 Poster: A snowHead
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I know that lots of you guys drive to the mountains or fly to geneva and hire a car (yes, I've seen the Geneva posts) but some of you will take the easy TO option. My question is, if one TO has the same hotel in the same resort a bit cheaper than another TO, would you just go with the cheaper TO or are there TOs that you would try to avoid. We've found that Tui seem keen to save every penny, leaving you sitting on the coach at the arrival airport for hours while they wait for another flight to come in etc. But I guess that all the TOs are going to try to squeeze their costs now. So, is, for example, Inghams worth a few quid more than Crystal?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ull, I think they are all much of a muchness. First Choice, TUI and Crystal all come under the umbrella of TUI. Neilson and Airtours and now owned by Thomas Cook. I think the only stand alone one is Inghams.
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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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| jb1970 wrote: |
| Ull, I think they are all much of a muchness. First Choice, TUI and Crystal all come under the umbrella of TUI. Neilson and Airtours and now owned by Thomas Cook. I think the only stand alone one is Inghams. |
Of the six biggest, yes.
But other independents are Mark Warner, Esprit, Equity/Rocket Ski, and a quite a few othher smaller operators.
But even some of the apparently more upmarket ones, such as Skiworld have this habit of consoldiating several flights onto one coach. And this tends to have a worse effect at the really big airports such as Geneva, because the charter flights don't get as many landing slots close together as they will at airports mainly used by charters.
My first ever ski trip was with Siworld via Geneva, and it was almost 3 hours after the flight landed before we got away from the airport.
This year with Neilson via Salzburg, we had to wait for another flight, but it only delayed us 15 minutes after we reached the coach, and we were away from the airport less than an hour after our flight touched down.
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I think the only way to avoid a long wait on a transfer coach is not to use a package at all; whether it be with the big operators or the independent ones. The only way to avoid it is to go DIY.
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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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jb1970, you can do a bit of mix and matching and use the tour operator for flights and accommodation and arrange your transfer separately. Inghams, for example, give you a range of options for transfers (i.e. car hire or private transfer), or you can arrange your own.
I can't be doing with the whole hang around the airport waiting for other flights performance (or the sit in an industrial estate at 5am waiting for feeder taxis). I think someone else on here mentioned that the TO's make a lot of their margin on the transfer.
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i've only been with one TO, as i usually am more of a diy'er. But my experience of inghams was pretty good.
flight landed and on transfer bus within 45 mins, and they apologised about being slow.
only thing i would say is that if you haven't booked lift passes etc thru them then the next morning "meeting" is just a sales pitch best left alone..
but all n all a good experience
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Inghams were good at Wengen last month.
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Another vote for Inghams
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Don't think I've been with Inghams but I've been with Neilson twice and Crystal/TUI five times. The airport wait thing is often less of an issue with Crystal as they tend to have many more customers so the coaches get filled quicker. Plus this season all the flights into Turin landed within the space of an hour. This equated to four coaches going to my resort only and another 20 or so coaches going elsewhere. Obviously this won't always be the case, smaller TOs may be lumping different flights/resorts on to the same coach...
Having said that thoughm they're all much of a muchness. I tend to end up with Crystal as they seem to have more single rooms and tend to charge a bit less for the same hotel. I've just booked for next season already and the same hotel booked independently would cost nearly £50 more than through Crystal. They must make block booking savings...
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| Quote: |
But even some of the apparently more upmarket ones, such as Skiworld
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I've always thought of SkiWorld as slightly lower-end than the other big names, with Inghams being slightly higher-end (so Neilson & TUI in the middle). That might be because I've always used them for cheap deals though. I also tend to avoid Airtours based on previous experience, but they may have changed since being bought by TC.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Another vote for Inghams
We have used them fairly regularly
They have not had us hanging about at airports too long and they have never dumped us in the middle of an industrial estate to stand and wait for the next bus which some of the other TOs have
We have been held up by late flights but that happens on our diy trips as well
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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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…. and another thing, TUI are charging £30 for ski carriage and Inghams are charging £18.
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You know it makes sense.
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I saved a small fortune by booking my lift pass ahead with Crystal. I paid £165 in sterling in advance and the lift pass was given to me on the transfer bus. In resort the same lift pass would have been €215. Obviously the change in exchange rate had a lot to do with this...
Also someone else mentioned doing DIY transfers. Other than some Austria ski resorts which have rail stations, this looks rather difficult to me. Some of the major resorts are served by independent transfer companies but this is generally a lot more expensive than the TO versions unless there is a big group of you. Even a public transport transfer is going to involve some walking and maybe a mixture of buses and trains and possibly a taxi to get to your accommodation. A TO transfer will drop you either outside or very near to your accommodation. I realise some people have had bad experiences of waiting at airports, but I can honestly say I've never waited longer than half an hour. For me the advantages of a TO transfer far outweigh the potential disadvantages...
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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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Crystal are the consumate 'penny pinchers'. I've been on a few Crystal trips and have always been inpressed with their ability to save a Euro. The food in Canazei with Crystal at NY was basic enough, the portion sizes were laughable. Cooked breakfast was a spoonful of scrambled egg and one tinned tomato on the Mon. Tues, a sausage with a few bits of mushroom and on for the week.. My mate on the last morning told the host, 'OK, we've tried all the samples, I'll go for the whole hog this morning'. She looked at him with a puzzled expression. 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Ull,
If it's the same hotel in the same resort then the factors I'd be looking at would be the airports used, and flight times rather than the TO.
If you're planning to stay in a chalet then the TO is more significant.
Inghams I've found to be ok, I've been with them a few times (both for hotels and chalets).
This winter I went with SNOWLINE for the first time and they're ok too (only chalets).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rich.ll, that's a fair point. I've only ever done two chalet holidays both via a TO. One was lovely in every way but very expensive (VIP in Val D'Isère) and the other extremely basic but the food was good and plentiful (Crystal in Kitzbuhel). I think I have been lucky as chalet experiences seem to vary widely and the majority opinion seems to be that independently owned and run chalets tend to offer a much better service...
I generally always stay in hotels (solo traveller who doesn't like self-catering) and have had no complaints to a TO at all so far...
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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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queen bodecia, when I complain about transfer arrangements I don't intend it as a criticism of the TO - they do it for a good reason, and in my experience the Inghams reps on the ground handle it as well as they are able (in the face of some fairly obnoxious clients). Personally the coach transfer and related random pauses detract from my holiday experience, so I avoid it if I can but do it if I have to.
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I've heard good reports about Ski Olympic. A friends daughter is a chef in one of their La Ros chalets, & thinks they are great.
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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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I liked Ski World, and we are going to one of their Chalets in Tignes, so I'll be interested to see how the 3* compares to the 4*+ as our food was very good in the 3*.
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genepi, yes, I've been on numerous holidays with Ski Olympic the most recent in February and really rate them as a good mix of value and quality.
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| queen bodecia wrote: |
| ...Also someone else mentioned doing DIY transfers. Other than some Austria ski resorts which have rail stations, this looks rather difficult to me. ... |
Look again. Dead easy by public transport for a lot of Swiss resorts - Saas Fee, Zermatt, Andermatt, and and Wengen for example. Also easy for some French resorts such as Alpe D'Huez and Les Deux Alpes form Grenoble (rail or air) , Val D'Isere, Tignes and Les Arcs from Bourg St Maurice (rail). Also quite easy to Aviemore 
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| jtr wrote: |
| …. and another thing, TUI are charging £30 for ski carriage and Inghams are charging £18. |
And Thomas Cook (Neilson) were charging £15 this year. But you had to phone them after booking if it was a "late booking", as they would not then allow you to include it as part of the online process.
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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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achilles, fair enough. I looked into it from Turin to Courmayeur and it was rather tricky. A bus from the airport into central Turin, a train to Aosta, then another to Pre St Didier and then a combination of another bus and taxi. I didn't get as far as working out the cost, all that including carrying my luggage about was more than I could cope with. Then there was the added problem that all this didn't start early enough in the morning for the return journey.Thankfully the TO managed to negotiate an additional room for me (the allocation at my chosen hotel was already full booked when I enquired so I was looking into DIY at a neighbouring hotel)). But clearly some resorts are easier than others. I still think door to door service of an inclusive transfer is far less hassle though...
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| Mollerski wrote: |
| Crystal are the consumate 'penny pinchers'. I've been on a few Crystal trips and have always been inpressed with their ability to save a Euro. The food in Canazei with Crystal at NY was basic enough, the portion sizes were laughable. Cooked breakfast was a spoonful of scrambled egg and one tinned tomato on the Mon. Tues, a sausage with a few bits of mushroom and on for the week.. My mate on the last morning told the host, 'OK, we've tried all the samples, I'll go for the whole hog this morning'. She looked at him with a puzzled expression. |
From that POV, you are generally better staying in a hotel (and NOT a "club hotel"), as then the service level in the accommodation is down to the hotel management rather than the TO.
Travelling solo, I always look for a half board/catered option, but would be very reluctant to trust the quality of food in TO run accommodation from any of the big name TOs.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| achilles wrote: |
| queen bodecia wrote: |
| ...Also someone else mentioned doing DIY transfers. Other than some Austria ski resorts which have rail stations, this looks rather difficult to me. ... |
Look again. Dead easy by public transport for a lot of Swiss resorts - Saas Fee, Zermatt, Andermatt, and and Wengen for example. Also easy for some French resorts such as Alpe D'Huez and Les Deux Alpes form Grenoble (rail or air) , Val D'Isere, Tignes and Les Arcs from Bourg St Maurice (rail). Also quite easy to Aviemore |
And most of the Italian Dolomites resorts have regular transfers arranged at reasonable cost.
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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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I've used most of the major tour operators over the years (as well as doing DIY trips), and I would agree that Inghams seem to be a bit better than most as regards overall quality and service.
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I have always been a very big supporter of Neilson's as they were very good to me indeed in a crisis. Inghams are also very goood and not at all pushy when it comes to bar crawls etc. (not my style -too old and sad).
I was disappointed that we ended up waiting over two hours for the transfer bus to get moving from Verona this year to get us to Campitello. In fact, it has put me off booking with Neilson's again for next year. There is not a lot of point in flying at 5.30 if you are going to sit at an airport for hours.
Big plus for Neilson's is their ski guiding. Always a good way of getting to know a new area.
Never had a big problem with any of them really - not even Crystal. Since I have to go main weeks TO is the best option.
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You know it makes sense.
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Whoops! Double posted. 
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Wed 8-04-09 22:04; edited 1 time in total
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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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Neilson are better than Crystal and Total in my experience, Inghams are middle ranking. We used Ski Beat this year and last year in Meribel, they are streets ahead of the big TO's. The whole package is superb, if you can get a cheap deal with Ski Beat you're on to a winner.
We used to like Esprit when the kids were smaller, but recently, they've taken to using very basic chalets and become stingy with the grub.
BTW I've had a shocker with Crystal in Chamonix with slum accomodation, so much so, they gave us most of our money back.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Inghams vote from the newbie, I would not travel with Crystal again, not enjoyable at all, Inghamsgot my buisness this and Ive booked again already.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Rocki, Welcome to Snowheads!
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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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| Chris Bish wrote: |
I have always been a very big supporter of Neilson's as they were very good to me indeed in a crisis. Inghams are also very goood and not at all pushy when it comes to bar crawls etc. (not my style -too old and sad).
I was disappointed that we ended up waiting over two hours for the transfer bus to get moving from Verona this year to get us to Campitello. In fact, it has put me off booking with Neilson's again for next year. There is not a lot of point in flying at 5.30 if you are going to sit at an airport for hours.
Big plus for Neilson's is their ski guiding. Always a good way of getting to know a new area.
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Tui group also often offer that. Not only good for getting to know a new area, but also good for finding somebody else to ski with, as a solo traveller.
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Never had a big problem with any of them really - not even Crystal. |
No, neither have I really. I have had a couple where I would have preferred to spend less time at the airport at one end of the holiday or the other, but I've never found any of the reps to be pushy, or appearing to disapprove of me not wanting to go on any of their organised "events", nor had any other real problems.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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[quote="alex_heney"]
| Chris Bish wrote: |
I have always been a very big supporter of Neilson's as they were very good to me indeed in a crisis. Inghams are also very goood and not at all pushy when it comes to bar crawls etc. (not my style -too old and sad).
I was disappointed that we ended up waiting over two hours for the transfer bus to get moving from Verona this year to get us to Campitello. In fact, it has put me off booking with Neilson's again for next year. There is not a lot of point in flying at 5.30 if you are going to sit at an airport for hours.
Big plus for Neilson's is their ski guiding. Always a good way of getting to know a new area.
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Tui group also often offer that. Not only good for getting to know a new area, but also good for finding somebody else to ski with, as a solo traveller.
[quote]
This is very true and the precise way I met my ski buddies whom I met up with again this season to ski with. Although I have no qualms about travelling and skiing alone, it's definitely nicer to have ski buddies...
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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 often go with Inghams and invariably have a good service from them re transfers (the only thing we really use them for). Crystal often have 'drop-offs in the middle of industrial estates' and I don't think I've ever been on a transfer bus with them when there's been a rep on the bus, if you require the services of a rep.
Inghams is usually a much better service although this year for the first time we were the ones dropped off en route for a taxi onwards to our resort. OK, we were the only ones going to Serfaus so I suppose it made sense but it also happened going to Kitzbuhel and a group of us had to wait at Worgl for a minibus to take us on onwards. I guess money-saving.
We never go to welcome meetings as we only use package deals for convenience of transfers - I hate lugging skis and luggage around!
So, to answer your question Ull, on a like-for-like holiday I would personally just go with the cheapest. As long as they get you to the resort and back that's the important thing for me.
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| cathy wrote: |
| Crystal often have 'drop-offs in the middle of industrial estates' |
What do the punters do then, unlesss their hotel is also in the middle of the industrial estate. The transfer is the worst bit of the TO experience IMV; lots of hanging around, some spotty herbert blethering non stop with usually misleading or incomplete info about the resort and trying to flog lame and overpriced 'entertainment', ridiculously early leaving time from the resort, sometimes losing skiing time. When we skied with TOs (the cheapest way for us) in N.America, we took the hire car option, partly to avoid the transfer.
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| richmond wrote: |
| cathy wrote: |
| Crystal often have 'drop-offs in the middle of industrial estates' |
What do the punters do then, unlesss their hotel is also in the middle of the industrial estate. |
I don't know whether this is more of an Austrian thing, where the TO has accommodation in many smaller resorts. So there will be a large coach picking up from the airport with people going to different resorts. They'll be dropped off in car parks along the way to be met by minibuses/taxis to take them to their actual resort & hotel. There isn't normally a wait involved other than about maybe 5 mins and it all seems to run quite smoothly. Mostly. So people aren't actually left stranded in industrial estates.....
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We were left at Aime railway station with two small kids for over an hour on a freezing cold morning at 6am, waiting for the main coach to take us to the airport. No chalet breakfast as it was too early for the bread delivery. Crystal . Only done one tour op trip since, Inghams to Canada, and I tool the car hire option and sorted out the lift passes myself.
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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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Last Easter we had a 2.5 hr delay with the Manchester flight with Ski Olympic. Half of our party were on a Birmingham flight.
Ski Olympic re-arranged the coaches and we had 2 empty coaches and 2 minibuses to meet our flight. Us La Rosierians we coupled up with the Vallandry crew and then 2 minibuses and 2 taxis met us at Aime and took then from us in a 5 minute swap. A perfectly executed recovery that would cost Ski Olympic a good few bob, but a gesture which got massive brownie points from all of that days air travellers.
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| richmond wrote: |
| cathy wrote: |
| Crystal often have 'drop-offs in the middle of industrial estates' |
What do the punters do then, unlesss their hotel is also in the middle of the industrial estate.
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People only end up getting "dropped off" there if the onward minibus/taxi or whatever is late. I haven't had it happen to me, although I have had one where on the return transfer, there were people waiting for us who had been dropped off before we arrived at the rendezvous.
I think they use industrial estates because there are normally plenty of places where they can park for a few minutes at weekends.
| Quote: |
The transfer is the worst bit of the TO experience IMV; lots of hanging around, some spotty herbert blethering non stop with usually misleading or incomplete info about the resort and trying to flog lame and overpriced 'entertainment', ridiculously early leaving time from the resort, sometimes losing skiing time. |
I thought that was happening on my return from the Zillertal, until it took the coach well over an hour to get from Zell am Ziller to Jensbach. (That was the one where other people were waiting for us at Jensbach). Even though we had left resort about 5 hours before flight time, we ended up not reaching the airport until 2 hours before flight time - with clear roads it is just under an hour transfer time.
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FAQ
, so the good experiences of Inghams is welcome news for me.
