 Poster: A snowHead
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We are a mixed abilty group looking to ski Christmas week this year. Can anyone reccomend a resort/hotel that is "christmasy"?? We ideally would like somewhere that has events at christmas, or are we looking for something that does not exist? Any info would be good, thanks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A lot of hotels in the Alps will be doing their best to reflect the Christmas spirit especially in the villages rather than the larger purpose built resorts. In France, you could try Samoens part of Flaine ski area for instance. 1 hour from Geneva.
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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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most places get fairly Christmassy - the lower, prettier, traditional villages are especially nice, but then there's a trade off for snow reliability and ski convenience. Christmas can have good snow, or it can have rather scarce snow, or even (as lots of places did at Christmas 2009) rain. Nothing very Christmassy about rain. 
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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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Netballdi, No one does Christmas like a typical Austrian resort
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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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Netballdi, Any of the resorts in the Salzburg area. Huge ski area with real towns and ski in-ski out if you look for it. Beware though, as many Europeans have reserved their accommodation already. Prices can be high for hotels close to the lifts. Names to look for are Schladming, Flachau, Wagrain, St Johann im Pongau/Alpendorf, Mühlbach, Maria Alm (Höchkönig area), Bad Gastein, Zell am See. All of these are less than 90 minutes from Salzburg Airport. Most of the main resorts can be reached easily by train directly from the airport with the hotels doing pick ups from the railway stations. Saalbach-Hinterglem can be reached easily from Salzburg or Innsbruck airports as can the Kitzbühel and Ski Welt areas (Söll, Scheffau, Ellmau, Going, Brixen im Thale, Westerndorf, Hofgarten).
Otherwise flying into Innsbruck you have a wealth of resorts within easy reach - Zillertal (Fügen, Mayrhofen, Hintertux) Ötztal and Pitztal vallies lie to the west of Innsbruck and lead to resorts like Sölden and Obergurgl. You can also look at Serfus/Fliss, Kappl, Ischgl, Galthur, St Anton, - the list is endless to be honest.
One thing you can be sure of though is traditional Christmas with a short day on Christmas Eve, most lifts will be closed by 4:00 and all the shops usually shut around mid-day and stay shut until the first working day after the 26th. Ski shops though, open for business as usual on the 25th December. Christmas Eve is the big family celebration and lots of people travel to the ski resorts on the 25th/26th December. Pre-Christmas Eve things can be relatively quiet on the slopes, after the 26th all hell let's loose until New Year's Day when it goes a wee bit quieter again.
Best thing to do is to decide what you want and what you need, then draw up a short list of possibles. Good luck - the early research will pay off as you will know by the time the brochures come out, where you want to be. And you will have decided whether you want to do the Tour Operator's way or to organise everything yourself (DIY).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Netballdi, if you want the English Christmas dinner and chintz experience you should consider a TO chalet - they do the whole turkey and pudding thing.
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Thanks for the suggestions. We were thinking Austria in the main, but also maybe Switzerland.
Not so sure about the TO chalet as we like to self drive and book our own, but a chalet may be the answer.
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