 Poster: A snowHead
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£20+ per head for lunch (burger & chips and coke or coffee)
£30+ per head for dinner
£3.50 for little bottle of chili powder in supermarket
£10 for a medium cooked chicken in supermarket
£13+ for a pizza (takeaway)
£4.50 coke
£10 whisky & coke
£4.50 coffee
Rip off or what!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Depends where you go. those are HIGH prices, and much more than we pay in our local resorts (where you'd pay e.g. £10 for lunch of chicken (or whatever) and chips with beer or wine, £3 for a double coffee, a vin chaud or a hot chocolate, £2.50 for a coke). Still a lot, but that's our fault for having a silly currency.
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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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Those are much higher than I'd normally pay in Les Arcs. What resort were you in?
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They are pricey - again the benefit of driving (referring to your other thread) is you can shop in valley.
We had a week in Vallandry and did a big shop for around £180 which lasted most of the week - stocked up a bit on milk, bread etc.
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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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And I only drink whisky (or anything else of that ilk) from my own bar, which also yields Irish Cream (makes a big difference to a hot chocolate) and Remy Martin brandy at duty-free prices. Still expensive, but not £10 a shot! In 6.5 seasons of skiing I have yet to buy spirits in a French bar; maybe I'm a skinflint but that's just one of the ways we keep the costs down. I have been known to take a hip flask out on the slopes, too. One of the benefits we found in catered chalets, in the old days, was being able to take your own duty-frees but still have a decent place to sit with a sociable drink. I can't bear sipping duty-free booze out of toothmugs in hotel bedrooms. 
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innerspaceservices, it's not a rip off at all. It's indicative that the pound is doing poorly. A year ago the prices were much more in your favour.
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hyweljenkins,
If that was the case then people would also be complaining about the prices in the Valley, but they are not.
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HH,  Everything in the valley is costing 30% more as well. Almost everything in French supermarkets is now more expensive than the UK equivalent. I took ground coffee in bulk this year - BOGOF in Tescos. But yes, if you go to Tignes and buy whiskies in a bar, you'll get ripped off. That's always been the cse; even last year it would have been £7. But you don't have to go to Tignes and, if you do, you don't have to pay those sorts of daft prices. If people will keep paying......
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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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pam w,
Where does the original post mention Tignes
The prices quoted are much more expensive than Tignes.
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stewart woodward, inference from all the other posts about the same trip, on other threads, but maybe I'm wrong! Those are much more expensive prices than anywhere I've been, that's for sure. But I've always found spirits in all French bars expensive. No doubt the OP will come back and tell us where he paid those prices (and what exchange rate he was using to calculate them  )
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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If he was in Tignes he must have found some extra expensive places I've never been to. I've never paid anything near those prices in Tignes, or anywhere else for that matter.
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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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HH, so, as people are not complaining in the Valley it's not indicative that the prices are high in Sterling terms?
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pam w,
I drive through Switzerland, on the way to Austria, a couple of times a year and make sure i don't stop on the motorway as i think the prices are very expensive even compared to Tignes.
I pay €2 for a coffee, €6 for a burger, €1.5 for chips, all these prices are available to everybody. Today i paid €8 for Plate de Jour consisting of a salad starter & chicken/vegetables/salad main course. Not exactly expensive
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You know it makes sense.
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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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It would help a lot if prices were quoted in Euros. Can't blame the French for the fact that sterling is on its knees at the moment - it's not their fault.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| stewart woodward wrote: |
| [Today i paid €8 for Plate de Jour consisting of a salad starter & chicken/vegetables/salad main course. Not exactly expensive |
At the Aspen?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just back from Tignes and those prices by the original poster are pretty accurate.
4.5 euros for a coke. 8 or 9 euros for a bowl of soup.14 euros for pasta on the slopes.
A basic 30 euros a head to eat out in the evening without drinks or any extras
More expensive than last year but the exchange rate makes it worse
Restaurants seemed much quieter than the year before and i can see why!
The supermarkets were pricier as well..Cant see how people can afford to self cater in this area
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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.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Cant see how people can afford to self cater in this area
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as opposed to what - starving? Self catering is certainly heaps cheaper than paying 14 euros for pasta.
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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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It was about 4.5 euros for a hot chocolate in Val and pretty similar in Tignes...Ta for the hello
We had takeaway pizza and that was just under 10 euros..we were in a catered chalet so that kept prices down 
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I find the best thing to do in these circumstances is practice the skill of ignoring how much things cost and switching off your "£ to euro" conversion facility, admittedly this is more difficult with a 1:1 conversion rate. Rhythmic chanting may help...
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A large Domino's is £14.99 here - and I know where I'd rather be eating pizza!
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Prices in Tignes look a lot more exspensive than Valloire, 8-9 Euro for a takeaway pizza, E3 to 3.50 for a vinchaud and E4.50-4.80 for large beer in the bars, you can get a meal for E25 with table wine, compares well to my night out in london last night which was considerably more exspensive!!!!!
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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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A pizza might be roughly the same but i dont pay £4 for a can of coke in the uk .
Catered chalet is cheaper than self catering if the supermarket prices are high because you do need to eat
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I think people should remember, that first the supplies have to come up a mountain to get to most resorts - that's way further and more expensive that to your local supermarket. Then, if for a mountain restaurant, they have to pay the lift company to get all the supplies up the mountain, all the rubbish down the mountain. They also have to pay the lift company to get the staff up and back every day. Bottled gas for cooking etc. etc. The employers costs in france are much higher in terms of taxes than in the UK. I'm not defending the sort of prices quoted in the OP, but all the food you eat in resort or on the mountain costs much more to produce. In addition the restauranteurs may only have 5 months of the year to make a whole living ... they probably work every day of those 5 months without any day off - no sick pay etc.... Think about it please, but also, if it's an issue, check the prices before you order - take sandwiches, flasks etc.... lots of alternatives.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| skidd1 wrote: |
Just back from Tignes and those prices by the original poster are pretty accurate.
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Not in the places I've eaten in Tignes and Val d'Isere (which aren't tucked out of the way in locations that only locals know about, just regular run of the mill places).
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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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If you don't like the price, don't buy it. If you're willing to pay the price, don't moan about it.
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| easiski wrote: |
I think people should remember, that first the supplies have to come up a mountain to get to most resorts - that's way further and more expensive that to your local supermarket. Then, if for a mountain restaurant, they have to pay the lift company to get all the supplies up the mountain, all the rubbish down the mountain. They also have to pay the lift company to get the staff up and back every day. Bottled gas for cooking etc. etc. The employers costs in france are much higher in terms of taxes than in the UK. I'm not defending the sort of prices quoted in the OP, but all the food you eat in resort or on the mountain costs much more to produce. In addition the restauranteurs may only have 5 months of the year to make a whole living ... they probably work every day of those 5 months without any day off - no sick pay etc.... Think about it please, but also, if it's an issue, check the prices before you order - take sandwiches, flasks etc.... lots of alternatives.
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and not forgetting VAT at 19.5% in France!
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You know it makes sense.
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easiski,
was at Cairngorm last weekend, prices in the restaurant suprised me by being quite reasonable, had a steak pie a coke and a chocie bar for £4.60, im sure all that had to travel up the mountain and they have a much shorter season. Generally Im happy with prices in Valloire but I dont think the "we have to get it all the mountain" argument explians all of the cost.......
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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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| easiski wrote: |
I think people should remember, that first the supplies have to come up a mountain to get to most resorts - that's way further and more expensive that to your local supermarket. Then, if for a mountain restaurant, they have to pay the lift company to get all the supplies up the mountain, all the rubbish down the mountain. They also have to pay the lift company to get the staff up and back every day. Bottled gas for cooking etc. etc. The employers costs in france are much higher in terms of taxes than in the UK. I'm not defending the sort of prices quoted in the OP, but all the food you eat in resort or on the mountain costs much more to produce. In addition the restauranteurs may only have 5 months of the year to make a whole living ... they probably work every day of those 5 months without any day off - no sick pay etc.... Think about it please, but also, if it's an issue, check the prices before you order - take sandwiches, flasks etc.... lots of alternatives.
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and not forgetting VAT at 19.5% in France!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| JimSearle wrote: |
| ... I dont think the "we have to get it all the mountain" argument explians all of the cost....... |
Surely the market determines the cost? If people will pay it, then the retail outlets are happy to take their money. That assumes that there is effective competition between different outlets. I noticed that the price of hot chocolates has come down in Les Arcs by 50 cents since the start of the season. Before Christmas most places seem to be charging €3.50, but last week they were charging €3. Still an outrageous amount of money for the warm dishwater that the French laughingly call chocolat chaud, but at least the price moved in the right direction.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We've just returned from Chatel and apart from the difference in exchange the prices are pretty similar to last year. Beer €5 ish down in the village or €6ish on the mountan, similar with the coffees and chocolates being a bit pricey on the mountain at €4 ish but you get what you pay for. You can easily stay at home and get ripped off on the high street.
Had fun in Plain Dranse when we had the obligatory Pizza Babeth at €15.50 plus drinks.... over 20quid for a pizza lunch!! Even Babeth's outrageous flirting doesn't quite make up for that.
I'll still be going back next year though.
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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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JimSearle, The Caringorm resto is open all year AFAIK and also it can all come by road, so the cost of actually getting the goods to the resto is equal but probably not as much since it's much lower, to the cost of getting the stuff to resort. You then have to factor in the extra cost of getting it up the mountain. At the Ptarmigan resto it would be closer, but as it belongs to the lift company it's not the same is it?
I just think it's very unfair to constantly hear 'rip off', when (although some do) a lot of the mountain restos just have very high costs.
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Ok, so (luggage space/weight permitting) what would people recommend taking from home when needing to guard the pennies? I believe in patronising local business and do not begrudge paying fair prices that take into account a their need to make a living, so when in LDA I will spend some money eating/coffee-ing out. However I need to achieve a balance as the "credit crunch" has made itself felt in our family like many others and perhaps taking one or two more costly "staples" from home is one way of doing that.
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Butterfly, will you be self-catering? I don't think all mountain restaurants are a rip-off by any means. But in places like Courchevel, where some charge three times as much for a hot chocolate as others..... But as I noted above, it's our fault for having a silly currency that everything has shot up in price this year.
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A quick look in the commercial properties/ business for sale section of any Agence Immobiliere will reveal that there are many, many restaurants, shops and other service businesses for sale in the Alps. Most of these people are not selling up to retire on a massive pile of money made from "rip-offs" it is because making any sort of a decent living out of running a very, very seasonal business in a ski resort is extremely difficult. Yes the prices are high, but a rip off, somtimes maybe but quite often not. Even issues like the cost of accomadating staff in a place where property values have gone up by at least 100% in the last 6 or 7 years can't help. Great for us GB's that have bought property in Europe but there is always another side to things.
And yes we do buy as much as possible of our food and supplies in the valley on the way to the resort, and we do take a rucksack packed with supplies for lunch on the mountain so I am not really helping either, but I just want to ski as much as poss...... If we are the sort of people that are going to go to the resorts, basically a family on a budget that wants to do as much skiing for a finite amount of money then I guess we will have to accept that the resorts will change and there will be fewer restaurants, bars etc.
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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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Butterfly, when we go I tend to take Pasta, Rice, Tuna, Tom Paste, Pesto etc - combined with few fresh bits locally makes meals for most of the week.
Dredging up half-remembered bits from school - perhaps some of these businesses need to work out their price elascity of demand? May find that lowering the prices will see more profit.
I don't think its just the Brits who are shunning eating out - not judging by the number of cars from Holland, Germany, Belgium and France we saw heading to the Alps with boots full of provisions from hime
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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
Cant see how people can afford to self cater in this area
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as opposed to what - starving? Self catering is certainly heaps cheaper than paying 14 euros for pasta. |
As oppsoed to a half board hotel option, which almost always works out cheaper than paying for evening meals individually, and very often cheaper than self catering, even when booked direct with the hotel.
When the half board option is booked theough a UK To, it will almost always work out cheaper than self catering with current exchange rates, except where you are a large group who can utilise the saving of fully booking a large apartment.
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