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Family ski/city break DIY - Venice and San Pellegrino - New Year 2019

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Our holiday: Another Family ski/city break holiday, consisting of myself, OH, 12 yr son and 8 yr old daughter, all “intermediates” to varying degrees, incorporating a city break in Venice for two days before heading up to the Dolomites.

Where - Venice city break and San Pellegrino ski area, being based in Caviola (just outside of Falcade)

When 28 Dec 2018 to 6 Jan 2019

Flights Easyjet out of Gatwick to Verona

Car rental - Hertz (“winterized”, i.e. chains included) via HolidayAutos – had a bit of a drama as having looked at the HolidayAuto confirmation about 2 weeks before leaving I found it said nothing about “winterization” despite remembering the quote screen showed this as included. I asked HA to confirm, they asked me for a screenshot of the quote to prove it (of course who keeps these! – well me from now on) so they sent various emails to Hertz but said they got no reply. Eventually I got fed up and rang Hertz Verona direct and they confirmed (as the Hertz website said) that chains are compulsorily included in any rentals from that outlet for certain winter months and they were included in the quote.
Hotels – Venice - Hotel Plaza (in Mestre, on mainland opp Venice), then when in Caviola – Albergo Scoiattolo (meaning Hotel Squirrel)

For once the trains to Gatwick were on time (despite having to change twice due to holiday engineering works when its usually only once) and not very busy! Flight was at a reasonable time, leaving at 1130, and we got to Gatwick in good time, no queues at self check-in due to the numerous machines. Only a slight hold up when not being sure how to use the self-check in for small sports allowance made up of ski and boot bag, so had to ask the human. Press small sports, then the machine prints out two tags (if you tell it there are 2 bags, ski and boot, but this is not obvious), neither were weighed (we were underweight anyway), then both the ski and boot bag (!) go to oversized. Usual brusque security man who wanted the kids to be separated from parents so that all his little slots were filled at the bag screening.

A snack at Pret then onto the plane which left on time. The flight was busy but uneventful until we got to Verona where, in keeping with EasyJet’s poor record with my ski bag, they had ripped it, obviously by dragging it along the ground so the hard protrusions from the bindings had caused abrasion tears. The local baggage lady pointing to a sheet from Easyjet saying they were not responsible for straps being torn off so refused to lodge the claim, however this damage was not to the straps so I insisted so she then gave me a website I could log the report into (but which I found for which I needed a damage report number! Lodged it anyway as have a photo. Supposed to hear back in 10 working, days, first reply was last week!).

We flew into Verona, picked up a rental car from Hertz (see above) and drove to Mestre. I had an idea to head into Venice that evening but the transit to the hotel took longer as it always does, not helped by a fair bit of fog on the road. I also ended up with a splitting headache in the evening, so finished the day with having a quick dinner in the hotel restaurant then to bed. Incidentally, this is where my wife said she had her only iffy meal in Italy that she though not great (but mine and kids were fine). The hotel room was large, modern and very comfortable. Breakfast was included which was a typical continental one but with a few hot options too, pretty good.

The next morning was pretty cold and started off foggy. The hotel was just outside the Mestre train station but with a bus stop also nearby, with the bus being included on the Venice travel cards we got. So a 15 minute bus ride it was and we were in, then hopped onto a waterbus to get into the centre. I wasnt sure what to expect and its quite something when you get there with the character of the place, the fact that buildings just rise out the water and that the canals are truly everywhere. Great fun just to wander the streets, as its so small you can’t really get lost although its a rabbit warren. We headed for St Marks square, which was busy but quite something. The winter months apparently only have 1/3 visitors of summer, so I would hate to see it then. The sun had broken through, but the cold drove us to the first hot chocolate of the holiday. We stumbled across Rosa Salva, a great cafe, near the square. Back to the square and queued for the Basilica. The queue moved quickly. The basilica is stunning. It was free entry but many of the areas require a paid ticket, such as the Treasury, the amazing Pala D’Oro and the museum upstairs. After that was time for lunch, avoiding the really obvious tourist traps on the square we headed into back into the side streets, the prices get lower the further away from the square you go but the food wasn’t bad. After that a wander around to the Rialto and the obligatory but memorable gondola ride, we got lucky with a classic singing gondolier. Later got over to the Naval Museum (really just wanted to get to the Arsenale but needed to use the loo which can be few and far between in Venice), a quick look at the Arsenale, then back on the vaporetto to the bus stop for the hotel.
The next day was another sunny day and warmer , we headed for the outer islands, Murano and Burano. Took a little while to get to them and the vaporetto were quite busy on the way out but worth the trip. Each were a more rural version of Venice. Murano’s parish church was worth a visit as was the glass museum. We also visited the small Lace Museum.

After a longer day than planned we headed back to the hotel and drove up north for a couple of hours. The roads were good, and the driving was straightforward with google maps (I found the Italian signage hard to read as the letter size seemed very small) except when it tried to direct us down a short stretch of unfinished road near the end. A quick re-route was easily sorted. The other drivers were not slow but not too reckless for the most part. We got to the hotel in good time for dinner.

The resort. Decided on the Dolomites as we could combine it with a trip to Venice and it was the last year the youngest could get a free lift pass here. Picked San Pellegrino it looked interesting and seemed to be off the beaten (well, for UK visitors) track. I think we only encountered another 2 UK families when there. Plus it was handy for both Venice where we were coming from then Verona where we left from. We don’t need a big area so wasn’t fussed it wasn’t on the Sella Ronda and prefer the smaller quieter ones. The nearest uplift was in Falcade which is on the Italian Veneto side, with San Pellegrino itself in Trentino, the Tirolian region. There was a difference, in menus and in the people. The Veneto side seemed that bit more friendly.

First day off to the slopes. There is a smallish paid car park right at the bottom (€4) and free parking just before it on the one way system. You didn’t have to get there too early to get parked in the pay and display. But had the first real drama of the trip in the bubble car park on that first morning. The new boots bought for the daughter suddenly didn’t fit! Tried a thinner pair of socks from the handy Rent and Go hire shop but not joy, so nothing for it but to rent her some bigger boots. The Rent and Go staff were really helpful. Luckily the new boots just about still fit into her ski bindings. Thinking about it, it may have been that the boots were cold and stiff so that bit harder to put on. But once that confidence is lost in them it can be a losing battle persisting, and the boots were only about €20 for the week. Thought that this delay would mean it would be busier up top, but, as we found, the Italians start late. The busy morning time was around 10am when the ski schools start, then they have a break around 11am and lunch late at about 1pm, so if you worked around these times you were good. We lunched around 12-12.30 and never had to wait to be served or for a table but big queues would form not long after.

On the first day we stayed on the Falcade side of the mountain. We very much liked run 26, which we always seemed to do first thing, then mucked about on the blues at the bottom until the ski schools descended onto them. The restaurant Chalet Le Buse was great for a self service place, reasonably priced, loos on the same level, great chips, a menu that changed daily and were kind enough to chalk it up in English too. (On the other hand the Bar Restoro Sussy dingy downstairs toilets, smelly and dark.). Le Buse became the favoured eatery as when the kids find something they like they stick with it. Tried a Calimero on the first day but decided perhaps they are a bit much to ski after.

We did ski to the Passo side on other days, and drove one day. Decent amount of parking there and we found a space on one of the side roads next to the piste. It appeared to be free, I asked a chap there and he said he thought it was free and allowed but then shrugged his shoulders and said “but this is Italy”. Kept an eye on the car for a bit but all was good. The road separates slopes on either side of the valley, the black La Volata was fun, the runs on the northerly slopes were short and busier. Lift 302 was always closed due to wind on the days we were there so never got up to the highest point on that side. Chalet Isabelle was a pretty fancy eatery and did the best hot chocolate we came across. We had lunch in the small Bistro Snow Thrill (again slotted in nicely between the 11am crush and 1pm lunch crowd) which did a very good pizza.

One day we drove to the nearby Alpe Lusia area which was included on the pass and for which the uplift was at Ronchi between Passo San Pellegrino and Moena. A great little ski area, it seemed to have the best of the snow of the local slopes at the time. (One of our instructors had said that there had been quite a bit of wind that had been scouring the slopes in San Pellegrino.) There was a sense of travel here when traversing the area with some of the better views around. Good restaurants to be had as well, we ended up at Chalet 44 Alpine Lounge at the top of the second stage of the Bellamonte gondola which was new and had the feel of a 5 star hotel. Without a reservation, we ended up eating on the deck with the best views around of the Lagorai. La Morea is a steak restaurant a bit further down, smelt good and El Zimo served massive pizzas at the bottom of the gondola. A very good day was had with the exception of a rather unfortunate incident on the toboggan track, of which the less said the better. Would have happily gone back to Alpe Lusia but for the tobogganing incident which meant this was a no go for the leader of the party.

After this we mostly kept to the Falcade side. In the latter days of the week the wind really got up and, despite the continued blue skies, the 407 lift that took you up to be able to ski over to the Passo was closed off and on but on the last day, for the whole day. This only left a few short blues which were overrun by the ski schools after 1030 and the black back down to the valley. This was the case on the last day and OH and kids gave it up after mid-morning, I drove up to the Passo for a few more runs but the wind made it not overly enjoyable.

All in all the slopes were well kept given there had been no significant natural snow for a month prior. It was a bit of a worry before we got there but it was not an issue at all. A few slopes were closed but the rest were in good condition. Nor were they all that difficult, we strayed on a black with our 8 year old in Alpe Lusia without really noticing it when getting to the timed run,. She was not very perturbed by it and so she also tried the black down to Falcade later and managed that without much fuss. The pistes were not really marked (no piste numbered poles) apart from coloured poles but the place was small so not an issue. They did keep closing some slopes for training (I know there was some junior Italian ski team about as they were staying in our hotel) but not much seemed to be happening on them. A bit annoying was that run 25 was closed for a couple of days (I think there is a timed run on it) which meant you had to ski around the long way to get up and over to the Passo side.

Instruction – we booked 4 blocks of 2 hour private lessons for the kids (they are rather bolshie at the moment about not wanting to go on group lessons). I went with Ski Equipe (simple reason was they had a website in English whereas the other school did not so I was hoping that this indicated a better chance of instruction in English). A bit hit or miss as we only booked when there but our daughter seemed to enjoy hers and I went along on one of our son’s lesson as it wasn’t much to add another person and I thought it was pretty good. I would recommend Andrea Marzin (I think) whose English was excellent.

Accommodation : We usually self-cater but this time went for half board at the hotel. This was a good choice as the food was excellent with the owner making a fantastic crostata. The dinner included a reasonable amount of wine and the New Years dinner was about 7-8 courses or so (lost count). It has a small spa that you book for exclusive use. The staff and the owner were very friendly and accommodating. The room was not the biggest, maybe an earlier booking would have had more choice, but it was warm and comfortable. The ski room was heated but not in the mornings it seemed (see issue with boots above) and struggled to really dry the boots so brought them up to the room.

Other:
With the boot drama and her boots only just about fitting into the ski binding I decided to get them remounted so they were a little more in the range and could accommodate bigger boots when she’s older. Rent and Go could not do these but recommended Holiday Sport in Falcade. The tech there was good and only charged €15 (vs £50 it might cost in London). Holiday sport had some nice gear, sold and rented Stocklis (tempting) . We ended up buying a new ski outfit for her there as well.

We had our skis serviced at Rent and Go at the end of the trip for €27 each for edge, wax and base structure.

We went to the pool at Agordo, about 20 mins by car. This was a normal public pool rather than a water park. It’s not cheap (E18 for 3) but was quiet in the evening when we went. The staff were very friendly, including the lifeguard, very much opposite to the grumpy lot you get in the UK. Most of the lanes were reserved for lane swimming but they had loads of pool toys to keep the kids amused. You do need pool sandals and a swimming cap but you can borrow these there.

Falcade also had an ice skating rink , cross country ski track and go karting. We only tried the ice skating and it was nice to do this on a large rink for once.


We thought we would take a side trip to Lake Garda on the way to Verona on the day we were leaving. We left with what was plenty of time to have an hour or two around the lakeside but we hadn’t counted on parts of the A22 motorway being at a standstill due to the sheer weight of traffic on the roads on Epiphany. It left us with about 15min to admire the lake before we had to leave to head to Verona airport.

Again an easy check in with no self check in but no queue. Interesting experience as the two hold bags and the boot bag (being part of the small sports allowance) were all weighed, tagged and taken at the normal bag drop. When it came to the ski bag, the nice lady just asked me how much I thought it weighed, I thought it weighed under the allowance. She printed the tag and escorted me to the oversized conveyor. That was that.
The flight back was uneventful except for further rips in my ski bag due to Easyjets careful baggage handlers and the airport bus to the plane driving off with its passenger doors open.


Conclusion: OH puts Italy as the best skiing destination we been to so far (beating France, Austria Norway, NZ). I think she might be right. If you were not looking for overly challenging piste skiing then it would be hard to disagree on many counts: the value for money; the food; the friendliness and relaxed approach; and their care of the slopes. We would happily head back to the Dolomites and to San Pellegrino in particular.

Thanks to all those replied on my info gathering thread.
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=137913&highlight=kronplatz
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@ster, what a fantastic report..thank you
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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?
holidayloverxx wrote:
@ster, what a fantastic report..thank you


Its a pleasure! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
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Great report, thanks for posting. Happy you had a good time.

We're heading there in March so I had a question about the piste maps: are there separate ones for Alpe Lusia and Falcade / Pellegrino? The piste map on the Dolomiti Superski website squashes both areas onto the same map and the angle makes it hard to understand the direction of some of the runs / lifts.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
One's on the reverse of the other.
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I usually use

www.skiresort.info

But the most up to date Alpe Lusia map is on their website

http://www.skiareaalpelusia.it/en/alpe-lusia-offers-great-holiday-in-unesco-world-heritage-site-of-the-dolomites/winter-map-alpe-lusia.htm

Makes it look quite big.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Riccardo, @ster, thanks both. (Not sure how I missed the Alpe Lusia website completely!)
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@ster we went to san Pellegrino a few weeks after you and had a fabulous time, I think we were the only brits there, and a great resort for a long weekend. I would highly recommend it and the long red from col Margaretta to the lake is one of my favourite runs anywhere.

i strongly suggest you check out the rest of the dollies they are all lovely. we're off to alta badia for half with an extra day at the start in Cortina and i hope to drag the family to Kronplatz as it looks amazing.
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@denfinella, I have found that Italian websites are sometimes not easy/straightforward to find, especially ones that look like they were knocked up in some geeks back bedroom in the 90s. But its a great little area, hope you enjoy it.

@HugoC, we hope to get to a few other Dolomite areas another time, but so many places and so little time.
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