 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all
After some searching about, we've found 3 hotel options for our 4 night break over Christmas. We are looking for a getaway that we can just spend some quality time together so no real need for apres. A quiet resort, reasonably snow sure at village level (to add to the Christmassy feel!) a few nice walking areas in case the weather means we can't (or we decide) to not hit the slopes.
Montriond - lovely setting by the lake. Webcams from previous Christmas periods show it's pretty much completely frozen and snow covered. Easy to get to from various routes/airports. We've skied the PDS before from the Swiss side, and although it needs a short bus to the ardent it seems like reasonably good access to snow sure Avoriaz. Not sure how busy the pistes etc will be with people coming up from Morzine etc?
Pila - staying up on the mountain so pretty much guaranteed snow coverage. Like the idea of staying up high with easy access to the slopes. Also much prefer the Italian prices than French! Tree lined skiing as well in case the weather is poor. My main concern here is how busy it will be over the Christmas period, as a lot of reviews and guides say that at weekends and holiday it gets a lot of visitors. Easy enough to get to from Turin/Milan.
Claviere - Nice, high village with excellent access to the Via Lattea. Quiet village. Stayed a few years in Montgenevre but never got over into Italy. Should be decent snow cover and easy access from Turin.
Any reason to chose one resort over the other? My main concern is how busy Pila could potentially be compared to the other 2. Especially as those areas being bigger means that people can get away from potential bottlenecks etc. Or does staying in Pila rather than Aosta avoid the worse of the crowds first thing? I appreciate it will be busier over that time of year any way! All the hotels we have found look very nice and have good reviews so it will probably come down to the resort!
We arrive on the 23rd, so would plan to maybe to a half day skiing on the 24th. Take part in some festive activities on Christmas Eve afternoon/evening. Ski Christmas and boxing Day before coming home on the 27th.
Has anyone had any experience of these 3 places over Christmas, good or bad?
Thank you!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Fridge03, no direct experience of any at xmas (although lots of bits of France at xmas). I'd think Pila would be the choice, from what I hear. I don't think there's much up there, but there certainly isn't much by any of the Montriond hotels. My general understanding is that most people stay in Aoste and "commute" up and xmas for the Italians in general is very much a family week, so I wouldn't expect (!) it to be too busy.
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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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No Christmas experience, but I wonder whether in Montriond you would find yourself being passed by buses already full heading for Ardent. No doubt someone here will know.
Claviere is basically an outpost of Montgenevre which you already know; the link to the rest of Via Lattea isn't something you would want to do more than once in a restricted stay.
Pila small but big enough for 3 days, and you would be staying where the action is. The issue is holiday crowds heading up from Aosta; beginning of the day would be OK and if @under a new name is right the Italians will be partying at home rather than skiing.
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@j b, we stayed in Montriond itself (not up by the lake though) and the buses were a bit inconsistent - and sometimes very busy coming down. The M bus isn’t on the very helpful Morzine bus app that shows where the buses are “live”, so you had to rely on the timetable, which when we were there was more of a guideline…
Accessing PdS via Ardent is great though - straight into Lindarets where you have a range of options - over to Chatel, straight ahead to Mossettes and Switzerland or over to Avoriaz. If you’re driving you could avoid the bus and drive - parking is free at Ardent.
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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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@andy from embsay, I agree, Ardent would be the perfect access point especially for someone on a short break where they are not too concerned about accessing the Prodains/Les Gets side. (And even that probably wouldn't be too bad, the morning buses would be returning empty so you could easily get to the Prodains lift).
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Thanks for the thoughts everyone. We've gone for up at the Lake in Montriond. Whilst it's isolated, it's still reasonably easy to get down into Morzine for Christmas Eve celebrations. And the setting is beautiful.
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@Fridge03, Not sure where exactly you’re staying but Hotel du Lac up there is getting a good reputation for food etc. Taxis are notoriously hard to come by, though, so if you’re not wanting to drive on xmas eve I’d try and sort something as soon as you can. The last M bus back from town is about 1730.
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| andy from embsay wrote: |
| @Fridge03, Not sure where exactly you’re staying but Hotel du Lac up there is getting a good reputation for food etc. Taxis are notoriously hard to come by, though, so if you’re not wanting to drive on xmas eve I’d try and sort something as soon as you can. The last M bus back from town is about 1730. |
That's where we are staying. Recent reviews since it's renovation seem to be very positive.
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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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@Fridge03, they run taxis (suspect it’s their own) up from town and back for people having dinner, so they might run one the other way on xmas eve?
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