 Poster: A snowHead
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OK, following an interesting few days over the weekend, where I basically did no research and had a good time but not what I'd expected, I thought we don't really have useful Snowheads-type feedback on the UCPA centres, and the same questions keep coming up about the same stuff (every season we seem to see a dozen different threads asking if one centre or another is better, worse, older, newer etc than somewhere else) despite loads of us using the centres every season.
So, in the spirit of helpfulness, having seen a few centres, I thought we would put it all in one thread with some important basics covered, if you can keep to this format:
Resort
Location in Resort (near to slopes, buses, town centre)
Room Sizes, Size of Centre
Age of centre (new, old, knackered)
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?)
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips.
If we can get feedback on all the centres we can potentially make a sticky that can be updated over time.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Resort: Val Thorens
Location in Resort (near to slopes, buses, town centre): Down the hill from main town centre, approx 15 min walk, but ski in/out
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: Most 4 bedroom, one of largest centres (366 beds) can be very busy in popular weeks
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): New, only few years old, whole centre purpose built
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: Pretty good for all, but a better option for beginner and intermediates than some other UCPA options, three valleys has got enough skiing for even the most advanced for a week.
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: 3hr transfer from Geneva, or train to Moutiers Salins SNCF train station, and bus (next to the SNCF station) to resort. Parking available in VT, but don't need a car in resort.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): Mixed, quite a lot of young people, due to size fair number of older people too. Abilities range from complete beginner to seriously experienced inc off piste courses and good skiers.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: Due to sheer size get up early to collect ski pass and equipment hire. They deal with the volume well but inevitably on day one there will be a queue if you are 30 mins late. Another advantage as it is ski in/out hot lunches are provided in the centre and accessible enough to drop in, eat, and ski out again without losing a lot of time.
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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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Resort: Flaine
Location in Resort (near to slopes, buses, town centre): Short walk to town centre and main lift
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: Some twins available, others triple and quads. 360 beds, this is a big centre.
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): Old, quite a few things in need of modernisation in rooms, but standard hostel quality. Bar and restaurant have both been refurbished more recently than rooms.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: Beginner and intermediate, not a lot for the most experienced compared to other centres.
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: One of closest resorts to Geneva at 1.5hrs, good for weekend trips as a result.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): Quite a few families, depending on school holidays, but a few options nearby in town for drinks. Not the most lively resort in the world generally, and centre is similar. Found some large school groups on our visit, which can be less sociable than normal mix of singles, couples and small groups.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: Definitely an older centre, but close to Geneva makes it good for weekend trips. Lower altitude than VT, Tignes etc so early and late season can be more of a gamble.
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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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Resort: Serre Chevalier
Location in Resort (near to slopes, buses, town centre): Piste side and next to a couple of decent lifts and close to the village centre - we enjoyed the in house bar so werent out a lot.
Room Sizes, Size of Centre:Some twin rooms available and some bigger rooms (only stayed in a twin which was basic but more than okay- shared a shower and toilet with one other twin)
Age of centre (new, old, knackered):The bar and restaurant area are in good condition and fairly modern. The boot room is large and effective. Rooms are basic but perfectly adequate, some twins are in the eaves with limited head room.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: Excellent for the inexperienced and intermediate with loads for them to do. If you are advanced and want to spend your time off piste then its also a mecca in my opinion so really can work very well for a mixed ability group.
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: Two hours from Turin - dont know about other options.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?):Mainly a slightly more mature young person in their thirties I would say but the off piste groups definitely have a wider age range.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: A great location for the mixed ability group wanting a trip away with easy access skiing but also near to La Grave etc. Dont let the off piste image scare off people new who want tree lined great skiing
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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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Resort: Chamonix
Location in Resort (near to slopes, buses, town centre): There are two UCPA centres in Chamonix area, one in Chamonix town and one at Argentiere. This is Chamonix centre, which is approx 400m walk to the buses to the lifts, and close to the town centre.
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: 200 beds, this is a smaller centre, bedrooms 4, 5 and 6 people. Apparently double rooms exist and can be booked, we didn't see these and imagine these will sell fast.
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): Built in 1965, this is an older centre. Bar, restaurant and rooms all have been refurbished but clearly some years ago. Comfortable enough, but not as luxury as the bigger newer centres.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: This is really an advanced centre. Designed as a base for off piste groups, and experienced skiers, this is not a good centre for beginners, and even intermediates may find some runs challenging. While we were there another visitor suggested the bigger Argentiere centre gives you access to the same ski area (and is much closer to the bus stop) and is more suitable for intermediates and those who want to socialise more.
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: Close to Geneva, lots of transfer companies do cheap buses and minibuses from the airport. Trains run to Chamonix station, it is a fairly long walk from station to centre.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): The crowd is older than any other UCPA centre I've visited. I suspect this is because of the type of skiing available, more focused on exploration and off piste, also meant the bar was fairly quiet after dinner, social groups often focused around the offpiste groups they have been in through the day. I'd recommend this centre if you want that kind of skiing as part of a group, I wouldn't recommend it for those expecting a sociable hostel environment after dinner. Great centre for those who are focused on off piste, touring and exploration.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: The beer in the bar is really not great. Heineken or Grimbergen Lager, worth buying a bottle of wine for the evening or exploring the bottled beers in the fridge. The centre is close to the main square, which may explain the limited social scene in the bar as many will venture out for drinks in the evening. Best beer in town was Beer o'clock, which has pay as you go pour your own pumps and a huge range. Worth bearing in mind that crawling in at 2am after partying likely to be frowned upon by others heading out early morning for a tough day of skiing, quite a contrast to other centres where I've found this to be positively encouraged!
The resort buses are the major downside to this centre for me. Most of the UCPA centres I have used were ski in/out or at least a short walk to lifts, and the nature of Chamonix as a resort means that you could easily lose 10 mins walk, up to 20 mins waiting for bus, 20-30 mins on the bus, and 20 mins on a bubble before you get your skis on in the morning. Added a bit of faff, and buses at 8-10am and 3:30 onwards can get very full. With a car it would be much easier to get around, but no parking seemed available at UCPA centre. They seem to use minibuses for organised off piste groups, which would make this much easier.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Resort: Argentiere
Location in Resort: 5-10 mins walk to Grand Montets lifts, ski bus stop pretty much outside to get you to other parts of the valley (buses every 30 mins).
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: I think most of the rooms sleep 4 - ours did. Doubles are available and presume a few bigger ones too. Big centre, not sure how many in total.
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): Old building, recently refurbed.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: Prob best for int to adv. Quite heavily focused on touring and off piste (although we didn't take any of the UCPA course options).
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: 1hr 30min ish from GVA, very straightforward. Also, Argentiere train station is right next to the centre.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): Didn't seem party central - although always plenty going on in the bars. Most people seemed pretty serious about there skiing rather than partying. We're in our 40s and plenty of folk older than us around.
Other useful stuff: Food pretty good (especially the buffet to make packed lunch), house wine very cheap (6 euros a litre carafe) and quite drinkable but not sure it had much alcohol in it! Take ear plugs (although not generally a noisy building) and flip flops or similar for common areas / showers etc. Only down side was the cleanliness of the cutlery / crockery in the restaurant - lots of rejects from the dishwasher and you had to hunt for a clean plate / knife etc. Would go back! Savoy bar across the road and office bar about 200yds up the hill both do good happy hour drinks (4-6pm I think and around 6 euros a pitcher).
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Resort: Les Contamines
Location in Resort (near to slopes, buses, town centre): Bus required to lifts, but short ride and bus stop 50m from centre.
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: 200 beds, 2, 3 and 4 bed rooms
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): Average, not particularly new but nothing noticeably knackered.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: Beginner and intermediate, resort potentially too small for advanced skiers for a week.
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: Transfers not easy, I struggled to find a transfer company that would do Geneva to Contamines for a sensible price, rented a car at Geneva as there is on site free parking at UCPA. It is possible on public transport but requires changes or taxi ride from other nearby resorts. Les Contamines is close to Geneva though, just 1hr drive on clear roads so good for short breaks (especially as a smaller ski area) if you can sort transfers.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): Mixed. A fair number of "normal" UCPA customers, younger people who were happy to socialise, some school and family groups. No "expedition" type groups as there is off piste skiing but this isn't a centre focused on it. Quite a few very early intermediates having a good time and tuition groups seemed smaller than in some of the big centres during our stay.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: Check transfer costs and logistics before booking this one. It nearly caught us out especially for short breaks, but is worth the effort. A nice centre and ski resort, which is rarely very busy and the food and drinks were good. Also has a downstairs late bar with music, probably as the town is small and limited options for party animals outside the centre.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Sun 8-04-18 17:03; edited 1 time in total
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| Dashed wrote: |
Resort: Argentiere
Location in Resort: 5-10 mins walk to Grand Montets lifts, ski bus stop pretty much outside to get you to other parts of the valley (buses every 30 mins).
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: I think most of the rooms sleep 4 - ours did. Doubles are available and presume a few bigger ones too. Big centre, not sure how many in total.
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): Old building, recently refurbed.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: Prob best for int to adv. Quite heavily focused on touring and off piste (although we didn't take any of the UCPA course options).
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: 1hr 30min ish from GVA, very straightforward. Also, Argentiere train station is right next to the centre.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): Didn't seem party central - although always plenty going on in the bars. Most people seemed pretty serious about there skiing rather than partying. We're in our 40s and plenty of folk older than us around.
Other useful stuff: Food pretty good (especially the buffet to make packed lunch), house wine very cheap (6 euros a litre carafe) and quite drinkable but not sure it had much alcohol in it! Take ear plugs (although not generally a noisy building) and flip flops or similar for common areas / showers etc. Only down side was the cleanliness of the cutlery / crockery in the restaurant - lots of rejects from the dishwasher and you had to hunt for a clean plate / knife etc. Would go back! Savoy bar across the road and office bar about 200yds up the hill both do good happy hour drinks (4-6pm I think and around 6 euros a pitcher). |
Not a lot of hooks or places to dry kit in the 4 dorms. We'll worth taking some thin cord and pegs to rig a line.
Good sauna but can get busy.
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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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Resort: La Plagne (Plagne Centre, there's also a UCPA in Plagne 1800 I think).
Location in Resort: Plagne Centre. The centre is part of "Le France" building, which is built over the top of a piste. There's underground access to the main Plagne Centre buildings, or about a 2 minute walk across the piste front.
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: We only saw the double, en-suite rooms. They are reasonable in size with plenty of storage. Single beds can be pushed together to form a double. The en-suite WC/shower room is standard, with a large shower cubicle and a good, powerful shower that always had plenty of hot water. Half the rooms look out onto the piste-front (we were lucky), the other half look out onto the village and the valley below, which is also a fairly good view. Part of the UCPA deal is that you clean your room when you leave...I don't think the previous occupants had.
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): An old 60s style building, but has been recently refurbed internally. All parts of the UCPA are therefore clean and modern. Don't judge the building by its external appearance.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: I'd say good for intermediates, reasonably good for beginners and good for off-piste. Not many black runs. We did find the main areas busy, but the fringe areas (particularly Montalbert) were lovely and quiet with some great tree runs.
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: Booking through Action Outdoors you have the option of transfers from Geneva, Grenoble, Chambery or Lyon. I didn't enjoy the transfer to or from Geneva - it took 8 hours on the way and around 6 hours on the way back. This was early March, outside of UK holidays but the final week of French holidays. There are simply too many people trying to get to Paradiski/3 Valleys etc. for the roads to cope with. I'd consider getting the train to Aime (which is a town at the bottom of the valley) in future to avoid the main road queues. Even then, it took us around 90 minutes to get down from Plagne Centre to Aime on the way back.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): We saw a couple of young kids in the centre with their parents, a few party animals but mostly people in-between. Most common seemed to be groups of friends 20-40 years old who were there for the snow but also enjoyed a few drinks in the evening. The vast majority of guests were French, with only around 10 or so English people. I think there were a few Scandis too.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips:
- The building spans the green piste which leads to the top of the Melezes lift/bottom of the Bergerie lift. It's well located for accessing all areas on the la Plagne side of Paradiski. We also skiied over to the Vanoise Express linking with la Plagne within an hour or so, so it'd be easy to explore some of Les Arcs too although we didn't as it wasn't included in our lift pass and we felt we had plenty in la Plagne for the week.
- I found Plagne Centre pistes busy, but other areas were quieter and easy to access from the centre. It was French holidays.
- There's a bar with games and a pool table.
- The food was pretty good - buffet service, always a few different main course options.
- The centre is predominantly French and not as focussed on English speakers as some other UCPA centres anecdotally are. You'd struggle to take part in any activities unless your French was good enough.
- Our instructor was excellent. The first day of instruction felt like a waste of time whilst they adjusted groups, but after that it was really worthwhile. We had read that UCPA instructors' English is sometimes too limited to be effective, but we didn't find this a problem at all. Of course, it's down to the individual.
- We've also read in old reviews that the centre manager is a grumpy man. He must've left, as the centre manager was a very helpful woman.
- There are ski lockers on the ground floor, with each room having their own locker. There are also boot heaters in one of the locker rooms on the ground floor - we didn't find these at first as our locker was in a separate room. The heaters were excellent and there seemed to be enough for all guests.
All in all, we thought the whole experience was excellent and very good value for money. Everything about the centre exceeded our expectations.
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I've done a bit on this UCPA already but it's better off here with all the other comments I think:
Resort: Les Contamines
Location in Resort (near to slopes, buses, town centre): on the other side of the river from the main part of town, near to the farmhouses etc. There is a bus stop next to the car park which runs down the valley past the lifts to the church and Nordic course then back down on the other side of the river. Town centre has a couple of shops, a book shop and a couple of bars. There is a second church in the main part of town which is charming and a DIY laundrette near the main square. The bus times vary depending on whether the week is half-term etc. The UCPA staff know this and will help or there are times printed at the bus stop.
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: there are little anterooms off the main corridors with a toilet, storage cupboard and double and quad rooms. The quads have high bunkbeds and there is little storage space. You can prop a roller bag in the corner but they're snug. There's a shower and basin with curtain. There are areas with sofas and a table in the corridors but it's a bit gloomy and the bar is much friendlier. Booze is bought using a swipe card and is not cheap. I think this is to stop kids drinking underage. The money can be refunded onto a receipt for use the next year. They also have bar snacks.
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): middling. I'm used to institutional bunks/shared accommodation so it doesn't bother me. Warm, comfortable but functional.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: beginners certainly, intermediate off-piste yes, advanced probably no. Not very steep and quite a low resort. Not really a high mountain resort at all.
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: I took the ouibus from Geneva airport which was fine: another comment said it was tricky but I changed in Sallanches I think and it was v easy to book online. Bit of a faff to find the bus in Geneva (they're downstairs on the same level as the motorway) but that's airports for you.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): they had a cheesy disco on the Friday where no doubt teenage hearts are broken but noise in my room was unpopular. I think UCPA group the kids together which is wise and I'd rather sleep outdoors than share with some annoying French children (all French children are annoying). There was a good mix of Brit professionals in their twenties, Frogs on half-term holibobs and various strays like me making up the numbers. If I had teenage-ish children then I would be quite content that they were safe there and would enjoy themselves.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: the ouibus drops you off at the bus stop then it's 100m across the car park. They have a full-size workshop downstairs and can repair skis for a charge (in my case sharply reduced which was gratefully received with a couple of beers). There are boot heaters and racks which are secured at night as is the back door ski entrance/exit. The games during the week are good fun and worth the bother to win drinks. The nearest cashpoint is in/near the town square I think, as is the bus back to Geneva which is NOT near the stop for the bus out which is outside the UCPA.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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This hasn't been updated for a while but it's a good thread so:
Resort: Argentiere
Location in Resort (near to slopes, buses, town centre): in the middle of Argentiere at the top of the valley from Chamonix. A ten-minute walk from the Grands Montets lifts. It's a fair distance from Chamonix, twenty minutes or so on the bus or train. The latter is a little quicker but leaves less frequently.
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: Double rooms at a premium, otherwise four-man rooms. Two top beds and two below. There are small storage lockers which can be locked. There is also a basin with shelves and a couple of large radiators. It's worth trying to avoid a room over the disco area. According to one member of staff the music goes up the pipes so simply asking for a higher floor doesn't work, it has to be the other side of the building.
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): new and very well kept in general.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: It has the widest range of courses available, from absolute beginners in both skiing and snowboarding to snowshoeing, touring and even yoga... The top course is their "Steeps" course which is, I'm told, very exciting and full of people who are very experienced skiiers. Uses rappels etc so not for the faint-hearted.
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: short distance from Geneva, buses from there seem the easiest. There is a railway from Switzerland so Verbier trips are manageable. I took a coach from the UK then a bus/train up the valley.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): it's not a party UCPA although apparently the Cham centre is. There is a disco-type thing on Fridays but it's not massive. Those coming are an roughly-equal mix of experienced skiiers and total beginners. It's friendly, comfortable and less competitive than Chamonix's reputation would suggest. In the more 'senior' groups it's more like that but not hugely. The instructors vary a great deal: some are very friendly, keen to help you progress and professional whereas some are really French in their working attitudes: they will seem to do everything to shave minutes off the agreed teaching time and are often reluctant to actually teach if instructors. You ask for advice and it's reluctantly given. To be fair the groups are described as "more guided than led" on the UCPA site but some are better than others at this.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: there is a handy little supermarket just up the hill from there, tucked in behind the main street on the right. It's a Sherpa or something like that. There are only two pegs per person in the rooms: a portable washing line is v handy.
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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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any info on UCPA Val d'isere appreciated pls.
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| Quote: |
some are really French in their working attitudes: they will seem to do everything to shave minutes off the agreed teaching time and are often reluctant to actually teach if instructors
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Perhaps if people are going to take advantage of centres which, as I understand it, are heavily subsidised by the French Government, they will get more out of UCPA if they don't give credence to negative stereotypes. By any of the usual measures the productivity of French workers is significantly better than that of British workers.
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You know it makes sense.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
some are really French in their working attitudes: they will seem to do everything to shave minutes off the agreed teaching time and are often reluctant to actually teach if instructors
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Perhaps if people are going to take advantage of centres which, as I understand it, are heavily subsidised by the French Government, they will get more out of UCPA if they don't give credence to negative stereotypes. By any of the usual measures the productivity of French workers is significantly better than that of British workers. |
I'm surprised by this - I've done 4 trips with them and would say the opposite - in every case the instructors or guides seemed to enjoy being out with us and frequently kept us out past the finish time, including one memorable last dash for the lift before it closed, which would have stranded us in the wrong valley - still the closest shave I've had.
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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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| Dravot wrote: |
| any info on UCPA Val d'isere appreciated pls. |
I've been to 4 -
Serre Chevalier
Val Thorens
Chamonix
Val d'Isere
and Val d'Isere was by far the worst centre. The rooms were very grotty and the food wasn't as good as any of the others. The skiing however was fantastic, and the guide was great fun.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Seconded regarding Val d’Isere. The centre felt very cramped with a small bar area, rooms also had lots of beds - our room had 4 sets of bunk beds - luckily there were only 6 of us as I think the bathroom might have been a struggle! Only one socket in the entire room!
Guiding and quality of food was great, as was the position of the centre. Our group ended up skiing with the chap who runs the centre - he was saying they’ve been wanting to refurbish the centre for a while but it keeps being blocked - partly due to the previous avalanche in the 70s/80s, requiring any build to have something like 3 external walls with no windows!
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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've stayed at three UCPAs now so I figured I'd give each a write up...
Resort: Flaine (January 2020, Ski Basic - 2 half day intermediate lessons). Travelled solo.
Location in Resort: On the main "strip", essentially ski out and almost ski in. Close to shops, bars etc
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: Decent size, I stayed in a quad room, decent amount of storage each and a plug and reading light per bed. Larger centre but seemed to deal with capacity well, not much character but that's in line with Flaine!
Age of centre: Seemed fairly new, not run down at least
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: This was my 5th week of piste skiing but I hadn't had many lessons, I picked intermediate level and this seemed like a good match but I did only have a couple of lessons. Instructor was good at giving pointers in English as well.
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: Transferred from Geneva, very quick and easy. Booked via action outdoors website and the transfer was a small minibus.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): Lively but not rowdy, I met a decent amount of fellow Brits comprised of smaller groups and we banded together for the most part. Didn't see many people older than mid 30s.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: They issued ski equipment and lift pass on the Saturday so on the first day I could hit the slopes straight away. Usually came back for lunch and it was worth it but you could also have made packed lunch if needs be. Usually evening "animations" that we sometimes partook in. The stretching sessions were nice.
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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 stayed at three UCPAs now so I figured I'd give each a write up...
Resort: Serre Chevalier (February 2022, Ski Half Time - 4 half day intermediate lessons). Travelled solo.
Location in Resort (near to slopes, buses, town centre): Ski in, ski out - at the bottom of 'casse du boeuf' charlift (good quick chair) in the town of Villeneuve. Never really ventured out into town as everything needed was in resort but it was walking distance from a club!
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: Quad room, smaller than Flaine but still worked fine, balcony and secure space etc, bathroom fine.
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): Felt older but in good condition, bar area nice and dining room spacious. The sun terrace was great for lunch and the pool was a fun novelty. Good sized boot room as well. The nicest of the three centres I've stayed at (Flaine, SC and L2A)
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: It wasn't an amazing time for snow (when is!) but I enjoyed the piste skiing and it's fun to be able to go down into different towns etc etc, never got bored on piste. Lessons were useful and instructor was good at speaking in English as well!
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: I transferred from Grenoble - booked with Bens Bus via action outdoors. Grenoble airport always a bit of a pain, two stage transfer which took us to Les Deux Alpes were we transferred to a smaller mini bus for the final part. 3 1/2 hours each way all in I'd reckon but we got unluckly with traffic.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): I was rooming with two 40+ guys doing the advanced off piste course (they spent most days in Le Grave I believe), I'd say average age was older than Flaine, late 20s plus but I'm sure there were younger groups I didn't come across. We ended up being a social group of about 6-8 English speakers who all got on well. My mainly French ski group was also very welcoming and a fun final night out at the club was had with them!
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: They issued ski equipment and passes the evening before which is always very helpful. Genuinely good food and always decent variety. Well stocked bar.
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I've stayed at three UCPAs now so I figured I'd give each a write up...
Resort: Les 2 Alpes (January 2023, Ski Half Time - 4 half day intermediate lessons). Travelled with 2 more (half time improver and off piste full time)
Location in Resort (near to slopes, buses, town centre): About 5 mins walk to Diable lift, not ski in/ski out. Far end of town, walking distance to night spots L'Avalanche and Smithy's Tavern, other restaurants nearby
Room Sizes, Size of Centre: Two buildings, we were in the main one. Our room had six beds and that would have been a struggle space wise. We ended up only being four which was manageable but not luxury, limited plugs, balcony. Dining room quite cramped at times and boot room pretty cosy as well.
Age of centre (new, old, knackered): Felt old and a bit run down, the least luxurious of the three I've stayed in. Bar area basic and didn't have all that many options compared to SC. Boot room as mentioned was small but equipment all fairly good.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: Piste could do with a few more reds and it's easy to complete the whole area pretty quickly. A couple of fun blacks, lifts are a mix of slow and fast, the diable run down back to town could be carnage! My instructor delivered most of the classes only in French, I think I could have pushed for more translation though and in hindsight I should have pushed to move up a class.
Transport Options, distance from major airport, which airport, other suggested transport options: Flew into Grenoble and Bens bus direct to resort, a couple of hours and simple enough. Dropped off 5 minutes from UCPA.
Average Customer (good for families, party central, older SHs?): I'd say most people in their mid 20s, didn't meet that many people older than mid 30s I reckon.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: This is definitely closer to hostel than hotel on the UCPA spectrum, all felt quite school like if you know what I mean. It's fine but it's a shame it was the first time for my travel partners experiencing a UCPA. That being said my friend on the off piste class had a good experience and they travelled a lot and got their money worth. You can book the jacuzzi and sauna for an hour on some evenings and that was actually great and very well maintained. The food was overall a good standard just quite repetitive.
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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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Echo the comments of what the ones I've been to so far- I have to say I really enjoyed the Chamonix stay, even with the faff of buses, because I was with a great group of similarly advanced skiers that wanted to do lift served off piste (there was another group for the real hardcore skinning etc). Had a great instructor/guide who really knew his stuff- he was a proper Chamonix certified guide I believe- we did plenty of avalanche training to make sure we were competent with using our kit. They rented out Rossignol Bandit B3 skis to the off piste groups that were perfect for the conditions- they ploughed through everything and I'm pretty sure we had priority access to the full area on the ski pass- I can't even remember much of a supplement paid if at all to get to right the top of the Grands Montets. Buses weren't too bad though this was a while ago prior to kids where I was going outside school holidays so probably a good time to take them!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Has anyone booked directly through UCPA before? Is there any disadvantage to doing so rather than through Action Outdoors? Apart from navigating the site on Google Translate. You have to add the early arrival supplement but there's still a considerable saving on the trip I'm considering.
Not the end of the world but I'd be a bit lost if I ended up being roomed with French speakers. I wondered if it's just pot luck anyway, last time I went there was a chap from France (albeit Chinese overseas who had good English) in our room of 3 English.
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| silentice wrote: |
Has anyone booked directly through UCPA before? Is there any disadvantage to doing so rather than through Action Outdoors? Apart from navigating the site on Google Translate. You have to add the early arrival supplement but there's still a considerable saving on the trip I'm considering.
Not the end of the world but I'd be a bit lost if I ended up being roomed with French speakers. I wondered if it's just pot luck anyway, last time I went there was a chap from France (albeit Chinese overseas who had good English) in our room of 3 English. |
Wondering the same. Choosing between Tignes / Flaine / L2A for w/c 18 March and cheaper through the French website!
Speaking of Tignes - any recent reviews? 
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| Bordtea wrote: |
Speaking of Tignes - any recent reviews? |
I went to Tignes on Chrismas holiday. I would say it's basically good(the slopes,the food, the bar is all good).But there are some problems you may need to know: 1.The Internet in the center is very bad, in many rooms there are no Internet connection at all(sometime you can connect wifi but you can do nothing with it). 2. It's not ski in ski out, but just need 5 minutes walk to the lift (you can also take bus,very convenient too) 3.The room is small,very narrow, 4 people shared one room, and 8 people share one shower room and one toilet.
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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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Resort: Lacanau
Location in Resort: About 30 mins from the town and surf beach, Bike hire is available at the centre and that gets it down to 10 minutes. 800km from the slopes.
Room Sizes: Most are 4 person rooms, some twins or singles.
Age of centre: Pretty old but still ok. Lovely outdoor space for a few beers in the sun.
Good for beginner, intermediate, advanced: Pretty good for all. Spring/autumn is better for experts because the waves will be bigger. We were surfing 1.5m to 2m waves in early October which required decent paddling. Beginners will be ok on the white water for a week.
Transport Options: 1h taxi from Bordeaux to the centre, bus is possible but much longer. Parking available at the centre.
Average Customer: Almost all French people in 20s. Friendly but we would have got on better socially if our French was better. 4 Brits total for the week. No families.
Other useful stuff that a potential SH might want to know to avoid asking the same questions and also to help planning trips: Food was excellent as ever. Plenty of social activities. Surf lessons were very high standard. Hiring bikes is a must. The accommodation is very much hostel standard but still really enjoyed it.
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