 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Nice - looks like you had a great time 
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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'm not sure that skiing a cat track is what most people mean when they refer to skiing the trees. Nice pictures all the same, so I'm only being pernickety out of jealousy!
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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 know what you mean too, but there was a few short cuts taken through the trees, kids like that sort of stuff.
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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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homers double, great pics. looks like you guys had a good time.
i'll move this over to Resort Reviews and Trip Reports if you want  .
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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My bad, I obviously missed that section when I was looking where to plonk it in.
Fire away!
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homers double, 
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homers double, what hotel did you stay in? care for a review on that side of things?
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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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We went with Skiworld and stayed in Chalet Trois S in 1550.
Transfers etc went pretty smooth with a changeover in Moutiers and then straight up to our place in a minibus.
On arrival at 11pm we expected some stale bread, instead we got a very warm welcome from the chalet staff and had bowls of home made soup and a glass of wine within 15 minutes.
The chalet was built for a swiss diplomat in the 60's with his living areas upstairs and the servants quarters downstairs. As such there is no internal staircase, didn't bother anyone though. The decor left a little to be desired, but the food was excellent, the bedding was clean, the water was hot and there was enough room to store a few beers on the balcony. What more do you need.
Ski-in/ out location, the Gondola up to 1850 was about 150m downhill away from our chalet and I got within 2 feet of the chalet front door by riding the steps (chalet host crashed doing the same on his board so I had to show him up!).
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France is hellish expensive!
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correction: Courchevel 1850 (the most expensive part of the expensive 3 Valleys) is hellishly expensive.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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cool. thanks for the info.
is the swapping onto a minibus on the transfer a common thing for going to Courchevel?
Just wondering what'll happen when we go with Esprit.
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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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No, I stand by my comments as I've skiied way more than a single valley.
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France is hellish expensive
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The ski-ing season is short and they have to make the max in that time. Its a similar principle to why the donkey rides on Skegness beach cost so much 
I really dont think cheap ski-ing exists any more, ornot in any reasonable size of piste area
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You know it makes sense.
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homers double, the whole of the 3V is expensive, some bits slightly more than others. But even the entire, enormous, 3 Valleys isn't "France", believe it or not.
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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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Agree with the expense, we were there at Christmas.
Cup of hot choclate at the Altiport Hotel (Sp?), overlooking Courcheval airport, was 6 euros and it was a demi tasse (very small cup!!!!) Luckily I carry my hipflask with cognac in it!!
Second at the top of Verdons, two hot chocolate and one coffee (in a paper cup), 12 euros.
However, the buffet at the restaurant above the Chanel Bar, can't remember its name (Bellecote??) was 15 euros for bascially all you could eat, fresh salmon, prawns, rice salads, onion soup, and fabulous deserts afterwards. Maybe they charged us incorrectly, but it was the best lunch we had.
Perhaps we should run a sweepstake for the most expensive cup of chocolate on the mountain.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
There are plenty of places if you take off the France blinkers
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There are plenty of places if you take off the Three Valleys blinkers.
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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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pam w, agreed!
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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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Plenty of places in the 3V where you can enjoy reasonable prices. I've skied in Courchevel a lot and never had a massive budget for the places where it is easy to blow your inheritance, but that didn't stop me from having a great time.
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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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Samerberg Sue,
France skiing isso much better than Austria and Italy n Andorra. You do have to be svvy though and willing to slum it a bit.
I keep a spreadsheet of all my holiday costs down to the last penny of petrol to the airport !! sad, I know but it is a reallygood way of budgeting sensibly and the cheapest skiing i have had was in Joue du Loup and we had a fantastic tme.
I stayed in Solden last year and it seemed cheap to start with, but it was the most expensive ski week we have had and fooking miles walk from the pite. the skiing was so tame on piste. My GF never goes off piste but was happy in solden. She never skis blacks but done everyone on her own.
FRANCE IS BEST
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Libertine wrote: |
| France skiing isso much better than Austria and Italy n Andorra. |
In what way? Surely it's all the same? You get taken to the top of a slope of varying steepness, then you slide down it. Smile and repeat. How much different can it be from country to country.
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We went to Tignes last year rather than Courchevel due to prices and ended up spending lots more!!
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| Plenty of places in the 3V where you can enjoy reasonable prices. I've skied in Courchevel a lot and never had a massive budget for the places where it is easy to blow your inheritance, but that didn't stop me from having a great time. |
Me too. But there's no deviating some from their obsessions and prejudices and their inability to turn their backs on obvious poor value. However, 'France is best' is an equally meaningless generalisation.
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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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| Libertine wrote: |
Samerberg Sue,
France skiing isso much better than Austria and Italy n Andorra. You do have to be svvy though and willing to slum it a bit.
I keep a spreadsheet of all my holiday costs down to the last penny of petrol to the airport !! sad, I know but it is a reallygood way of budgeting sensibly and the cheapest skiing i have had was in Joue du Loup and we had a fantastic tme.
I stayed in Solden last year and it seemed cheap to start with, but it was the most expensive ski week we have had and fooking miles walk from the pite. the skiing was so tame on piste. My GF never goes off piste but was happy in solden. She never skis blacks but done everyone on her own.
FRANCE IS BEST |
Agreed. France is best for overall skiing in Western Europe, slightly ahead of Switzerland. But France lacks the atmosphere of Switzerland.
Libertine, What kind of % price inflation have you been seeing in your ski-vacation spreadsheet over the past few years? Just rough guesstimates are fine.
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| Whitegold wrote: |
| Libertine wrote: |
Samerberg Sue,
France skiing isso much better than Austria and Italy n Andorra. You do have to be svvy though and willing to slum it a bit.
FRANCE IS BEST |
Agreed. France is best for overall skiing in Western Europe, slightly ahead of Switzerland. But France lacks the atmosphere of Switzerland.
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Slum it? You're having a laugh, right? Who the hell wants to slum it on a skiing holiday? France is not the best. I've tried many French resorts, but I've not been back there since the mid-90's and will never go again. It was a rip-off then and it sounds like it's even more of a rip-off now, and the French don't even smile as they take your money.
Switzerland has it by miles for me. It's not cheap if you take sterling, but at least it's value for money. The people appreciate your business too. I would never, ever go back to France for a skiing holiday.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Rudest service I've ever had in a restaurant, by a country mile, was in Zermatt.
Generalisations on a country by country basis are meaningless and seem to reflect prejudice and limited experience rather than reality.
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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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| Quote: |
We went to Tignes last year rather than Courchevel due to prices and ended up spending lots more!!
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No reason to spend more - or less - both destinations are comparably priced, and both high. Why would you move to the EK to save money? A bit like saying that the price of lunch at the Savoy was too expensive so you went to the Ritz next time.
I do think the 3V is expensive. We ate out the minimum possible and didn't drink out at all when we were there (catered chalet) but were struck by the high price of things like a cup of coffee and a pizza, just about everywhere (we were told where NOT to go by the chalet hosts). Moving to another French resort the following week coffees, and everything else, was a lot cheaper (and the snow better, as it happens ). The cost of accommodation, too, is generally a bit higher than elsewhere, like for like. But there are ways to keep costs down even in the expensive areas (don't buy drinks in bars, go catered chalet or self catering and don't stuff your face at lunch time).
I can't imagine there are many country-level generalisations about quality of skiing in France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy which could be defended against knowledgeable argument.
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FAQ
As long as dipsticks pay those kind of prices, these guys will carry on charging you whatever they like. Take a look at Italy, Andorra and Austria in the summer, you find the same hotels open because these places are the owner's homes and they want you to return as many times as possible feeling that you are welcome as a guest, not a potential source of a quick buck! They may think it though 
