 Poster: A snowHead
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Spent 27 Dec 3 Jan staying in Le Bettex, up the hill from Saint Gervais with the family.
Thought it was worth a little review because the area doesn't seem very well known by Brits and offers some good options for families.
Skiing:
Saint Gervais is linked to Megeve, down the valley from Les Contamines (not linked) and round the corner from Chamonix. It's a decent sized area but not that high and lacks a bit of excitement for strong skiers. There is a lot of skiing in the trees (great for early season bad weather) but the lower altitude (most of the skiing is between 1500m and 2000m) would make me a bit cautious late season. I go on two types of ski holiday - with the family (kids 7 and 9) and with mates (all of whom are strong off-piste skiers). Saint Gervais is great for the first type but would never be our choice for the second. That said, we had a dump while we were out there and I found some nice tree skiiing to play with. these kind of resorts do have the benefit that few people are looking for powder, so you dont have to fight for tracks...
Transfer:
One of the easiest in the Alps - less than an hour on autoroutes to Saint Gervais from GVA.
Accommodation:
We stayed in the Hotel Fleche D'Or in Le Bettex (Saint Gervais 1400m). I think this is a great option for families.
Le Bettex is scarcely a Village. It's accessible by road but is mainly a mid station on the main bubble up from Saint Gervais. There are a couple of hotels a few houses, a supermarket and ski shops. You don't stay there for the night life.
On the other hand if you value ski convenience and one of the best views in the Alps then read on!
The Fleche D'or is at the junction of two pistes, it is 75m from a good ski hire shop, 100m from the main bubble, 25m from a drag and 150m from the ESF office (and Jardin de neige). It's utterly ski-in, ski-out and you could practically ski into the excellent boot room if someone held the door open for you!
The view from the terrace, restaurant and most of the rooms is stunning. You have better views in Murren and Zermatt but I can't think of anywhere else. You look at the Himalayan scale West Face of Mont Blance, the Aiguille de Gouter, Aiguille de Bonnassay, Domes de Miage. If you have Anselme Baudes's guide to off-piste skiing in the Mont Blanc Massif you can pick out all sorts of inspiring (or terrifying) lines from your breakfast table.
The Hotel is rated 2-star but all the bedrooms have just been renovated and are very comfortable, tasteful. nice en-suites, balconies, etc. The clientele is mainly French families but the family who run the hotel are very welcoming to Brits. They can organise transfers and will meet you at the road to carry your bags across the piste to the hotel by skidoo.
The great thing is the location. It's so easy to ski while the kids are in ski school, meet back at the hotel for lunch and nip out after the children have had a rest. You can even go out for a couple of runs while the kids are watching a DVD in the lounge.
Worth considering.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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jedster, exceellent review and definitely food for thought.
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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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jedster, thanks for that, very nice review. St Gervais is on my list, we nearly went same time as you but our accomm (in town) didn't come off. Maybe next year.
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