 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi guys. Anyone reading my other post regarding our DIY attempts to ski in Austria might like to read the excellent (and somewhat scary) advice that I have been receiving.
This has really set me thinking as to what horror experiences other DIY-ers may have endured in their attempts to create their own holiday package. Are there examples of it going horribly wrong for some people. It would make for some really interesting reading if someone comes along who has found himself/herself in a disastrous situation. Who knows - this might put the ideas of DIY out of my head forever!
Cheers. S-100
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sagittarius100, what are you talking about? I "DIY" all my business travel (~24-30 trips a year) and when I travelled to ski I organised up to 16 "DIY" trips a year (between 2 day weekend to 14 days holidays) without ever having an issue that couldn't be coped with.
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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 for the misunderstanding! I meant someone who might have landed at a resort and found it to be a complete and utter disaster from start to finish. When my mate and I went to Zell am see last February we had booked for only one night in advance and then had to go searching for somewhere else the following day. Luckily we found somewhere else quite quickly, but we could just as easily have been caught out and found nothing at all! Hence the reason for this posting. I just want to see if there are people for whom it has all gone so horribly wrong. Curiosity, I guess. Thanks for the speedy reply by the way!
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Although I've never done DIY, I would think the biggest risk is airline/transfer problems. With a TO, this is their responsbility but travelling DIY a missed departure or merely a late flight could spell lots of problems and additional cost.
Accommodation is less of a risk surely. Pretty much any information you need to know about accommodation is here on the internet, so it's easy to make an informed choice.
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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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sagittarius100, going DIY doesn't have to mean going WAMT (Without A Moment's Thought). If you want to go somewhere in a peak period and don't book accommodation in advance, you might well fall on your face - especially if you have fancy ideas about booking odd days. My son and his flatmate took pity on two lads in ValD'Isere once, who were literally in the street at midnight with nowhere to go. For a small fee they were allowed to sleep under the table.....with a handful of dossers who were already installed.
If you're young and hard and accustomed to discomfort, none of this really matters, does it, and I'm sure those guys had a ball in Val D'Isere. My son once appeared home from one of his travels with a hole burnt in the knee of his jeans. When I enquired about it (as mothers do) he assured me that it was the hole in his knee which bothered him, not the hole in his jeans. When I saw it I sent him straight up to the pharmacist for advice - a nasty burn, acquired when he had to spend the night in an obscure railway station in the middle of the Czech Republic, and fell asleep with his leg against the radiator which was keeping hypothermia at bay. 
But most of us prefer to do a little more forward thinking.
As QB says, finding accommodation is easy peasy with the internet.
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Not skiing, but no trip can be as disorganised as a Uni waterpolo trip from St Andrew's to Bristol (so not exactly local).
After a day losing in the pool, get dropped off at UWE union & whole team become immersed in drinking beer & Nigel Benn-Gerald McClellan fight. This fight was so brutal that McClellan has never recovered. Only after this do we start thinking about accommodation. In lieu of a decision, we to go to the chip shop (of course) & as we leave one of the team persuades a young lady to let us all stay the night at hers. Yes, 7 blokes she's never met, all in varying stages of drunkenness & from the other end of the country. And she left us in her flat & went off to work early the next morning. We left flowers & chocs 
Women never seem impressed with this sort of 'planning' but it has always worked out (so far...)
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Before telling horor tales, it helps to know if you're really trying NOT to DIY and looking for excuse. Or looking for tip on what NOT to do in order to prevent problem. 
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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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not used a tour company for anything since 2000 - skiing/summer vacation/business travel. 3 DIY trips to Austria in last 4 years, doing it again this year, Do everything DIY - dramas? None. Can't think of any reason to use a tour company ...
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I will only use a tour op these days if i can get a deal for example just booked Tignes,
March 13th catered chalet, free childs place, creche for the little one, buy 1 lift pass get 1 free,
and snowboard carraige for £1600 happy days.
Otherwise its Diy all the way i do it every year now for my family and friends.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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gortonator, only that for some people it works out considerably cheaper. I'd certainly try DIY if the cost was comparable, although time consuming it must be quite fun sorting out all details by oneself.
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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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| gortonator wrote: |
| not used a tour company for anything since 2000 - skiing/summer vacation/business travel. 3 DIY trips to Austria in last 4 years, doing it again this year, Do everything DIY - dramas? None. Can't think of any reason to use a tour company ... |
For a single traveller, who can book late enough to get deals, it almost always works out cheaper.
And then you also usually get a day or 3 of "ski leading" by the TO, which gives you a ready made group of people to ski with, if you want.
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We went to Morzine from Tuesday to Sunday last half term anticipating putting the three children in ski school, only to find that ski school was fully booked and no-one was interested in even giving the kids private lessons starting on a Wed. Ended up with my brother teaching them to snowboard himself, and then the kids having private lessons over the weekend at some extortionate price. My brother was rather cavalier as he skies in Whistler regularly and you can get lessons starting any day of the week over there! He didn't realise how fixed the French were, although we should have booked in advance as it was half term week.
Lesson learned we are doing wkend to wkend this year, not doing half term and will be booking lessons in advance!
We always book independantly and have not had any travel disasters - yet:)
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You know it makes sense.
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My near-miss experience - cross-posted from the other thread:
I was once nearly caught out through no fault of my own. A couple of years ago we were in Kitz for Christmas week. The DH had an accident and was in hospital and it was touch and go as to whether we would be able to depart on our scheduled day. If we hadn't, there was nowhere in Kitz that I could have stayed whilst H was still in hospital, as it was new year week and everything had been bookde up for months. I couldn't even stay at our own place over in Zell as it too had been booked out for months, plus it would be a long schlep to go visit H in hospital in Kitz. Eventually the manager of the hotel I was staying in managed to find me a room in one of the nearby villages about 20 minutes away, it was a friend of his who doesn't normally rent out for holiday accommodation, but had a big house and offered to help. As it turns out H was discharged the afternoon before our flight home so I didn't need it in the end, but it was pretty sobering to think that through no fault of my own, I might actually have nowhere to sleep. So I wouldn't leave your 'options open' for too long, as you may end up having very limited options indeed!
Agree with pam though, DIY shouldn't mean WAMT!
BTW I don't think this was meant as a DIY v TO post - the OP's other thread about Munich to Austria might make this clearer!
D
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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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Last DIY ski holiday at christmas was rather eventful. Not completely disastorous, but not the usual relaxing affair.
Usual transfer time from Turin to Serre Chevalier is c. 1 hour 45 mins. The Col de Montgenvre happened to be closed the few days beforehand due to avalanche risk (Apparently the pass is very rarely is closed) and they were going to open it that evening, this meant the choice of waiting for 6 hours at the bottom of the pass or driving through the Frejus Tunnel and driving the 3 and a half hour detour. We picked up our brand spanking new (it had 10 miles on the clock before we got our hands on it) Alfa Romeo from the hire car company Targarent booked through Holiday Autos, a very nice car we must add when we were cruising on the motorways after having chosen the detour option.
We were going to be arriving in resort a little late which was annoying, but the excitement of the awaiting holiday meant all that palavour wasn't a big.
However disaster struck just under an hour away from our destination. It was dark and -8 and on a steep fast bendy road the car's engine cut out. We couldn't get it going after so many attempts. The engine warning light was on, to this day we dont know what was wrong with the car. It was a dangerous corner where we broke down, and putting out the warning triangle was dycing with the unthinkable. We got the Gendarme out from La Grave (which was about 10 minutes away). They were really brilliant, as they arranged to get the local mechanic out we managed to start the engine. They offered to escort us to the top of the pass in case it happened again. 5 mins after them leaving us just at the top of the pass, the engine conked out again. But we got it started and literally coasted all the way down the otherside of the pass. Stress over for that evening.
Trying to sort out how we were going to get the car back to Turin and . We refused to touch the car for the fear of something similar happening again on the return journey. The Italian car hire company weren’t being helpful, they wanted us to collect a new car from Turin and return their car. That wasn’t an option. They begrudgingly in the end managed to tow the car to a garage in Gap leaving us to have to foot a bill for €280 taxi to Turin for our flight home. We cancelled the payment to the car hire company we got home as we thought £250 for a car that broke down that we used for one day was rather steep.
We hired a car when we went to Chamonix from Geneva this summer, so it hasn’t put us off hiring cars for holidays. But if they ever offer you an Alfa, especially with a brand new engine tell them to get lost.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| sagittarius100 wrote: |
Who knows - this might put the ideas of DIY out of my head forever!
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Why do you want the ideas of DIY put out of your head forever?
Sorry, I can't help. I've DIYed most of my holidays for about 10 years now and never had any problem. I like to ski challenging off piste with guides with a group of friends, so we have to book early and cannot make use of late deals. The occasional organised holidays I do with the Ski Club of GB are more expensive. Even then I usually dispense with their travel arrangements so I can pick travel which allows me to ski 7 1/2 or 8 days instead of 6, and I always get my own lift pass anyway since I hate having to wait around for ages while the Rep buys them when I could be skiing.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not really had any major problems either way. If booking thru a travel agency though, remember that your contract is with that travel agency, not the tour op. I had one late availability (like book thursday lunchtime, travelling saturday) where the travel agency gave the wrong ski rental details to the TO (or the TO entered them incorrectly). In resort, TO didn't want to know, because they are only contracted to provide what is in their system. Of course I paid the travel agent for X, but Y gets entered into the TO system, and Y is what will be invoiced to the agency. Was up to me to sort it with the agency after. So much for buying a package deal huh?
DIY for me now anyway. Much easier to book a hotel and 3 clicks on the web to book a flight if need be. And I'd *never* book a no frills if there was a specific connection required.
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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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I've DIY'd all my holidays ( with the exception of  bashes) for the last 35 years. Many, many times that has included booking accommodation on arrival. Some hairy scary moments with trains in Thailand and turmoil in Kenya but the biggest problem was when ATC went on strike in the UK. I wouldnt have missed the flexibility for anything in hindsight ...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Have DIY'd all our holidays since 2002. No mishaps due to travel arrangements, only unexpected on-piste accidents.
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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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Have done a few DIY trips with no probs, however I prefer to use a tour op as it is less hasstle and no more expensive from my regional airport.
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Christopher, Alfa Romeos! All you ever hear is disaster stories. Why do people buy the stupid things? That must have been a real pain, and an expensive one too.
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Done 3 DYI - no problems.
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I think we are entering new territory with major airlines cancelling routes or significantly altering departure times in a way not seen before so in a few months I think there will be plenty of DIY horror stories appearing here.
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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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Not us, but A LOT of people got caught coming back from Whistler two (maybe three?) year ago, when a road accident closed the Sea to Ski Highway for eight hours, resulting in a lot of people failing to make it back to Vancouver airport in time for their flight home - there is no realistic alternative route.
At best, the airline put them on the next flight with places (with no charge) - but for some that was a few days later. But other airlines made them buy new tickets (as the old ones were no-changeable). And quite a few found out that the additional costs they incurred (which varied from extra meals, to extra hotel accomodation, to new one-way tickets (£££££)) were not covered by their travel insurance, as the delay was not caused by avalanche or failure of public transport.
I'm sure if you search enough on you'd find more details.
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RobW, we just missed a major accident on the road there ourselves in 2005. Arrived just before they shut off the road for the helicopter and emergency services. We caught our flight but not everyone did.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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sagittarius100, Touch wood have never had a problem DIY holidays, only had issues with TO holidays
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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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sagittarius100, a very odd thread, are you a TO?
TOs are only good for late deals IMO or if there is a big group and easier that they handle logistics. Only recent problem was flight cancelled in February due to snow in Dublin. That meant we had to overnight it to another airport. Travel insurance covered the cost. Most ski travel is DIY, what does everybody that lives on the continent do? The internet makes everything much easier. I think you will find people that use TOs aren't as internet savy.
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| Peter Ross wrote: |
sagittarius100, a very odd thread, are you a TO?
TOs are only good for late deals IMO or if there is a big group and easier that they handle logistics.
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Or for single travellers, or various other reasons.
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Only recent problem was flight cancelled in February due to snow in Dublin. That meant we had to overnight it to another airport. Travel insurance covered the cost. Most ski travel is DIY, what does everybody that lives on the continent do?
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Who knows (or cares) what the people who live on the continent do? Most of us on here don't, and from the UK and Ireland, DIY ski travel only accounts for about 5-10%, according to any opf the figures I have seen.
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The internet makes everything much easier. I think you will find people that use TOs aren't as internet savy. |
Why do you think that?
Plenty of perfectly "internet savvy" people just prefer to use TOs, for whatever reason.
I've never understood why people seem to feel the need to denigrate others choices.
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You know it makes sense.
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Back in the 80's I headed out a couple of times on spec with a cheapo tour operator flight only.
1st time I managed to end up in Tignes at 3am with nothing booked but found anappartment, thought we may have to sleep in a corridor and look the next day. nearly messed up the return when the tour operator bus we scrounged a lift back on did not turn up. Fortunately the regular bookable bus still had places left and let us on.
2nd time I ended up in Les Arcs and left my girlfriend standing on the piste ;ate at night whilst I tried to find somewhere and managed to eventually get a flooded room for the night. We are now married but she prefers to rely on myless than perfect organisational skills rather than my ability to pitch up and see. 
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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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| Deliaskis wrote: |
BTW I don't think this was meant as a DIY v TO post - the OP's other thread about Munich to Austria might make this clearer!
D |
I thought it was worth re-quoting myself (a practice which I am fairly sure I won't be repeating) lest this descend into a TO v DIY thread, which I am sure wasn't what the OP had intended, based on his earlier post about Munich to Austria.
D
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
| DIY ski travel only accounts for about 5-10%, according to any opf the figures I have seen. |
alex_heney, the official figures for DIY in the UK was 21% last season and this was down from the previous year. This may be because of heavy TO discounting last season as the market collapsed. source http://www.natives.co.uk/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=9&listcatid=39&listitemid=12102
I am not denigrating your choice of using a TO and travelled with directski myself last Christmas to avoid hassle but mainly because it was heavily discounted. I even gave up flights I had booked as the TO worked out cheaper. However in Ireland anyway brochure prices tend to work out more expensive than DIY, especially at popular times of year to good resorts. You are also restricted to 6 days skiing and some awful middle of the night transfers.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We went to La Clusaz DIY 9 yrs ago. We travelled by first class TGV to Annecy. On the return journey I packed my outward ticket in my case and had the return ticket in my handbag.
The conductor came down the train and insisted on seeing my outward ticket even though we were on the return journey. I said it was in my suitcase (in french) and he got very stroppy and insisted on seeing it. I had to unpack my case in front of a train load of bemused french people and was made to feel like a criminal. It was all very unpleasant..the chap even threatened to call the police if I didn't find my outward ticket. I doubt there is a law that you must keep the outward ticket for the return journey.
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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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I prefer T/O's, just give them a random reasonable price and tell em your saw it on the net to get then searching really hard for a good deal. I've never been able to find internet hotel prices in the season anywhere near as cheap as through a package.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I've done about 10 DIY ski trips to France, Italy and Switzerland and many, many summer trips as well. Last year I did one to Hawaii which inc flights to Honolulu, internal flights, condos, hotels, excursions, cars, etc. Never had a major problem and saved a packet (around £2000 on Hawaii trip alone). With the internet it's dead easy really but you do have to put a lot of effort into it.
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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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Yes, you are right.
I was misremembering
| Quote: |
I am not denigrating your choice of using a TO and travelled with directski myself last Christmas to avoid hassle but mainly because it was heavily discounted. I even gave up flights I had booked as the TO worked out cheaper. However in Ireland anyway brochure prices tend to work out more expensive than DIY, especially at popular times of year to good resorts. You are also restricted to 6 days skiing and some awful middle of the night transfers. |
I accept that brochure prices work out more than DIY, but who ever pays brochure prices? I don't think I have been within £150 of a brochure price over the last few years.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hey thanks guys for all the great responses. Makes for really interesting reading.In case anyone is wondering - no I am most definitely NOT a TO. This topic came about simply as an afterthought to responses to my other post relating to travel between Munich Airport and Austria. I must admit that I really enjoy reading other contributors' views to my ( and others') postings. Cheers!
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The main reason we don't used tour operators is because we like to travel by train and most TOs offer packages by air or self drive. A few offer the Eurostar ski train but normally their price is higher than booking directly. If I could buy a holiday through a tour operator incorporating train tickets I would be happy to use a TO.
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sagittarius100,
In the bad old days (2002) I booked and paid for a room in Mayerhofen, called the hotel few days prior to flight, called them from Manchester airport to check roads were clear, called them when I arrived at airport for directions. All fine.
Turned up at hotel to find they had sold my room an hour before I arrived and refunded my card. Some Germans had offered more dosh. I arrived at 6pm. The hotel manager/owner was nowhere to be found and I was fobbed with the “fact” that he had the day off (even though I had spoken to him 2 hours before) and that I must have cancelled the booking, etc, etc. Basically they didn’t give a toss.
Went next door to nice 4* and booked a room for the less than the original one.
Worked out but could have gone sooooo wrong.
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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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I've only had one issue with DIY and that was with a car hire booking, basically, we paid for a car hire 'voucher' in the UK and when we went to pick up the car they wouldn't add an additional driver aged 24 because they said they didn't allow it. We had a LOT of driving planned. One person couldn'y have possibly done it all. Major stress on your honeymoon is not nice! We ended up trying to get another car and took the car back the next day only to be told we could add another driver after all.... 
DIY doesn't intimidate me - but I choose whether to DIY or not purely on cost.
Eg, this year we are going to Panorama in Canada because it is only costing £777 (flights and accom) for 2 people. This is with inghams.
I know for sure I wouldn't be able to get a deal like this myself.
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Working for a TO I get pissed off about the amount of bashing TO's get. Pro's and cons about DIY or not, many factors involved and not always down to price.
Have only twice gone DIY as a punter and twice bad experiences. First was a long weekend to Innsbruck. Gatwick had a heavy fall of snow ( all of 6 inches) and was closed for a day and a half. Never made it into the departure lounge . Second trip was to Sestriere. Luggage was broken into before picked it up from conveyor. My favourite one piece stolen and also a packet of uncle ben's rice.
Out to resort in a weeks time, keeping fingers crossed for another snowy season
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FAQ
