 Poster: A snowHead
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| SBD_1990 wrote: |
| Thanks everyone for the advice. Just a little update. We’ve narrowed the search down to either MdC or Val Gardena. They just seem to give off more of the feel that we are after. Like I said we already have our flights booked from Newcastle to Bergamo (£80pp) and we’ve also booked our car rental (£75). We might hang on to book our accommodation like a couple of you have mentioned but tbh I don’t feel too concerned going off what people have said about the snow making etc even if the snow isn’t great. My personal preference is probably Val Gardena, looked at all areas in and around there and I love the look of Ortisei for the town centre restaurants etc. But then I think Selva may suit us best given the length of time we are there - closer/better links to the slopes. Would people agree with that? |
Selva over Ortisei for skiing ? -- a definite yes from me
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@SBD_1990, We have stayed in Selva several times the pre Christmas week & intending to head there again this year & always had plenty to ski including the Sella Ronda & many of its offshoots. It’s not the cheapest for accommodation & for a short break would recommend looking at the tourist office website if you can’t find anything on the big booking sites. Ortisei is a lovely town but Selva is always our choice with the easier access to more skiing.
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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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Sorry to hijack the post, just wondering if I can get some info from @mountainaddict  we're looking at Pila for Feb (week before half term so hopefully less busy!). We've been offered a great value deal. My husband and kids can ski anything but I'm a nervous blue run skier so here Pila maybe good for me to build confidence and progress?
Is there much choice for food/drinks/bars in the evening?? We don't want mad apres but our kids are 11&15 but like coming out in the evening for a walk and a play in the snow while we have a few drinks or even play some little games in the bars? Do these places exist or is it really quiet??
We keep going back and forth between MdC (which I'm not sure is more just formal restaurants rather than the relaxed casual drinks vibe?!) or possibly La Villa, again not sure of the evening situation??
Any help is appreciated!
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Pila has lots easy skiing and the new gondola!
Haven’t stayed in Pila itself but for what you want for evening it looks a little bleak/limited. I’d stay in the centre of Aosta town, lot to see and loads of bars and restaurants for all size of wallets . We liked Aosta as a base as you can get to the other resorts in the valley too, which can be included on your pass depending on which you get.
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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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we've visited all 3
Madonna - mid sized resort, no issue with casual dining but you'd probably need to go to the same place more than once, our beginners and nervous skiers enjoyed it
Pila - a much smaller resort, we basically skied it in a day (not all was open), there were some nice wide blues but a decent intermediate might get bored quite quickly, nightlife wise it depends whether you'd stay in Pila or in Aosta (which has gondola direct to the skiing), we stayed in Aosta, plenty of small bars and restaurants so can't comment on Pila itself but it looked tiny. There is the option to drive/bus to some other resorts such as La Thuile or Courmayeur. We visited a different resort each day.
La Villa - again we've stayed here twice with mixed ability groups, when we're by ourselves we usually stay in an apartment in Corvara but for the group trip was always stay HB in a hotel and La Villa is much cheaper but has the same ski area.
Great ski area with lots of blues and reds, there is also the option to take the gondola back from the main area at the end of the day so nervous skiers can avoid the afternoon bumps, some of our group used to stop for a drink then take that down. There aren't as many places to eat as Madonna or Aosta town, it's basically a village rather than town but there is a regular and inexpensive bus to other neighbouring places like Corvara or Badia. try this site for accommodation https://www.altabadia.org/en/accommodations-alta-badia/hotels-bed-and-breakfast-apartments
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@Jennicog, I should add it depends how you define casual dining, obviously the culture in Italy is a bit different to the UK. In Madonna we had great food in a place that had a couple of TVs showing football, not a sports bar but with a relaxed atmosphere and mid range pricing.
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@richb67, yeah just somewhere relatively chilled, we dont need fancy dining or Michelin start experiences. Just good Italian food at a reasonable price, my kids will live on pastas pizzas or a decent steak!
We've previously stayed in Borovets and everything is pretty casual but a good range of bars for a drink so I'm expecting it to be quieter, just dont want to end up sitting in just a restaurant or in our hotel room!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I'm almost afraid to say it on an open forum for purely selfish reasons, the Val Gardena area is ace in December. It's historically pretty snow sure in December, the pistes are quiet and there are discounts to be had inc. 4 for 3 on ski passes. We skied the area in Dec. a lot when our kids were small and we've been back there skiing Dec. again for the last 5/6 years. Off again in 6 weeks and it's started to snow. 
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| richb67 wrote: |
we've visited all 3
Madonna - mid sized resort, no issue with casual dining but you'd probably need to go to the same place more than once, our beginners and nervous skiers enjoyed it
Pila - a much smaller resort, we basically skied it in a day (not all was open), there were some nice wide blues but a decent intermediate might get bored quite quickly, nightlife wise it depends whether you'd stay in Pila or in Aosta (which has gondola direct to the skiing), we stayed in Aosta, plenty of small bars and restaurants so can't comment on Pila itself but it looked tiny. There is the option to drive/bus to some other resorts such as La Thuile or Courmayeur. We visited a different resort each day.
La Villa - again we've stayed here twice with mixed ability groups, when we're by ourselves we usually stay in an apartment in Corvara but for the group trip was always stay HB in a hotel and La Villa is much cheaper but has the same ski area.
Great ski area with lots of blues and reds, there is also the option to take the gondola back from the main area at the end of the day so nervous skiers can avoid the afternoon bumps, some of our group used to stop for a drink then take that down. There aren't as many places to eat as Madonna or Aosta town, it's basically a village rather than town but there is a regular and inexpensive bus to other neighbouring places like Corvara or Badia. try this site for accommodation https://www.altabadia.org/en/accommodations-alta-badia/hotels-bed-and-breakfast-apartments |
I agree that Pila is too small an area for intermediates for a week. It has nice views and a good variety of runs, but the resort centre is a soulless ski station. Obviously more going on down at Aosta whose centre is nice, but the industrial sprawl along the railway looks pretty grim in winter.
Definitely Madonna or La Villa out of those options.
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