 Poster: A snowHead
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Info:
Gatwick to Lyon-Saint Exupéry via EasyJet
Transfer - car rental through Europcar
Chalet - Come Ski Chalet Panda http://www.come-ski.com/panda
Ski hire - Slidecandy https://www.slidecandy.com/
Private lessons - https://www.sweetsnowsports.com/
Group of 6 (2 travelling separately) on our 2nd DIY trip.
To start with, I used official Gatwick Valet Parking for the first time as I got a good deal. It was a very smooth experience. Turned up at 4am, right next to the terminal. Unloaded the car, took a ticket and walked straight in. Hassle free and no waiting around. This was only £10 more than the long stay so I think it's a no brainer. Picking up, we were about 20 minutes early but walked into the reception and got the key and on the road all within 10 minutes.
Our flight was on time and everything smooth. Got the privilege of taking our carry on luggage onto the actual plane with EasyJet without paying for priority. Landed 15 mins early. All good! I did went ahead to beat the rush for the hire cars whilst the rest of the group collected our luggage. It was our first time flying into Lyon and it was a pleasure in comparison to Grenoble. The only downside was the wait for the bus and the distance to the hire car area.
Picked up the car which was pre-booked through Europcar and we were on our way. No traffic to speak of and with a quick stop to buy some chains we were in resort at 1PM.
Chalet Panda is in a great location. It's a two minute walk to the blue piste that runs down into La Tania. We managed to ski back to the drive via coming down the drag once it had stopped running and sliding along the pavement but if you don't want to do this then again, it's a short walk back from the blue piste at the end of the day. The surrounding area is very quiet and the chalet isn't overlooked at all. We stayed in the top room (which has the extra small single attached to it). It's a massive room for just two of you with loads of room to put bags, clothes etc. The only thing it lacks is handing space, but that is really nit-picking and is made up for by the space and the view out of the balcony. Yes there is a beam across and the roof does slope but I'm over 6ft and the worlds clumsiest man and banged my head once during the week. The bed was massive and very, very comfy and the room, spotlessly clean. Panda has the biggest boot room I have ever had the pleasure of using and with it's heated boot warmers meant getting out as a big group in the morning painless.
The general feeling of space in the chalet continues throughout, with a sizable lounge and dining area meaning you never feel like you are on top of each other like can happen in other chalets. The chalet was warm with plentiful hot water.
To top it off, the outdoor hot tub was a perfect way to end the day (with a beer in hand of course). The sauna was also a lovely addition.
Our hosts for the week, Emma and Beatie were excellent. Nothing was too much for them. Emma cooked amazing food for us and Beatie made sure that we were all watered well throughout the week. Emma also make a very tasty birthday cake for one of our group!
John the driver came to our rescue twice. Once when one of our party hurt her knee and couldn't carry on skiing so collected her from Meribel free of charge.
Secondly, we missed the last lift coming back one afternoon so he again came out to collect us from La Praz free of charge.
Finally, Jay popped in every day to see if we needed anything. He purchased our Ski Passes for us so they were ready on day 1 and booked our table to eat out on the girls night off. The whole team also kept the drive clear and helped us on our last day get the cars free of snow and ice. I couldn't recommend Come Ski and Chalet Panda enough to anyone who wants a stay in La Tania!
We hired our gear through Slidecandy on the recommendation of several SnowHeads! And we weren't disappointed. Our ski's were waiting for us on arrival and after a quick phone call, they popped back up to fit boots etc/make sure everything was ok. The were in great condition and did the job superbly for all the skiers in the group! On the last day, they came and collected with no issues at all.
We had two private lessons with Sweet Snowsports. Our instructor Andy was absolutely amazing. Not only was he a top bloke but his knowledge of the area meant we got the most out of our lessons. His teaching style was relaxed but effective and both my partner and I could see and feel noticeable improvements to our skiing. He went above and beyond and made sure he took us back to an area we knew when we had poor visibility even though our time had finished. I couldn’t recommend Sweet Snowsports and Andy enough if you are in need of lessons or want to brush up on your technique.
As for the ski area itself. I really liked the feel of La Tania. I'm a bit of a sucker for the Alpine/snowy trees traditional look and it ticked that box. Having to ski down to the bubble and up in the morning was a mild inconvenience and the mornings we had to wait for Bouc Blanc or Dou Des Lanches to open meant we had to do a couple of laps back down to La Tania to kill some time. We covered a lot of the ski area and managed to get up to VT and Sommet Des 3 Valles on one day, which was a pleasure as was Mont Du Vallon.
On our last day, Suisses lift was late opening and by shear coincidence we got there as it opened so up we went and came back down the Suisses black. We must have been one of the first down there. Wow, what a run it was. Pure powder, no moguls. Easily my favorite run of the week.
We didn't have to wait for any lifts throughout the week and the pistes were quiet (on the whole).
It was a great week away and we will certianly return to the 3V but propably stay up the other end. Either in VT or Les Menuires. I would thoroughly recommend any of the above companies in the future!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Great helpfull 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?
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Great report @Fridge03.
Do you have the costings?
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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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Great report. +1 for Sweet and Andy. Top bloke. He had our girls 2 years ago for effectively a week of private lessons. They loved his relaxed style!
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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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| Layne wrote: |
Great report @Fridge03.
Do you have the costings? |
Chalet was £750pp for the week. On the pricier side (£300 more than what we payed last year) but the quality of the chalet/location/service completely justified the price. It was the nicest chalet I have ever stayed in and the hot tub was amazing!
Our flights were £100 return each from Gatwick to Lyon. That's with 23kg of hold luggage.
Car hire through Europcar came to £350 for a large VW Touran (no winter tyres or snow chains on that price). We purchased chains at a super market for 24 euros...bargain.
Ski hire came to £115 each with the shops own insurance.
Lessons where approximately £300 for 2x2 hours of private lessons (£150 each).
I forgot to mention. We stopped in Annecy on the way back to the airport (again on the recommendation of SnowHeads). What a lovely place. We spent a couple of hours walking around and had a smashing lunch in a small but quality riverside restaurant.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The downside of VT or Les Menuires is the lack of trees in bad weather.
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| dw832 wrote: |
| The downside of VT or Les Menuires is the lack of trees in bad weather. |
True, but I think I preferred the slopes over there. Especially up in VT. But I get that it's probably horrible in poor vis! Hence probably a March trip would be in order.
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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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FAQ
