cheapo last minute discount for a couple IMO but I would never book a group with them in advance again.

Christmas is a funny week with regard to ski holidays.
Most importantly, it is not a snow sure week, unless you go somewhere with a glacier. OK, there are many places that often or usually have snow at Christmas but nowhere with any real statistical certainty.
Further, it is a week where families like to get together so naturally people like/need to plan ahead. Hence prices tend to be above seasonal average... except that, it's not a particularly high demand week overall so there are always cheap late deals for it.

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Lots of good advice on here. Getting a decent covering snow In the Alps at Christmas has now become a bonus for most resorts. Extensive snow making is now the most reliable way of ensuring open pistes.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

"Getting a decent covering snow In the Alps at Christmas has now become a bonus" implies that it was not 'ever thus'. AFAIR Xmas has never been a safe bet for snow.
The advent of widespread snowmaking reduced the risk of arriving to green pistes but also masked the inherent unreliability of natural conditions at that time of year. The prevalence of webcams however has served to reintroduce an element of early season panic.

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Where to stay for £1000 each

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