 Poster: A snowHead
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I've just booked a week there with my wife, 15th March, via Iglu Ski and we know nothing of the place other than what we read on the website.
Any advice, guidance, comments welcome; we're intermediates and there look to be loads of suitable slopes. We're expecting it to be expensive, but what else should we expect?
We're at the Chalet Hotel Coq de Bruyere, Courcheval 1850.
It's booked, so please - nothing too negative!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| t40ora wrote: |
| Any advice, guidance, comments welcome; we're intermediates and there look to be loads of suitable slopes. We're expecting it to be expensive, but what else should we expect? |
Try searching, lots of tips on good value places to eat, good slopes etc etc. I'm sure you'll have a great time, consistantly good snow, decent height and modern lifts!
regards,
Greg
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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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Courchevel skiing is fantastic. Even the local pass will will keep you more than happy for a week. The 3V pass will leave you dizzy with the choices you have to make! I don't think any written description can really do the skiing justice.
You can also ski down to 1850 to practically outside a Prada shop. You can't do that in too many places.
Chuffing expensive though.
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Hi
skimottaret.com is a poster on here and has a great list of places to eat if you go to the website. We have been twice before and it is fantastic, though pricey! We leave the day before you arrive.
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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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Best snow in the 3V's IMO as i've stated on other posts - as well as some parts of VT of course!
As intermediates you'll be well-catered for, loads of big open slopes that tend not to get too crowded, especially at the time of year you've booked. 1650 being tucked away at the end and not as obviously assessible tends to be quieter still. Stick to the lower reds if you're still gaining confidence on them as the likes of Marmottes or Combe Saulire at the top of Vizelle will no nothing to boost it - especially at the end of the day when bumpy and busy. Tree runs into La Tania or Le Praz make for a nice change of scenery too as long as snow isn't struggling - which it doesn't look as though it will be!
Bubble Bar in 1650 for a cheap pannini at lunch always goes down well - head through the gap in the buildings next to bottom of Mickey ski shcool lift!
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plan for packed lunch - slope restaurants are gasp inducingly highly priced. (25E for a pizza) Other than that very highly recommended the slopes are fabulous. Have a great time aj xx
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Great location. If your on a buget avoid, drinking out & avoid lunch on the mountain. Fill up at breakfast, take a bottle of water & a snack or ski down to 1650, Le Paz or La Tania. The skiing is fantastic so you should have a great time.
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Bar le Jump. Happy daze 
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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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Great, great skiing, but the prices in 1850 will make your eyes water. It's Rich Russki grand central. Try the Ski Lodge at La Tania for a bit of wallet relief at lunch time. 
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stayed in la tania in january - the Courchevel pass is plenty to start with - you can always upgrade to 3v pass during the week. Slopes for everyone. i'm a standard enough skier and my favs where creux, saulire biollay, bosses, folyeres - ski lodge in la tania is reasonably priced for lunch. the main restaurant bour blanc(?) in 1650 is ok too - you could split a pizza for 12-15 €- I bought a camelbak - (tube will freeze if you dont blow back!) - but that kept me well hydrated. If its just you and the mrs then a few slightly expensive lunches wont make that much difference overall. we had hard fast pistes and it was fine - you will have a LOT more snow so should also be fun between the pistes. Enjoy
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks for the replies folks! Looking good, and I'm getting a little more than mildly excited! Looks like I'll need to save my pennies for lunch and beer, but we'll try out those places suggested above.
Just looked on Tripadvisor at our accommodation and there are some very mixed reviews; anyone got first hand experience of Chalet Hotel Coq de Bruyere?
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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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The best mountain restaurant in Courchevel is the Bel Air (at the top of the gondola that comes up from 1650). Great food and (more surprisingly) great service as well, and not in second mortgage territory.
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| Julian T wrote: |
| The best mountain restaurant in Courchevel is the Bel Air (at the top of the gondola that comes up from 1650). Great food and (more surprisingly) great service as well, and not in second mortgage territory. |
Bel Air is superb, but certainly in the second mortgage league for my money. 
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You know it makes sense.
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Mollerski, Location: The Mighty Borough of Penryn
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Bel Air is superb, but certainly in the second mortgage league for my money
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Any restaurant in Courchevel is going to seem like second mortgage territory compared with Penryn, but I can assure you that by the standards of Courchevel, the prices at Bel Air are relatively modest! 
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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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Best buy in Bel Air - bottle of house red €9. Beleive me, when you see the rest of the menu it will seem a steal and it's decent quaffing wine too.
Bel Air is great, call in for a coffee/ beer day before you want to lunch there and book a table to avoid a long wait.
The food ain't cheap but it's not the dearest in the 3V by a long stretch - omelette awesome!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sandwich bar at the bottom of Chalet de Pierres is reasonably-ish priced - certainly for 1850 (the restaurant I didn't even dare look at the prices, and I don't mind (sometimes) paying £100 for dinner for 2 in London). Several good value places in Mottaret at the bottom for lunch if you cross to Meribel.
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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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t40ora,
Plenty of good advice above. IMHO Courchevel would still be one of the best ski resorts on the planet even if it was not joined to the rest of the Three Valleys. Expense be damned - have a good time 
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t40ora, The Coq de Bruyere has previously had mixed reviews on snowheads and Tripadvisor. However, I stayed there in January and had a great time. Rooms are small and the walls are thin, as is always the case in cheapish chalet hotels. Problems with the "unrefurbished" rooms seem to no longer exist. Location is great, food very good.
Take a load of mars bars for lunch, drink your fill of the free wine at dinner, eat at the cheap but good Passage pizzaria in the Forum shopping centre on the chalet night off. We managed to spend naff all, well.. apart from £500 for 2 lift passes!
Despite the general slagging off people give to the French mega-resorts, I think that Courchevel 1850 is fantastic.
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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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Hi - try the L'Eterlou at 1650 (just behind the bottom of slopes) for great pizza.
1650 area is great for confidence building - right mix of runs, not busy.
Try the Combe Saulire first thing (after it's been groomed). Suisses is probably my favourite run in Courchevel - you can avoid top mogulled section and join 3/4 of way down.
La Folyeres / Marretta Blanche towards La Tania are long sweeping runs through the trees.
Enjoy.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks for all the info folks.
Looks like we made a good, if a little expensive, choice. Full marks to the guy at Iglu Ski as he pushed us to this one as soon as he spotted it.
Thanks for the update on Le Coq de Bruyere Wags. All we really want is a warm dry room and bed, with a decent working shower. And although our diet precludes Mars bars, I think we'll take your advice and load up with Kendall mint cake, nuts'n'raisins, oat cakes.....
We were paying about £6 for half litre of beer in Switzerland earlier this year (about 9 Swiss Francs). How does that compare to Courchevel? If we can get that bottle of house wine at 9 euros I'd hope beer was reasonably priced too.
Not that I'll be able to drink much after a day's skiing at my age!
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t40ora, going rate for a large beer - 6 bing bongs, 4 in Happy Hour
(1 bing bong = 1 euro or approximately 1 GBP)
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| franga wrote: |
Suisses is probably my favourite run in Courchevel - you can avoid top mogulled section and join 3/4 of way down.
La Folyeres / Marretta Blanche towards La Tania are long sweeping runs through the trees.
Enjoy. |
Would normally agree about the top of the Suisses but did it last week when it was all fresh deep snow - awesome experience.
The blue to La Tania is one of my favourite runs ever - brilliant when done fast and no crowds
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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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| Ski Tyke wrote: |
t40ora, going rate for a large beer - 6 bing bongs, 4 in Happy Hour
(1 bing bong = 1 euro or approximately 1 GBP) |
6 bing-bongs was about what I expected. I hope the bing-bong rate gets a bit more favourable over the next few weeks!
Are there any decent printable piste maps that I can get hold of to check out the runs that are being suggested before we get there?
Poo-poo! I'll be wishing my life away until the 15th March!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks!
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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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Gonna have to get an A3 printer!
So much on the piste map. Bloody brilliant! Have to have a good look at the runs before we go so we don't stand about like a pair of numpties each day trying to figure out where the hell to go as there are so many runs.
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| t40ora wrote: |
| ............ so we don't stand about like a pair of numpties each day trying to figure out where the hell to go as there are so many runs. |
.......and what's wrong with that? 
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You know it makes sense.
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Well, nothing. But it's an excuse to start thinking in detail about what we'll be doing in three weeks time.
And anyway, just because I AM a numpty doesn't mean I want to make it too obvious!
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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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t40ora,
If conditions are good one of my fave trips is from the top of the Saulire all the way down to Le Praz - 1400m of vertical without taking any lifts and then there are some nice seats down at Le Praz to chill in the sun and recover. Do it in the morning / lunchtime and the piste down to Le Praz is generally pretty much deserted.
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Poster: A snowHead
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t40ora, Glad to hear I'm not the only one who plans runs before they go! Drooling over piste maps is what keeps us going before a trip. I have also been known to keep the piste map with me for a few days afterwards showing (completely uninterested non-snowheads) the runs we did. I know, tragic! It's probably the skiers equivalent of slide-shows of a week in Majorca.
I'm staying in Le Praz for the same week for my first solo trip so delighted to pick up some of the tips here. If you or any other snowheads are interested in meeting up that week, I'd definitely be up for it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Trenmold, The run from the Saulire to La Praz is a belter. A bit steep at the top, some good cruising, a bit steady down the greens to 1850 and under the bridge, before some real thigh-burning down the red (Brigues?) to La Praz.
No excuse for stopping anywhere, and plenty of variety. My thighs are burning at the memory!!
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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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Trenmold, and The Flying Snowplough, Sounds good; it's not too much for an early intermediate is it?
MissRibena, I'm sure we'd be happy to meet up! We're not experienced skiiers though, so you might just want to meet for coffee rather than skiing! And we're getting a couple of A3 prints of the piste maps done and WILL bore people too.
BTW Apparently we can ski from our Hotel at 1850 down to 1650 really easily to pick up gondolas/lifts. Does this sound right?
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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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| t40ora wrote: |
| BTW Apparently we can ski from our Hotel at 1850 down to 1650 really easily to pick up gondolas/lifts. Does this sound right? |
Can't see that, the only way to 1650 on ski's from 1850 is via the altiport area down to the "fruit bowl" and I can't visualize any hotels in that area, do you mean ski down to 1550?
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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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stevew, the guy from Iglu Ski said that we can ski down from 1850 to 1650. Pretty sure he said 1650.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Courchevel is a great choice for any ability IMHO - fantastic scenery and v. wide varierty of runs from easy cruisy greens to fairly steep couloir blacks. (None of the blacks are particularly tricky for intermediates except the Coulouirs, so plenty to stretch you if you're minded!)
1650 is less expensive than 1850 and v. nice since it was redone.
If you go for the 3V pass, make sure you don't miss the last lifts back (expensive cab ride if you do)
Have fun!
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| t40ora wrote: |
| stevew, the guy from Iglu Ski said that we can ski down from 1850 to 1650. Pretty sure he said 1650. |
If it's important to you I'd check back with him!
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You cant ski directly from 1850 to 1650, you need to take a few lifts but you can make it an interisting journey. If you head up to the top of Saulire (spelling) in the big red cable car, then down creux (nice big wide red with undulations) then either stop half way down and take the chanrossa chair on RHS which drops you at the top of the 1650 area, or carry on down the run (name changes but i cant remember it) now a blue piste to the bottom of the roc munger chair. Its very slow but the view behind you is good. this drops you halfway down the 1650 area. 1650 is fun and a bit of exploring will reveal some nice runs in the sunshine if its out.
The other option is to get the bus from 18 to 16, very regular service 15 to 20mins, but i never liked this because lots of waiting and squeezing through the skis and poles.
You can ski directly down to 1550 from 1850.
At night the luge track is fun to but wear you ski stuff and as much protection as possible, its open when the main lifts close and you can hire plastic luges from the ski hire.
The bubble is good for lunch as is rockies, both on the main street.
Generally for 3 valleys food it's better to go down to resort level for cheap options. Walk 5mins from the lifts and find a snack bar. Obviously it wont be mitchelin starred but it keeps you going. If you go to St Martin de Bel view there is a great place with a terrace that makes it own burgers to die for. I cant recall the name but its 20 meters below the gondola station, might be darlia or similar.
In the shopping centre with the arcades and climbing you can get paninis cheap.
Have a great trip. The 3 Vs is great for intermidiate's and you can cover miles and miles.
Try ignoring the map in the morning and just get whatever lifts the work out where you are at lunch and find your way home.
(edit: added 1550 bit)
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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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stevew, It's not important, but I will check anyway.
Bored@work, That's really useful = ta. Think we might avoid the luge though. Visions of damaging myself come to mind.....
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t40ora, 30 yards behind your hotel is a run which will take you to either 1550 or 1300(La Praz), but definately not to 1650. Only 300 yards down this run you can get on the Plantrey chair up to the Col de la Loze. Alternatively it's only 200 yards in the other direction to walk to the main Croisette lift station from which bubbles depart in various directions.
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FAQ
