 Poster: A snowHead
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Because being on holiday seems to be the best time of year to plan the next one...
As our stupidly cheap 3 year Saas Fee passes expire this year we are thinking of a bit of a change for our March trip. Family property in Saas so it has always been really easy and have never actually booked a ski holiday if that makes sense. So we were thinking of Meribel next year, for the simple reason one of our group has been before a number of years ago so it is not totally alien. We ski anything marked in Saas Fee so not looking for gnarly off piste but also we don't need to worry about everything being accessible via a blue run, but we ski all of Saas Fee in 2 days now so looking for a large connected resort/area. Open to suggestions though if anyone has anything genius based on the below.
The challenges:
We'd prefer to drive rather than fly, and for the drive to be done in a day, so would be a late arrival in resort probably around 2300pm local time all being well with the Eurotunnel, mainly as we all have our own gear and also like stocking up in the supermarket on the way in.
There are 3 of us, a couple and a single person and we are fine with self catering or with a hotel at a push but not keen on the catered chalet idea as we feel like its paying for meals we won't necessarily use.
As we'd be paying full whack for a holiday for the first time in a while we'd like ski in/out or staggerable in ski boots i.e. 100 yards, not half a mile walk or a bus, but don't mind walk or bus into town for shopping in street shoes.
I'm assuming we'll need to fall into the Sat-Sat routine, probably looking at early March assuming the snow generally holds out in the area, or first week of Feb to go the other side of half term if not. Jan is out because we don't come back from the Christmas trip until the first week of Jan so it seems a bit soon to go again.
Does such a thing exist or am I hoping for a revolving moon on a stick?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You don't say what quality of accommodation you want or budget but I'm going to assume a medium price range 1 bed apartment? 1 bed for the couple and the single sleeps on the sofa bed?
Ski in/out is a tough ask in Meribel as the town centre is about 500m up the hill from the main ski area access point (the Chaudanne). Even the 5 star hotels at the base of that hill are still 200m+ from an actual lift. However, there is a trick - if you stay right in the town centre there is a public escalator next to the tourist office that takes you up to a ski path that leads straight to the Chaudanne. You can come home via the escalator also and one of the Chaudanne lifts (Rhodos) stays open half an hour later than all other lifts to allow you to access that side of Meribel to get home.
As such, there are two P&V apartment blocks that would work: https://www.pierreetvacances.com/gb-en/fp_M2U_self-catering-meribel-peillon/accommodation?season=WINTER&hc=M2U14CS&duree=7&dated=2019-03-23&nba=2&nbc=0&nbb=0#page#pv-Headband-booking
and https://www.pierreetvacances.com/gb-en/fp_17L_self-catering-meribel-ravines/accommodation?season=WINTER&hc=17L14&duree=7&dated=2019-03-30&nba=2&nbc=0&nbb=0#page#pv-Headband-booking
Both these buildings normally book up early because of the location (especially the 1 beds). P&V Reception closes at 9pm but they will leave your keys in a combination box if you tell them you're going to be late. Ask for a room away from the road. The alternative to the town centre is to stay in the higher areas of Meribel such as Morel or Rond-Point and there are several nice (expensive!) hotels up there. These are closer to the ski slopes (other side of the road etc.) but are a bus ride into the town centre at night.
With regards to early March or early February it depends on your snow/temperature preference. March will be Spring skiing with some slush but hopefully sunny, first week February is usually one of the very best weeks of the season, snow-wise. The lifts across the 3V's stay open an extra half hour to around 5pm from the second week of February onwards (so probably Feb 8th in 2020) and this can make a big difference to your ski day if you're keen skiers. Check the French holiday times, occasionally the first week of late opening is not a holiday week in which case it's the perfect time to go.
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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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@lampygirl, Try out Mottaret, centre of the 3V's, high altitude car free village, loads of free parking, easy access to other valleys and quieter pistes high above the crowds of Meribel. Lots of ski in out apartments in the Latalet sector and in La Chatelet it is a bit quieter and a short 100 M walk on flat to the pistes..
www.skimottaret.com for loads of links and info on the local area.
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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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@lampygirl, So, you’re looking for a ski in / ski out apartment in Meribel for March that sleeps three. Yes, there should be literally hundreds of places that fit the bill. Was there a more complicated requirement you forgot to mention?
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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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I think the first week of March is half term so the resort may be a bit busy. As others have suggested Mottaret is probably the best bet for ski in ski out.
We regularly do the drive to Les Arcs and recently have taken to doing it during the day rather than overnight. For the last trip we left the Midlands at 5:30 and were in our apartment by 21:00. We were very lucky with the tunnel crossing. However such ease of crossing the channel may become a thing of the past having just read about operation brock in Kent which starts on Monday
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@lampygirl, why Meribel? Why the 3V even? Why not Paradiski or Espace Killy or ADH?
All of these areas of large numbers of small ski in, ski out apartments.
As the man said you need to avoid the French school holidays if you can.
Arriving 23:00 could be a problem if you are getting the key from agency. But some direct-with-owner rentals I've done I've done the documentation and had the keys sent to me beforehand.
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