 Poster: A snowHead
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Resort: Folgarida 1300
Country: Italy
Dates: 13/02/10 to 20/02/10
Who: Family of five at various points on the intermediate scale
Tour Operator: www.folgarida.co.uk. Generally impressed with the service both before and during the holiday - clear, concise documentation and requests for information sent out/provided. Not so impressed with the 12% currency surcharge (prices for 2010 were based on 1 GBP=1.4 EUR) but overall cost still less than with any other operator
Transport: Scheduled BA flight from Heathrow to Venice, then coach transfer to resort. Although the TO offer "all-inclusive" ski holidays, the Heathrow flight attracted a £50 per person supplement (BA's charge) - but received a roughly equivalent discount for five sharing a room, so hey-ho. Impressed with Heathrow T5 - both departure and return were on time, no luggage lost and BA staff unvaryingly helpful. Pre-booked parking in Long Stay Plus T5, good service there. Coach transfer to resort one of the longest I've ever done at 3.5 hours, but thankfully jam-free. Potential bonus for those who suffer from "hairpin turn sickness" (as does my son) - there are only eight of them up to the resort, so for the first time the coach was a  -free zone
Accommodation: Hotel Gran Baita. It might have seen better days, but the staff - mostly from the same family I believe - are wonderful and make the place somewhere I'd be happy to stay again. Special mentions to Simone (minibus driver amongst other responsibilities) whose cheerful disposition made the short transfer to the gondola station a pleasure every day, and to the bar manager (I never did find out his name) for his patience in teaching/reminding me of the Italian for "glass" (bicchiere). A good breakfast each day - bread, cold meats, cheese, boiled eggs, jams, juice, tea/coffee, cakes - and a pleasant four-course dinner even if the antipasti buffet was not up to Birthday Bash standards 
Lift system: An equal spread between gondolas, high-speed chairlifts and fixed chairlifts. There were a couple of drag lifts too, but only in beginner areas as far as I saw. Only really queued once for the gondola up from resort, and that on the Sunday when glorious weather brought out the locals in droves. However, main chair further up was often busy (10 minute average wait). Overall, not a distraction past that first day.
Pistes: Folgarida-Marilleva (the included lift pass) is a relatively small resort with 31 marked runs covering (I would guess) 50km or so. However, there are plenty of near-piste and off-piste options and trees everywhere, so unless you're a mileage-only skier, there's enough there for a week. You also have the option of a EUR 20 day extension to Madonna di Campiglio (I didn't bother with this)
Lessons: As ever, dependent on the instructor. But at £70 for 6x2hr group lessons, worth a punt even if you only get some guiding. Personally, I gained a great deal from the lessons, as did my son. One of my daughters enjoyed herself; the other less so (though she was having boot issues). My wife had a mixed bag; some good days and some not so good.
Resort: A small centre with one mini-market, a few bars, a pizzeria, hire shops and a very nice patisserie  Perfectly adequate
Food & Drink: The pizzeria in the resort provided best value and was quiet most days (basic pizza for EUR 6). Mostly though we ate at the piste-side hotels in Folgarida 1400 on run 2 into resort, which were much better value, probably better quality and certainly quieter than the chaos city mountain restaurants around the top of the gondola.
Après-Ski: The Eta-Beta bar near the gondola station was pleasant enough, though we usually opted for a beer or calimero back at the Gran Baita. As usual, worn out after dinner so I can't tell you what went on after that point!
Summary: Folgarida-Marilleva is a nice little resort nestled in beautiful mountains. There's enough for a week's skiing unless you're into serious mileage only; I'd recommend the lessons and/or some off-piste. We were lucky to have four glorious days of sunshine to see the resort at its best; the fifth day was cloudy and the final day the snow just kept coming and coming - good news for anyone up there this week! Piste grooming is typically merciless on all runs - if it's bumps you want, then hop off the side (there are plenty in small and large helpings). Best run IMHO - and not just for the lunch associations - is the 3K-long blue number 2 into Folgarida 1300.
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