 Poster: A snowHead
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This was my second trip to Alpe d'huez in as many years. It wasn't the snow that let me down though. We decided to stay in the same accommodation as last year, a catered chalet right next to the gondola at the bottom of all the green runs. It was the Chalet Lac Blanc 1 booked through Neilson. Last year the place was run by two great chalet hosts who seemed to treat the place like it was their own home. It was spotlessly clean and the food was plentyfull and of a good standard. Because of this I booked again with 11 friends in tow.
When we arrived at the Chalet we found out that the guy of the couple had broken his arm the day before and had to return to England. Not a great start as the girl was left to fend for herself only receiving help with the food on an evening. Obviously she can't do all of the chores around the chalet by herself which meant that things were neglected. Our rooms weren't cleaned the whole time we were there, we had to hunt down toilet rolls, towels etc and things just seemed a bit grimy downstairs in the lounge/dining area too, no towel or soap in the downstairs toilet. Another little thing that annoyed me was when the six in ski school finished for the morning we all met up and returned to the chalet for a cuppa. A friend and my Wife returned to find four Neilsons reps watching a DVD sat around on the sofas which were supposed to be ours to use whenever we wanted. My Wife felt a bit put out so they both went up to the rooms until we all came back and could take over the place again. I never had that problem last year at all.
I also thought the standard of food and the amount was pretty poor too. Last year for breakfast we received two hot breakfast options and bread with ham and cheese and various cereals which was all very good. This year we just had the now smaller hot options and some bread and jam. One rasher of bacon and the smallest amount of scrambled egg got a bit of a stunned look from most of us who were there on the first morning. The evening meals were better but we had soup nearly every night which was a splash in the bottom of the bowl and lasted all of ten seconds. We had lasagne one night with zero pasta sheets and was luke warm, and my favourite dish of tartiflette arrived one night but was not great. Hard potatoes and the thinnest creamy sauce i have ever seen. I understand its hard to do everything on your own so I am aware that her being on her own had something to do with it so none of us complained to her. She was always smiling and was always nice and chatty so we all felt sorry for her. My real gripe is with Neilson who should have had someone straight in there to help her out and share the chores. On our departure she told us she was on her own for another week. Not good.
As for the resort itself everyone had a great time. The snow conditions on piste were great considering the lack of snowfall. Only worsening towards the end of the day as it became icy and slushy on the sun hit slopes. Some great skiing in the mornings though on the lovely runs down into Montfrais. Auris was pretty much a nightmare with some of the runs just muddy slush tracks or majorly icy in places.
Also we all found the prices a real eye opener for drinks. 7 euros for a beer pretty much everywhere on the mountain and in the Yeti bar 16 euros for a pitcher of beer which turned out to be two pints. The Igloo club was good for one night out getting very busy after about 1am, mainly english people though and paying 11 euros for a bottle of Desparados or 10 euros for a bacardi and coke brought tears to a few eyes in our group. I did tell them it was expensive before we left. Still everyone had an awesome time and we are all saving for our next trip.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I would ask whether you've raised this with Neilson, but having dealt with their "customer services" team, they advised me they couldn't do anything, and that I should contact ABTA to see if they could help. I'd chalk it up to experience and find a new operator for next year. There's plenty out there who wouldn't put their staff in that position unsupported. 12 people in a chalet is a big job for 2 people, let alone one person struggling through on their own.
Did the Neilson resort manager not drop in at any point? Did you try and find them?
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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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Greavsie, Good report. Always a mistake to go back to the same place after a good holiday - the repeat trip never fails to disappoint.
Try Austria next year for a marked contrast in prices if nothing else
Very poor effort from Neilson who - AFAIK - have a decent reputation among the TO's. No doubt someone from Neilson will be here shortly to put 'their side of the story' 
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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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I hope it will be Pip. He was great value for money last time he showed up.
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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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the pandora police will be along shortly ....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks Red 27. I only really went back again because of the ski area and the fact that 6 of our group were going into ski school. The room for progression there and not getting bored doing the same runs appealed to me. My wife and I went to Niederau with Crystal over the new year period and had a good time then with reasonable prices for food and drink. I've also been to Kitzbuhel and Ischgl twice and would have to say I do prefer Austria. Always seems a more friendly atmosphere and prettier villages to boot.
Monium. We didn't raise anything whilst we were there although a few of us were tempted. As the girl was so nice we felt sorry for her so didn't want to upset her as she was struggling anyway. Plus I find if you start complaining and trying to get things sorted like that it can end up making everyone miserable and only moaning about the holiday all week. We still had a great laugh out on the slopes and in the bars on an evening. I think we will be trying somewhere else next year. I'm hoping to get to St Anton at some point its on my list of places to ski and drink.
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Greavsie, I'm sure that the tour companies rely on guests feeling sorry for the poor boy or girl coping on their own. We've all been there. "Ah, I have a son/daughter (nearly) that age ..... " so the guests end up setting/clearing tables, loading/unloading dishwasher, making own beds, putting out rubbish etc. Everything except shopping and cooking really. And no, you don't complain because the poor child is doing their best. And so nothing ever gets done about it .
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| Quote: |
Always seems a more friendly atmosphere and prettier villages to boot.
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Well, to be fair, nobody goes to AdH for a pretty village, do they?
Sorry to hear about the disappointment - I don't agree that going back is always a mistake though and can quite see why you did. We went back to the same Ski Olympic (and fairly basic, no private bathrooms or anything like that) chalet in La Rosiere and enjoyed it even more having taken my sister and her family along so that the cousins could play together.
It's very poor not to replace somebody who has had to go home ill - I can understand why you didn't complain at the time, but then there's not too much point in complaining on a forum after the event, is there?
If I'd got back early to find Neilson reps watching a DVD I think I'd have helped myself to a cup of tea and then politely said "Do you mind if I switch this DVD off? I'd planned to have a bit of peace and quiet before the others all pile in after skiing". I'd have asked politely, but if they objected I'd have switched it off anyway. 
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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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| Greavsie wrote: |
| A friend and my Wife returned to find four Neilsons reps watching a DVD sat around on the sofas which were supposed to be ours to use whenever we wanted.. |
Really? Who told you that? Can't you share?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We had a similar problem with a Neilson chalet earlier in the season. I emailed customer services and to be fair to them they were very helpful, investigated the situation, apologised and gave us a decent amount of compensation. I think it's only fair to let them know that you weren't happy and give them an opportunity to try and put things right.
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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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If the resort rep cannot sort it out, contact the TO direct by phone or email. What's the point in complaining here afterwards? It doesn't sort out the problem at the time, and it's rather unfair on the TO.
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| Quote: |
A friend and my Wife returned to find four Neilsons reps watching a DVD sat around on the sofas which were supposed to be ours to use whenever we wanted..
Really? Who told you that? Can't you share?
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Well as we paid over £10.000 for the week to use the chalet I assumed we would be able to sit on the sofas when we wanted to. As they only seated 5 people anyway it would've been quite crowded. Also it seemed funny that they had time to sit around and watch TV but not help our girl tidy the place up a bit.
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If the resort rep cannot sort it out, contact the TO direct by phone or email. What's the point in complaining here afterwards? It doesn't sort out the problem at the time, and it's rather unfair on the TO.
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I don't think its unfair on the TO as they knew she was on her own plus if you read the review again you will find that I wasn't unhappy with the whole holiday just a few things were disappointing compared to the holiday the year before. It wouldn't stop me using Neilson again. I thought that as this section is for reviewing my holiday I would.
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You know it makes sense.
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| achilles wrote: |
| If the resort rep cannot sort it out, contact the TO direct by phone or email. What's the point in complaining here afterwards? It doesn't sort out the problem at the time, and it's rather unfair on the TO. |
... who does of course have the right to reply.
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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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Interesting - I've just done a trip report which was a Neilson holiday for the same week but different resort. We didn't have the problems you did - but I did experience a general level of disappointment with Neilson - the kind of stuff that feels trivial at the time so you don't report it because you're having plenty of fun and i've got better things to do with my day/evening than track down resort reps/chalet host when i could be snowboarding!
At the end of the day - the experience means I wouldn't choose or recommend Nielson in the future - but if a holiday came up at the right price to the right resort from the right airport - well I would probably do it again and make the best of the situation!!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Mountain Mad. That was our overall thought to be honest. We felt sorry for our chalet girl and we were enjoying the rest of our holiday so had a good time with everything else.
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