 Poster: A snowHead
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Good news - have found "not outrageous" flights to GVA for the Hawk-fam at the end of the month (fed up of the kids complaining that Easter is "too far away" - not that I disagree) 
Bad news - Mrs LH has to be back to the office on 2nd Jan, so we can only stay 26/27 to 31st which is obviously (a) less than a week (b) straddles a weekend (c) is a super busy period anyway. Does anyone have experience / knowledge / ideas on accommodation for that period? Normally a La Plagne family, both kids are étoile level or above so all very happy to rack up the km's. Self-catered preferred and am thinking something like Avoriaz (have skied there with mates) but don't really know how to even start looking. All the agencies tend to default to week long bookings (understandably) and emailed every possible agency within fairly easy reach of GVA feels like a big old task!
Trying to convince Mrs LH that "there will always be something available" but I think she'd like a little more reassurance before we pull the trigger. Are we basically mad?
(oh and advance apologies - wasn't sure whether this board or the "resort" board would make more sense)
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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're not mad but it's very late now to be booking for new year. Yes, "there will always be something available" but you need to be flexible - there'll be a reason if it's not let by now. Would you be prepared to stay some way from the slopes and drive (need a car for that, obvs)? Not that parking is easy or cheap at those times. If you've not tried them already the resorts' own websites would be my go-to.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@LondonHawk, you'd probably need to just get trawling websites! booking.com airbnb is always a good start as are the resort accom websites themselves. Also consider staying "down" the valley might also help/
Found one room on a quick search here https://en.chatelreservation.com/
2336 Euros 3 ROOMED 6 PEOPLE
(BOIM - OASIS07A)
Area : La Chapelle d'Abondance
Distance from the ski lifts : 150 m from Crêt Béni chairlifts - La Chapelle d'Abondance
My research : Apartment, Chalet, Residence
Check in date : Thursday 26 December 2024
Check out date : Monday 30 December 2024
Length of stay : 4 nights
Nbr of people : 2 people 2 children
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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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Sunweb have availability for those dates in a few resorts
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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A quick search on AirBnB and Vrbo shows a few places in Crans-Montana around 300 per night. Transfer by train.
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Thanks all - Airbnb wasn't providing much inspiration, but will give booking.com a bash. And failing that spend an evening hammering the resort websites.
| Quote: |
| Would you be prepared to stay some way from the slopes and drive (need a car for that, obvs)? Not that parking is easy or cheap at those times. If you've not tried them already the resorts' own websites would be my go-to. |
Yes, we'll have a car. I think we've been a bit spoilt (lazy?) as we normally say in Aime 2000 which is a perfect "forget about the car for a week" spot! But definitely know flexibility will be important
| Quote: |
| Also consider staying "down" the valley might also help |
Based on our Paradiski experience, was thinking Bourg StM might be an option but not really sure we want to head that far, plus the misery of the valley road of course. Might lose half our holiday on the N90
Also, I'd kinda hoped that I might be able to narrow it down, at least a little bit, based on the conditions, but looking at the resort pages, everyone is doing their snow dances right now.
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| LondonHawk wrote: |
| Based on our Paradiski experience, was thinking Bourg StM might be an option but not really sure we want to head that far, plus the misery of the valley road of course. Might lose half our holiday on the N90 |
Straight on the funicular up to Les Arcs 1600, no need to touch the N90 beyond driving in and out the either end of your holiday.
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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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Somewhere like Avoriaz would obviously be ideal, there is no point in going somewhere with long transfers for a short break. A few years ago we did a similar short break in Morzine and booked self catering through a company called Snow & Trek, you could see if they still exist.
Montriond suggested by @swskier is a village just outside Morzine, on the ski bus route to Ardent which is an excellent entry point for the skiing. The only thing, I don't know never having stayed there, whether those buses would have completely filled up by the time they get to Montriond which could make for a long wait.
But really, anywhere within about 90 min transfer of Geneva.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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How about contacting a few specific resort tourism offices with your request? Then you can let them do the work, and see what they come up with.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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With a rental car I'd have though there may still be appartments available in the Maurienne valley with access to 3V via Orelle or one of the Maurienne resorts. Has the distance from GVA problem of course.
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| Quote: |
Based on our Paradiski experience, was thinking Bourg StM might be an option but not really sure we want to head that far, plus the misery of the valley road of course. Might lose half our holiday on the N90
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Bourg st Maurice is about a 2:30 drive from Geneva.
My suggestion for all odd date bookings is to phone the immobiliers that operate in he resort and talk to them. They usually have more flexibility than websites.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
| Trying to convince Mrs LH that "there will always be something available |
We've done this 2 or 3 times, for short breaks between Christmas and New Year, in France and Italy.
Pre-internet, we turned up in Italy and just drove about in the valley below Sauze D'Oulx until we found digs. Since then, we've been to France (3 Vallees and Maurienne Valley) and booked chain hotels (eg Accor website) in towns like Albertville and Maurienne, for access to ski areas within easy driving distance.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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You could try posting on chalets direct solution rooms. Be prepared to be flexible and consider less popular and smaller resorts.
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Poster: A snowHead
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What about vrbo, they own abritel which was the original French airbnb and often have a wider range of less premium accommodation if you want something simple.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I think you would easily find accommodation in the Maurienne Valley(maybe old town Val Cenis), Chamonix and Aosta. If there is a particular station you wish to go to then contacting the immobilier.
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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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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| With a rental car I'd have though there may still be appartments available in the Maurienne valley with access to 3V via Orelle or one of the Maurienne resorts. Has the distance from GVA problem of course. |
Agree on location, and visited most of the upper valley ski areas.
Similar though (I posted link as such above) from Geneva, is the Rhone valley east of Lake Geneva.
Sion is pretty central Serre further east .
Access to 4V, Zermatt, Cran Montana, Val d'Anniviers etc are really easy to drive to even on daily basis. Likely more snow probability in early season too.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Love this suggestion Every year on the Bergerie lift in La Plagne I gaze down at the motorhome area and think "what a great way to have a holiday". The logistics of actually doing it though vaguely terrify me!
And thanks for all the follow-up suggestions, plenty of food for thought. Hadn't even considered skiing in CH itself, guess I'd automatically discounted it as eye-wateringly expensive. Contemplating a place in Saint-Gervais that looks reasonably close to Bettex lift (always slightly hard to tell when you don't know an area at all)
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This looks amazing value!!
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I would look for somewhere on the D1212 between Megeve and Flumet you could access the underrated Espace Diamant or the also excellent Megeve.
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains for Megeve is also a good option.
Cluses for The Grand Massif also worth a look, you could drive up to shortly before Flaine and park at the foot of the Le Lac lift for good access to the high altitude areas.
There is stuff coming up on AirBnB for 4 people for your dates in these places, not sure if you want something larger but worth a look.
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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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| LondonHawk wrote: |
| Contemplating a place in Saint-Gervais that looks reasonably close to Bettex lift ... |
That would tick the boxes for easy accessibility from Geneva (various public transport options as well as car hire) and give you plenty enough kilometres to rack up in four days. And it is a nice town (OK I am biased).
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If you're considering Switzerland on a budget, then I'd suggest you go self-catering to one of the satellites of Verbier, like La Tzoumaz or Nendaz. If you do packed lunches then that will also cut costs down (in busy times, the pic-nic rooms can actually be a haven of peace compared to the big cafés). Our apartment in La Tzoumaz is rented out through a local British agency called 4 Valleys 4 Seasons. If this sounds like an option, perhaps take a look and see if there's accommodation that suits in La Tzoumaz. I don't usually specifically recommend our resort or agency, but it sounds like you don't have a lot of time and bandwidth to sort things out, so I'm making an exception. The 4 Valleys is easily accessible from GVA by car (~90 mins) and train (~2½ hrs). An SBB Saver Day Pass for an adult is CHF 52 and gives you unlimited travel on train, public télécabine and PostBus on the nominated day.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Haven’t read through all the replies but I’d look on Sunweb or snowtrex . Good luck!
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