 Poster: A snowHead
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hi,
need some help with resort choice. we are a group of 5, two dads and three sons aged 18, 19 and 20 and are looking for a good resort to keep everyone happy and are travelling end of feb. ideally something within 1.5-2 hours drive of geneva airport, the main things we require are;
good snow conditions (i know this is a gamble wherever you go but the higher the better)
nightlife, us oldies may not get past 11pm but the lads can party all night given the chance.
good for intermmediate snowboarders, ideally with some tree lined runs if snow conditions are good, plus a snow park.
all help appreciated 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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addo1, welcome to snowHeads 
Avoriaz? Though can't comment on nightlife. Or Morzine. Bear in mind though that the French school hols run until 12 March.
What kind of accommodation?
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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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1. Chamonix.
2. Meribel.
3. Verbier.
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addo1, I would say Avoriaz fits the bill nicely - it doesn't have the most amazing evening options, but it certainly fits your criteria IMO
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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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Morzine better for night life than Avoriaz.
Verbier would be ideal.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Wouldn't somewhere like Mayrhofen or St Anton be better at that time of year - or will that be Fasching?
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pam w, not from Geneva surely?
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MoodyFFS, no, I hadn't actually noticed that bit.  Maybe Verbier rather than Chamonix or Meribel then.
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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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| Quote: |
Bear in mind though that the French school hols run until 12 March
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will the french school hols have a big impact? we have been to the french resorts when the schools were still off for xmas and did not really feel there was a problem. is it busier in the later hols?
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addo1, Yes it will! The French tend to stay and ski in their own country and as a result it will be busy! Most properties are booked up by the preceeding August! May be better looking for the Swiss resorts at that time! Have fun!
In our experience the Half term weeks book up first, then New year, Then Xmas and easter holidays are the last to be snapped up!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Roy Hockley wrote: |
addo1, Yes it will! The French tend to stay and ski in their own country and as a result it will be busy! Most properties are booked up by the preceeding August! May be better looking for the Swiss resorts at that time! Have fun!
In our experience the Half term weeks book up first, then New year, Then Xmas and easter holidays are the last to be snapped up! |
we have a couple off options for accommodation around nendaz and verbier, what is a realistic travel time from the airport and what can i expect to pay for a transfer. we have hired cars in the past but would prefer to give it a miss as it means we can start our holiday at the departure airport if you know what i mean 
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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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addo1, the 12 - 27th February is the Paris school holidays, about the worst, really. Christmas is fine - the French don't do their big ski trips at Christmas. I'd think a Swiss resort would be a much better bet, unless you find out about some special Swiss holidays. An extra hour on a transfer in each direction is a very minor consideration compared to finding less crowded slopes, fewer very annoying kids (the Parisians are worst, can be quite rude and pushy) and shorter queues.
What are your dates of travel? If not yet fixed, could be worth a re-think. Maybe fly to a different airport and head for Austria or Switzerland.
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pam w, our flights are booked and we land in geneva on 26th feb and are only there for 4 nights so did not want to spend too long travelling too resort. i believe transfer times will be less with a local company as they know the roads better than us so would be quicker than hiring a car and maybe opens up more resorts as ideally we would like a transfer of 2 hours max.
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You know it makes sense.
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| addo1 wrote: |
| Roy Hockley wrote: |
addo1, Yes it will! The French tend to stay and ski in their own country and as a result it will be busy! Most properties are booked up by the preceeding August! May be better looking for the Swiss resorts at that time! Have fun!
In our experience the Half term weeks book up first, then New year, Then Xmas and easter holidays are the last to be snapped up! |
we have a couple off options for accommodation around nendaz and verbier, what is a realistic travel time from the airport and what can i expect to pay for a transfer. we have hired cars in the past but would prefer to give it a miss as it means we can start our holiday at the departure airport if you know what i mean |
At that time of the year Nendaz may be a bit quiet for the lads, depends how wild they want to be. Don't think there would be that much totiie about TBH - nice place though. Verbier would be more their thing, of course much more expensive.
Transfer times are probably both about 2 hours - Verbier slightly less, quicker if you are driving. Dont know what a transfer would be (80 squid return maybe) but the train straight from the airport shouldn't be overlooked - for Nendaz you'd need to get a taxi or bus from Sion.
A bit concerned when you say the accommodation is 'around'. To get the best out of Verbier in terms of nightlife you'd need to be right in the middle of things, up at the top so the most popular bars are staggerable. If you are a bit out, like at the bottom of the valley you'd be better in Nendaz.
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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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If you want close to Geneva what about Les Carroz/Samoens? If you are not in Austria where is there real hot nightlife?
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Poster: A snowHead
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addo1, at that time of year, in France, you might struggle to get 4 days accommodation in-resort. Nearer the time you might get lucky but it would be difficult to get an advance booking. I don't know the Swiss resorts but from other comments here I gather they can be more flexible with bookings.
If you really want to do France, and if you find accommodation a problem, a solution within a very easy drive of Geneva would be to stay in Sallanches and drive to resorts - there are a good few within easy reach including Chamonix, Flaine (and the whole of that area), St Gervais, Les Contamines, Combloux, Megeve). You'd need a car for that and obviously that wouldn't be ideal for partying. Sallanches is a pleasant town, but hardly party central.
If you are happy to go self-catering, you could rent a flat for the whole week, as you are arriving on a Saturday, and just forget the last few days. the cost of shared accommodation is generally a minor part of overall holiday cost (though that will be an expensive week) so you wouldn't be losing very much.
I agree that a private transfer is very convenient, especially if you are not going to make use of a car once in resort. It's probably a little more expensive than renting, for 4 days, but gives you peace of mind knowing you won't have to battle with snow chains.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Morzine as a base for PDS to board in Avoriaz mainly but nice to head over to Swiss resorts too, plus also The Stash board area, plus Les Gets which is good for intermediate boarders, accom from www.chaletsdirect.com. Simples
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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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rayscoops, Might be a tad busy at that time of the year!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Go to Verbier on the train from Geneva. It's very easy to do.
Nightlife in Avoriaz is definitely NOT recommended as the resort attracts lots of families due to its cutesy snow covered "roads" with horse drawn sleighs. Nightlife in Verbier is much livelier.
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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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addo1, Stayed in Morzine at end of Feb this year (26Feb - 2nd March), wasn't as busy as I thought it was going to be. The longest wait was around 20mins at the SuperMorzine gondola other than that no more than 5 or 10 mins at the busiest times. If a lift queue looked too long we just went to a shorter queue and went somewhere else. Accommodation was arranged through www.morzinelets.com.
I know I plumped for Verbier in an earlier post but either would do really. Morzine may be a bit cheaper than Verbier and is closer to GVA.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Roy Hockley, sure will be but you can always get something from chaletsdirect.com if you a flexible ..... unless addo1 changes the dates or country or airport 
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Addo1
Can I suggest, if you're looking at Morzine, you try these people? http://www.jollygood.com/Morzine/W_Sherpa.html
They're very British so might not appeal to the French market.
Accommodation is fairly basic but comfortable, and you might have a better chance of a 4 night stay at that time of the season.
Plus, they throw in free airport transfers and a daily lift to the lifts.
No financial interest to me, but I've stayed with them once before and am booked again for January.
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For Morzine also try http://www.reach4thealps.com/Winter/home.php
Marcus and Gina are real nice people, Scottish, for what that's worth(!), and worth a try.
Personally I think you should cancel the flights and head to Ischgl.
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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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Hi all,
thanks for all the replies. I am thinking Morzine is the best option for us and Ii have quotes via Chalets Direct from quite a few people who have availability. does anybody have any experience of the hotels Rhodos and Ridge?
JimG2009, we have had a quote from Jollygood which is a little bit more than we were hoping to pay. We have also had a quote for a chalet (sole use) self catering in St Jean D'Aulps, is it easy to get into Morzine on a night ie. in a taxi or is it too far out to make the best of the nightlife. 
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Taxi would be about 10 mins from memory, so if your planning on going heavy every night it may be a bit far but there are also a couple of bars in St Jean D'Aulps.
Le National serves Pizzas and has a pool table and has Sky (well it used to) for any footy games that may be on in the evenings, this is on the main road.
There is also another bar run by an English couple called John & Liz, which is attached to a restaurant and is located in the village nearer the ski lift (forgotten the name). They also run some catered chalets and provide airport transfers (www.actionmountain.com)
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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addo1, We stayed in the apartment that is attached to The Ridge. Pretty decent sized apartment and clean. Bar was ok, not too busy - fine for a quick beer before going in to town or for a nightcap before bed. Ski hire shop next door. 10mins walk to the SuperMorzine Gondola.
Had breakfast in the Rhodos on our last ski morning. Cracking full english 
I'd recommend them.
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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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addo1, Rhodos is OK, Ridge is a bit far from town for what I think you want. IMO St J d'A is not so easy to access by taxi. I'd be very surprised if the taxi service was at all reliable, or cheap. And you'd want to make sure you had transport to the lift system. It literally has a couple of bars. I.e. 2.
Samoens might be an idea? But you aren't really tipping up at the best time of year for a non Sat-Sat trip.
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Samoens I would suggest is distinctly short on nightlife, when we took our teenagers they went to the Irish bar and one other place and pronounced them both dire - and that was in half term! Godd for boarding though. Why not go to Flaine for a bit more activity after hours? Its 25 years since I was in Morzine so no comment on it from me
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You know it makes sense.
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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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addo1, good resort choice mate. If i were you i would take the bubble from the town up towards the avoriaz side. From the top of the bubble take the chair litft and from there you have lovely runs including proclou, Tetras, Q-mont, seraussaix and Zore. Also there are some great runs through Avoriaz itself and through through the snow par at the top of the town. Also try and head into the Linderets valley and ardent, some lovely blues and easy reds over there, and if your feeling really adventurous over into switzerland, but the rns do get quite stepp on that side from the top. Any more questions then please ask. When are you going by the way?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Ricklovesthepowder,
we will be there from 26th feb for 4 nights. trying to get as much help/info as possible as this will probs be our only trip this season coming and i dont want to spend too much time getting our bearings. also the thought that we come home from our trip only to find out we missed the best run/bar is not a good one 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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addo1,
Bars:
I assume the lads at the Sherpa are catering for you? If you want a civilised wine bar or are big girl's blouses, "Coupe du Couer" is the new in-place. Very nice if you're with the Mrs.
Otherwise, Dixie for sports, Boudda for general apres, or maybe what used to be Crepescule (I think it's changed name, could be wrong), Sherpa has it's own excellent bar, with Star Wars themed loo (hasn't been decorated since at least 1988, I know, I was there), Rhodos bar maybe worth checking into...Bar Robinson apparently popular with the yoofs.
Runs: Bear in mind that I'm a skier.
Most of Pleney/Nyon/Les Gets works on a board, avoid if you can the green run from Lhottys back to Nyon. I've forgotten all the names. Getting across the plateau above Chavannes (i.e. into Les Gets) might be boring on boards, not necessarily. But hey, them's the pleasures of boarding, eh?
There's a snow park on Mont Chery, also in Avoriaz plus the "Stash" which gets very close to hitting right on my curmudgeon button for ruining some perfectly good skiing forest just so some bl**dy boarders can fall off a few logs, grrr.
Not quite sure why RLTP suggests that any runs into CH get steep (?) maybe he's a boarder? No worse than anywhere else, I don't think. Other than the Wall.
Probably not a good idea to go down Grand Paradis (long flat road at bottom) or the itineraire into Morgins from Mossettes (long flat road at bottom). Otherwise (oh, yes, about to completely miss Abricotine which is probably unavoidable but has some flat spots) nothing else that a non-boarder would think a boarder should avoid...
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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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also forgot to ask, what can we expect to pay for a pint? i am hoping that it will be a bit cheaper than the 6-8 euros we were paying in val thorens not last winter but the one before 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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addo1, maybe you should have asked that before you decided?
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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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addo1, why would it be any different to anywhere else? Expect € 6-8 a pint.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
i certainly wont be buying the boys their drinks as in previous years...
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I should think not. Last time we had teenagers in a catered chalet - Les Gets - they went out to the supermarket on the first evening, together with some of the other kids from the chalet, bought improbable quantities of beers, Old Lady Gin and tonics, plus a few lemons, and kept themselves fairly plastered every night for a week for just a few bob.
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pam w, that sounds like a good idea, all 3 are at uni so will no doubt plead poverty and be asking the dads to buy the drinks when we are out.
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