 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, the situation is that it seems my regular travel buddy is not able to get away this year so I am looking to go on my own in the next 2 to 3 weeks.
I want to depart on the weekend of the 29th of Jan or the 5th of Feb to somewhere in Europe, preferably France or Italy for 7 nights.
Having been scouring the igluski/ifyouski's of this world for last minute deals, my question for those with experience in this matter is, if I were to look on the Thursday or Friday immediately before the weekend of departure, and called the TO direct, would they be likely to wiave or reduce the single person supplement in order to make a booking? Are there any other methods to reduce the supplements?
Thanks in advance,
Nick
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Getting reduced/no supps can IME be a lot more difficult than others have made out, though you may get lucky, main thing is don't bank on it (as an otherwise deal breaker). Maybe I've not had the rub, but I always ask anyway, often with little success.
Better to find a buddy, or just bend over and take it, or go on a organised/chalet type deal (where you'll probably end up sharing with a stranger, anyway).
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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'm only paying £40 supplement for the week at Hotel Lebzelter in Zell am See. I was happy enough with that
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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n1ckster, it's never happened for me but I generally don't leave booking until the last minute. I tend to stick to single rooms or to hotels who offer a low supplement for sole use, anything up to £140 for a week is acceptable in my book. What I object to is paying a supplement for a single room that is little more than a broom cupboard with a bed in. You'll probably have more luck with Italy. TOs tend to offer very little actual hotel accommodation in France, it's mostly self-catering apartments and chalets where single rooms are far less common. Good luck.
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I hate this single supplement thing - sorry, this is a little rant. I think it is unfair that the single traveller should be financially punished for having to or being in the position of travelling alone.
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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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eiseiseis, don't go TO then. All hotels (in CH & AT) have single rooms...
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Ch & at?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Simmy, Switzerland and Austria
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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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Ty 
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Hi,
Not sure if I'm allowed to write this here (sorry if not admin) but we have single rooms so don't make a supplement at all in our chalet (details in my tag line).
We do a Sunday to Sunday changeover so the week commencing 30th Jan is at £399 and 6th Feb is at £499 fully catered. Please get in touch if you're keen . . .
Best wishes,
Heather
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi Heather, thanks for the link; I should have said that we skied in La Plagne last year, and as nice as it is and as good as the chalets look, I am ideally looking for something elsewhere.
Nick
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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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Hello,
I know exactly how you feel. I spent last week madly sorting out a solo holiday as my ski buddy managed to fall over and now cannot ski, she is okay but it was damn annoying! I was limited to France as I already had flights booked but I did a lot of leg work and am happy to share what I came up with. I had flights to Grenoble so settled on Tignes and a fully catered chalet, all in with transfers its £550 which is not bad for a single traveller. If you are looking for a ski buddy I am there for the week and would be pleased to have someone to ski or have a beer with.
I attach links to my earlier post with several options:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=72195
(its titled Help!)
You could try Titan Lodge in Les 2 Alps, they offered me £250 for a week BUT I must caution you that they took five days to reply to my initial e-mail.
www.titansnow.co.uk/
For cheap, cheap, cheap you could try the Chalet Chardon’s in Tignes, just Google it. It’s cheap for a reason.
I am staying at:
www.tignes-chalet.co.uk
Its full board, I know the town and it’s the Espace Killy so lots and lots of great piste. I calculate the overall cost to be:
Flights: £148 – Easyjet to Grenoble
Transfer: £75 – Bens Bus
Accommodation: £350 - Chalet Eterlou
Ski pass - £200
They have been great so far and are even going to provide me with a late supper. Give them a call as they may not be full and it’s a good price.
Hope you can sort something mate,
Rob
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Poster: A snowHead
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I don't object to paying a supplement if I'm getting a room that's essentially for two people all to myself. After all I pay heavily for the luxury of having a 3-bedroomed house to myself. I see it as pretty much the same thing. Single people are financially disadvantaged in all aspects of life, council tax, supermarkets, I could go on. Many don't necessarily choose to be single, it's just how life panned out.
Anyway, drifting away from the point, what I really object to is paying a supplement for a small one person room, some of which are little bigger than a broom cupboard with a bed in. This isn't a TO issue at all, it's a hotel issue. TOs are gradually offering more and more hotels with single rooms or low sole use supplements but obviously there is a much wider choice if you are prepared to organise all your travel yourself. However, as a solo traveller the cost implication of DIY versus TO is often much higher. Single rooms and low sole use supplements remain rare in many French resorts which is generally due to the nature of the high occupancy and often mostly self-catering accommodation on offer.
Many TOs offer the option of matching you up with another solo traveller for a roomshare or you can advertise on here for something along those lines. However, if you're anything like me, the idea of being stuck in a room with a complete stranger for a week when you're used to your own space, is not the stuff of dream holidays.
Good luck.
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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 know they're not for everyone but Club Med sometimes do no single supplements on quiet weeks in some resorts. Got a couple of hotels at around the £800 mark for this weekend coming. Includes everything except ski hire.
Some of their hotels have single rooms which therefore have no supplement or as said above if they want to sell a room they drop the single supplement on a twin too.
Good luck
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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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Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.
Rob, thanks for the info; very useful. As time has drifted on I think I will be limited now to the 5th of Feb, but I shall follow up with the chalet in Tignes and hope they can do an equally good price. Fortunately, EJ still have decent priced flights to and from Grenoble, so maybe I will go ahead and book the flights and then sort the resort and accomodation in good time.
How do people arrange transfers for single travellers, as the sites I have looked at and got quotes from apear to be booking a whole minibus at muchos Euros!!
Thanks again,
Nick
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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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n1ckster, that's the principle reason I always book TO. The prices always seem reasonable for the DIY option (i.e. around £200 for return flight including skis/baggage and around £300 for single room in half board hotel), but it all falls down when it comes to sorting out transfers. Some public transport transfers are fairly reasonable, but involve a fair bit of changing trains/buses and waiting for connections. Door to door service on a TO coach then becomes very appealing.
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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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n1ckster, you do need to pick a resort where a transfer is practical....
Bens Bus does Tignes/ValD and also 3V & Paradiski I think. PdS resorts are easy from GVA, and most Swiss & Austrian resorts are reached by train.
AS QueenB says, the TO does give you that door-to-door transfer, but if you're the type who enjoys the adventure of making your own way give it a go. I do it a lot and love it, the journey becomes part of the holiday
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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nickster- silver ski have a deal on for Courchevel le Praz on 30th Jan £329 - no single supplement
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I have booked a cheap flight to Turin this weekend Jan 31st then public bus transfer to BARDONECCHIA from the airport then B&B at Ski Sempre Chalet £240.00 7nts no single sup. If you want to ski solo think outside the box and go it alone. There are other singles staying there so we can ski together.... 
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Coo, sounds like an excellent plan.
I now have work commitments this coming week which means I WILL be heading somewhere next weekend (5th/6th of Feb); Austria is looking good and very tempting as is Italy.
Let me know how it works out for you.
Nick
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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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Coo. just been looking at Bardonecchia with Neilson, its currently £167 per person for two people to go on Sunday but if I want to go by myself £540. I asked the girl why I wouldnt just book for two people and one not turn up and save myself £200, she said that wasnt allowed!
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chrish, do it anyway, just make up the other name
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Not sure if you've booked yourself something already but for future reference (or anyone else looking) there are companies out there with no single supplement.
Cold Fusion Chalets operate in Morzine and Chamonix, been to the Chamonix one and it was good (hot tub, good food, they drop you off the mountain you want and pick you up). You get your own flights and they pick you up from geneva. As its a chalet, they will pair you up with someone of the same sex
http://www.coldfusionchalets.co.uk/
Less upmarket than Cold Fusion is speedbreaks which renamed to adventura and now seems to be solosholidays - this is more package deal and you can get your own single rooms sometimes
http://www.solosholidays.co.uk/skiing
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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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nondescript, of course there should be no single supplement for that, they're putting you in a room sharing with a complete stranger!
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| nondescript wrote: |
| Less upmarket than Cold Fusion is speedbreaks which renamed to adventura and now seems to be solosholidays - this is more package deal and you can get your own single rooms sometimes |
Solos Holidays has been around for years. Possibly Solos just bought up the adventura name when they went bust last year (IIRC) so that Solos will appear in any web searches for adventura.
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You know it makes sense.
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Right, an update.
Various calls and emails to numerous online holiday clearance houses has proved fruitless. Most are more than happy to offer a price based on their advertised last minute offerings, but often it works out at more than the equivilant of 2 people taking the same holiday. In one case they refused my attempt to buy 2 tickets with the intention only to use one of them because it worked out cheaper!
Other TO's that I canvassed offered 'discounts' for being a single traveller, but then looked to recover the 'discount' by way of a late booking fee. It is beginning to look like that there is no such thing, in my case, as a last minute 'deal'.
I think I am now left with the DIY option (my least favourite) based on what flights still have seats on. The 2 options are to fly to Grenoble or to Salzburg on the 5th or 6th of Feb) and plan something from there.
Looking at the weather and snow forecasts I think I may explore resorts reachable from Salzburg.
Nick
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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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n1ckster, I just used Booking.com to find hotels with spare capacity in the town I wanted. The hotelier told me to call them direct next time, i.e. identify the spare capacity and then speak directly to the hotel. That way both you and they avoid paying a service charge.
I stayed in Altenmarkt, 30 minutes south of Salzburg 51 Euro B&B, +12 Euro if you want to have half board. The free buses to the ski resorts were constantly on the go, plus there is a train link to other resorts on the same pass (e.g. Schladming). I had my own car with me, so my fellow snowHeads and I were able to tour around quite extensively.
The snow is amazing right now to be honest, and it is bluddy cold as well! 
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