 Poster: A snowHead
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When/where
Meribel in the 3 Vallees over the half term break. We flew into Geneva on the Sunday and had a private transfer from Snowbound transfers. Have to give a big shout out to these guys as on both the outward and inward leg they were on time, helpful and provided 3 car seats (not just boosters) for our kids. Having gotten a 9:30am flight from London, we arrived in resort around 15:30 local time.
The chalet
First time self catering a ski holiday (with kids anyway). We stayed in a 2 bedroom chalet with heaps of room just above the main resort. The Doran run (into the Chaudanne) was at the end of the road. Great chalet, very spacious and private with ample equipment in the kitchen. Well priced too at €1,600 for the week
The Catering
As indicated it was our first self catering experience and I admit we cheated a little. Big shout out to Chalet Kitchen who provided 3 of our 6 evening meals. They were great and but for fussy kids we would probably have used them every night. Big shout out also to the concierge service who arranged a morning delivery of croissants and baguette’s for us. With a SPAR in the village and a Sherpa at the bus stop just above the chalet we were easily able to get supplies on the way in or out. All in all we managed really well and probably for the first time in a while we didn’t walk away from the ski trip having been overfed.
The Childcare
The kids are still relatively young so to maximise our time on the slopes we hired a Nanny from T4 Nannys. Our nanny was Poppy who the kids loved. She did the ski school drop off for our youngest and did the picks ups and either took them to lunch or they had lunch in the chalet. She then kept them entertained with Sledding or Swimming whilst we skied till around 4pm. Cannot praise her enough.
Lessons
The kids lessons were with New Generation. Fantastic! Our kids are 4, 6 and 7 and they were put into the Whippersnappers (aged 4,5) and the Arrows (aged 6 to 12). They gave us the option of the 6 year old going in the young arrows, but she wanted to be with her sister. The kids loved it and all progressed a heap. They are itching to go out again next year!
The Resort.
Meribel is divided into a number of bits so you need to be careful and understand where you are. We stayed just above Meribel Central so had a winding road down into the main commercial strip. The walk took 15 to 20 mins. If you are self catering the SPAR does home delivery, but its pretty easy to wander down and get what you need. Its well stocked. When looking at apartments on Air BnB and Homeaway I would recommend verifying what road the apartment is on as a number of ad’s are misleading indicating that they are in Meribel, but are in fact in Meribel Village or Meribel 1600.
The resort is huge, but unless you are using ESF all of the ski schools have their meeting point at the Chaudanne a flat area where 5 lifts all converge. If you are having lessons or your kids are then proximity to the Chaudanne is important.
Bars/Restaurants
The Meribar: we liked this place. Right on the roundbout near the Chaudanne, it was great for a pre-ski coffee, post lesson lunch and a beer at the end of the day. For its location reasonably priced
Le Tremplin: probably the least friendly place we went into. Very French, popular with the ESF people. Food was average. Convenient to the bus stop and Chaudanne, but its hard to recommend.
Le Frommage: cheese shop by day, restaurant by night – as the name suggests fondue, raclette and tarteflite. Very friendly, reasonably priced and tasty. The cheese smells and it can get noisy, so if either offends avoid.
Jacks Bar: apres bar that gets going later in the evening. We were there early afternoon and it was quiet, but that suited us.
Chalet Kitchen – the review wouldn’t be complete without a shout out to these guys! Our “Self Catering” was made that little bit easier with the team from Chalet Kitchen delivery meals for 3 of our nights. We had the Beef Bourginon twice and the roast dinner once – an hour heating up in the oven at the chalet and 5 of us were well fed. Definitely makes life a lot easier and is good value.
The skiing
The 3 Vallees is HUGE! We were prepared for awful lift queues, but aside from a couple of days getting out of the Chaudanne and then the odd pinch point at other parts we didn’t really notice the amount of people. Sometimes the home runs back the Chaudanne were a little crowded late in the day, but this is true of most resorts around half term.
We skied into Courcheval and almost all the way to 1650 on one day and then down to St.martins and les Menuires on another day. It really is an enormous ski area. Personally I prefer the Courcheval valley and the Meribel runs on that side, but the runs near Mont Vallon are worth the trek.
The verdict
Already looking to book 2019!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Nice review. How much was the transfer? I've only ever done tour operator transfers, but am tempted by some of the independet chalets for next year.
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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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I've used Snowbound several times, and agree with Fredi. Shared is 65E each, each way. Four or more shared, means a private transfer is a goer, 'cos that's about 485E.
Not looking for sympathy, but wife and I arrived with them last Saturday at 2100- to the door. At 0200, my sis called to say my brother had died. Snowbound had us on a shuttle at 1130 to get the only flights we could buy. No charge. I'll be using them again. My sister died new years day 17, had to do the whole insurance thing. So agin is a bummer. My younger sis is crappin' it in case I go skiing again! We managed a laugh about that in amongst everything.
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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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@Charliegolf, I know you aren't looking for sympathy, but all the best nonetheless. Never an easy time.
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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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@Rhoobarb, Thumbs up!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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We paid €560 for return private transfers - they were great from pick up to delivery.
@Charliegolf - my condolences, but its great to know that they go the extra mile.
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@FrediKanoute, Great report. I'm curious about the cost of the nanny? It sounds like you'd definitely hire T4 again.
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| goweje wrote: |
| @FrediKanoute, Great report. I'm curious about the cost of the nanny? It sounds like you'd definitely hire T4 again. |
Yeah we would use them again. They cost £900 for 6 days of 8 hours and you can also book for half days. There are other nanny companies in the 3 Vallees and T4 were mid-range in terms of price. We like that she knew Meribel really well so from the free indoor play area to the swimming to sledding she knew how to entertain.
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FAQ
