 Poster: A snowHead
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This piece by Simon Calder illustrates why he's revered as a travel writer - he lives the experience in the same humble way as a typical family skier. No luxuries here!
Falling down on the job in the French Alps from The Independent.
It's a report on a Crystal 'club hotel' in Morzine, France ... and a few associated mishaps.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Is it worth emailing him to point out that Morzine is in the Haute Savoie department not the Savoie department? Isn't that a bit like mixing up Yorkshire and Lancashire?
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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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His assessment of The Viking this year is pretty accurate though.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| Is it worth emailing him to point out that Morzine is in the Haute Savoie department not the Savoie department? Isn't that a bit like mixing up Yorkshire and Lancashire? |
No, that's more like saying that Glenshee is in the Highlands, when it is in Perthshire, rather than Highland (as an administrative entity). The Savoie region includes (bits or all of) both the departments of Savoie and Haute Savoie (and probably a couple of places which ended up in other departments for convenience). As he referred to 'the Savoie', rather than 'Savoie', I think he appears to be right.
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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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Exactly. You wouldn't go to the Costa del Sol for 'The Sun' - you'd go to a newsagent. But you would go there for 'Sun'.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Yellow Pyranha wrote: |
| As he referred to 'the Savoie', rather than 'Savoie', I think he appears to be right. |
Thanks 
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It's Savoy anyway.
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| This piece by Simon Calder illustrates why he's revered as a travel writer............... |
You have to get through a lot of waffle to get to the points of the article, but I guess he is paid by the column-yard. When you do wade through the opening guff, he does sketch vivid verbal pictures of his holiday. I enjoy his reporting on radio and TV, where he does cut to the chase quickly, and makes highly cogent comment. I have never 'revered' him though - I do not idolise him. Nor do I love him unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess. Does anybody else, apart from David Goldsmith?
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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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Fair point. He's a bit of a gasoline guzzler, too. I've downgraded him from 'revered' to 'revved'.
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It's a pretty good article I think - except the nonsense about being the best Easter snow this millenium, which it certainly isn't (that sounds more like the Crystal website. Because he "pays his way" he doesn't just write mushy advertising copy about the places he visits; the hotel sounds fairly grim. Personally I think TOs "club hotels" combine the worst features of hotels and chalets, with few redeeming features. I admit I've only ever been to one, but never again.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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pam w, Ski Olympic make a good fist of running their hotelets and get a lot of repeat business. They also designate some as 'child free' . . bliss
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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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Masque, I've only stayed in chalets with Ski Olympic, but they've been good. But the club hotel formula just doesn't appeal to me at all.
I'd like an establishment designated as "drunken yob" free....
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| pam w wrote: |
| I'd like an establishment designated as "drunken yob" free.... |
That's you screwed then 
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You know it makes sense.
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Masque, right. That's why I bought my own. But in the days when we did catered chalets - generally cheap ones - we almost always enjoyed them. The most drunken yob encountered was my son, who couldn't quite pace himself on the "free plonk" with dinner. 
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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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| achilles wrote: |
| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| This piece by Simon Calder illustrates why he's revered as a travel writer............... |
You have to get through a lot of waffle to get to the points of the article, but I guess he is paid by the column-yard. When you do wade through the opening guff, he does sketch vivid verbal pictures of his holiday. I enjoy his reporting on radio and TV, where he does cut to the chase quickly, and makes highly cogent comment. I have never 'revered' him though - I do not idolise him. Nor do I love him unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess. Does anybody else, apart from David Goldsmith? |
He is nothing more than a adequate journalist. As such he is able to write in paragraphs and use correct spelling and grammar. But the linked article is hardly anything more than average at best.
Here are some other mixed reviews of the same hotel: http://www.holidaywatchdog.com/3627-Morzine-Le_Viking_Hotel-Holiday-Review-Full.html#revtext_126436
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Poster: A snowHead
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Nice to see an article that isn't the usual ski bizz hagiography and one that doesn't push Vaujany. To be fair to Crystal their club hotels have always been pretty sucky - you normally find half the wall sockets don't work as well as the bulb in the bathroom. They generally rent clapped out hotels near the end of their lives which they can get cheap. Put in Bob and his mates to flash over some of the worst and most worn bits of French 1970s interior design and $$$.
They had quite a nice one in les Deux Alpes a few years back.
The staff are normally well trained though, quite a lot of them are actually making a career in travel despite what Simon says - and will probably be doing the summer with Crystal as well. However with thin profit margins and pressure from the gnomes of Kingston there is only so much you can expect.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
...the best Easter snow so far this Millennium.
On Sunday afternoon, I persuaded the family to explore some new terrain. The rain began just after the point of no return as we began the long chairlift ride to the highest peak. By the time we reached the top it had turned to hail. |
If that's the best, then I'd hate to see the worst.
Average article.
Very easy to whinge, far more constructive to write "I complained about x, y and z. And nothing / something was done"
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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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David Goldsmith, he's normally readable, but this piece is rubbish - so he fell over in the dining room and it's all their fault, poor ikkle Simon, there, there, pat his pampered ass better...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| red 27 wrote: |
| David Goldsmith, he's normally readable, but this piece is rubbish - so he fell over in the dining room and it's all their fault, poor ikkle Simon, there, there, pat his pampered ass better... |
I don't think that he made much of the fact that he slipped, moreso that the place was not clean.
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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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| Quote: |
...the best Easter snow so far this Millennium.
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Depends what you mean by best.
Last year in Grand Massif we were skiing powder days two weeks after Easter - yet much of the lower slopes were closed.
This year (not got home yet!) we skied Cascades on the last day it was open, and many other lower runs which were closed last year, but the temperatures were generally much higher, meaning even top-mountain slopes were slushy by 2pm.
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| Mike Pow wrote: |
If that's the best, then I'd hate to see the worst.
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Me too. I guess today still counts as Easter, the snow on piste below 1800 meters was pitiful. Rocks, rubbish, black snow (piste basher fumes?), water features. Certainly worse than last year on the lower slopes in the Northern Alps.
Still as the ski club would say - best skiing on upper slopes. You wouldn't really expect great skiing this low in mid April.
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RobW, whilst I wouldn't support the hyperbole, it's hardly reasonable to compare last year (the earliest Easter for the next x years) with this year (which is reasonably late).
davidof, the snow around the PDS is anything but pitiful below 1800m. I'd be one of the first to say if it was. I'd agree with "best skiing on the upper slopes", but even the stade in the bottom is Morzine is skiing reasonably well. I've skied a lot worse in January. (It was a particularly bad January!)
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That was a very bland article, that didn't tell me much or excite about skiing in the slightest.
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