 Poster: A snowHead
|
Despite my unconditional love of the 3Vs, I have convinced my 12-17 pax syndicate (3-4 families, kids aged 10-17) that it is time for a switch for our usual February half term trip. After a tonne of noodling around, I've just about concluded that the Dolomiti Superski area, and Alta Badia in particular, is best placed from a terrain standpoint to meet the particular needs of my large and very mixed ability group. While I am open to alternatives, at the end of the day what I'm really after is the "3Vs but different"  ; i.e.,
* a *vast* interlinked-without-buses ski area (we have several committed mile-munchers who average 50km of downhill per day);
* a large chunk of close, accessible and *extremely* mellow (sub Jerusalem levels of intensity) skiing near our base (my missus likes to ski a bit, coffee, ski a bit, lunch, ski a bit, civilised apres (tbh, "likes" would be "loves" if the day didn't involve skiing));
* a very good village and on-mountain restarant scene;
* reliable on-piste snow (my more advanced/off piste skiers will make do, and we're going elsewhere in December and January anyway); and
* a local venue with live music would be a plus.
For various reasons, the 4Vs (see my TR thread below) and the PDS (we've all been several times) are off the table for this trip, the other big French resorts do not seem sufficiently different to the 3Vs to warrant a change from what we know and love (I researched Paradiski in detail), and a recent recce by one of my tourists to St Anton/Lech did not fill me with condidence. I've also considered Selva/Val Gardena and Arabba, but the local skiing looks a bit too spicy for my famously skiing adverse missus. So Alta Badia it is, I guess.
Questions for the brain trust:
1) In an ideal world, we'd have 4 2BR self catering apartments in the same complex in Corvara. But it is not clear to me if this exists as a product in AB. Any idea when properties become available on the accommodation consolidators/portals? Are there any that you would recommend? Is there a glossary of what Italians mean by residences, guest houses, etc.? We'd also do a hotel if there was really no other choice subject to costings. In extremis, we'd do a package, but I am allergic to being at the mercy of a tour operator and I have folk with wildly divergent tolerances for flight fares and faff, so we always travel independently of each other (and driving has been vetoed).
2) We've previously benefitted from an unusual (for France) Sun/Sun setup. As it looks like we are going to have to book flights without having accommodation to hand, is AB a Sat/Sat kind of place or is Sun/Sun more prevalent?
3) As readers of my trip reports will know, I can't be accused of pinching pennies, but I'd really like to get accommodation costs below £800pp for the week (so <£3200pw for my notional 2BR apartment if such a thing exists), with the constraint that there is no way I'm sharing a "family" hotel room (or for that matter a 1BR) with my teenage boys. Is that at all realistic? Mates of mine (one of the families) managed c. £2500 for a 2BR in Méribel Village this year at half term, so I'm hoping yes?
4) Any other tips/observations? I know HT24 coincides with Carnival next year which is a real pain, but we're not super sensitive to crowds.
Thanks!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
You should be able to find somewhere nice for around £800pp.
For example the Hotel Table in Corvara is around £900pp half-board for two sharing a standard room.
The best place I've found to look is on the alta-badia website at https://www.altabadia.org/en/
Corvara or Colfosco are better for easy access to a wider variety of slopes but San Cassiano probably has a wider range of accommodation options.
Residence Ciasa Planat in San Cassiono seems to have four 2 bedroom apartments available for about £1000 each for the week which seems very reasonable. Mind you, it does look as if it's out of the way a bit.
Next year, Shrove Tuesday is on the 13th February so if you're on the early Half Term week it will be busier than usual as that's the Carnival week. On the whole though this isn't too bad. More like a normal UK half term in France. There will be queues on the Sella Ronda though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Those apartments look nice, and it's a fabulous area - but as is often the case, it's not immediately clear how far they are from piste access. I found this earlier when looking for somewhere in that area. For people used to the doorstep convenience of a lot of accommodation in the 3V a kilometre walk to the lifts (as suggested by google maps) might be off putting. There might be a bus, or even local mini bus shuttles arranged by the accommodation. £900 half board in a hotel might be a better bet - though still need to check location carefully.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
PS. You could also try the Residence Salvan in Corvara. I haven't stayed there but always thought they look like reasonable apartments and don't seem to appear on the various accommodation engines.
They're only a 500 yards or so from the Boe Gondola and the Corvara Ski School. And my top tip would be to leave all your ski gear in the lockers under the ski school. It makes life so much easier.
You'll find them here: https://en.residencesalvan.com/
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
@Dyrlac, St.Anton would not fit your demands. But Lech definitely does. Especially the restaurants+mileage.
You can't compare Lech and St.Anton, they're different worlds. But finding an apartment in Lech is gonna be difficult. But I think Corvara at HT is gonna be difficult too. Capacities in Austria and Italy are very limited in high season, contrary to France.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
@Dyrlac, a couple of years ago I and some friends stayed in an apartment in the Alpin apartment block in Colfosco. Very nice apartments and just a short walk probably 200 metres onto the slopes below the Sodlisia chairlift. I've given the link to their website, they are also on booking.com but check to see if you get a better deal booking directly with the apartments.
If you don't know Colfosco then the piste underneath the Sodlisia chair is a very gentle very wide blue piste ideal for the most timid of skiers. There's also a direct gondola link between Colfosco and Corvara that takes about 5 minutes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Alastair Pink, The Sodlisia chair is the new 8 seater? I did like the Colfosco area up the gondola - very small, but a couple of blues, a good red and a barely used black
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| buchanan101 wrote: |
| @Alastair Pink, The Sodlisia chair is the new 8 seater? |
Yes.
| buchanan101 wrote: |
I did like the Colfosco area up the gondola - very small, but a couple of blues, a good red and a barely used black |
That's the Edelweisstal side valley. A nice area as you say with a couple of good eating places (the view from the restaurant open air sundeck at the top of the Forcelles chair is impressive), and the valley itself is a good place to be if the weather is windy as it's sheltered by its surroundings. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
