 Poster: A snowHead
|
OK here goes my first full on trip report - hoefully I will not have to add to it too much
Arrived in claviere as expected on 2nd Jan ( I am not oging into the airport/flight bit - there were no issues ) at arund lunchtime
transfer from Airport to hotel was uneventfull, crystal onthe baal - and ontime
dumped suit case , and as we have all our own gear - legged it for the slopes, with our 7 year old for refresher skiing
bought a pass which we initially thought was expensive at 10 euro's each for one go on the lift at the bottom end of town from the hotel
( turned out after the nice lady in the booth had asked another member of the staff to speak to us it was for all day on the one lift)
three runs up and down later - one happy 7 year old - who was now back up to speed with things like turning etc.
Snow was good, slightly more than last year ( at this stage)
hotel was to same standard as last year ok it needs a bit of a paint, but all rooms are comfortable, fairly clean, and well equiped/ sized
( we changed rooms because we had one of the smaller 3 bed roooms which are bit cramped, and as i had booked on the 9th Jan 2011 for this trip ( on return from last year )
we knew there were bigger rooms - avoid the 01/02 rooms ( one each floor) if you like a bit of space.
we collected the days packed lunch ( its now fully inclusive this year ) - basically halft a french stick , with ham & cheese, two cocoa biscuit thingys and an orange & bottle of water
slightly different from advertised in broshure, but OK, although a bit tedious as it doesnt vary much. - still its nearly free !!
the evenings food, was very well cooked, and presented, and was of adequate quantity, unless you really need a lot of food, the menu varied each day, and i have to say
the chef(s) deserved credit for a varied and tasty range of dishes, none were incorrectly cooked or badly presented, there was a choice of 3 dishes for each of the 3 courses.
all good so far .
all inclusive drinks were also good, plenty of house wine, beer, spirits, etc etc etc , and non stop coke, water, lemonade, srite for kids and non drinkers - the only thing i needed to pay for was a red bull or 3.
The skiing in claviere was up to th usual good standard, this time round all the lifts into the milky way were open, and links into Montgenevre in france were all up and running.
ski school for our 7 year old was great - cannot fault the care or tuition, he had immense fun ( his words) - and they even played around in the trees at the edges of the runs, also they have an instructor & assistant to EVERY kids group, the instructor even took the kids for a hot chocolate break on more than one day .
on thursday it was overcast , and snowing lightly, this eventually turned into a white out, but the lifts in claviere stayed open all day - most skiers went back to the hotels, but those of use that stayed out had a really good day - eventually we had over 24 inches of snow in about 30 hours - FANTASTIC ASTUFF , the sking became amazing with all the runs covered in lots of nice new snow .
I personally have never had the pleasure of so much snow when skiing - so thank you SNOW GODS !!
went over to montgenevre on the friday - but nothing much open due to winds - on saturday there were so many people in montgenevre you had to queue for 50 minutes on the first twolifts over the border - so after one run I gave that a miss and went back to claviere and went over the other way .
so in summary - could not fault anything, apart from we had to come home.
All the crystal staff were courteous, helpful, and did a good job without any problem what soever, well done to them all ( Simon Cross if you read this - let them know ) .
obviously the hotel is not a full on 4 star hotel , but everything was more than acceptable.
Can i also add that the childcare was excellent, and that the girls & boys runing childcare went out of their way to ensure that the kids had fun, were included & had a good holiday - so again WELL done.
some of the staff here were back again from last year so we even saw a few familiar faces, and more impressively they remembered our little boy too.
Hopefully we will be back again soon.
Did i mention that the snow was amazing - if you are going this week you will have no problems with a lack of white stuff
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
|
|
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?
|
If you want to treat the staff you can buy them a drink at "Happy Beer" between 4 & 5 which is near where Crystal hire their equipment on the slope between the two lifts as they will often hang out there. Alternatively at the Gallo bar later in the evening.
I don't know why I'm suggesting this as I'm sure my youngest is going to come back an alcoholic having seen what she consumed while we were there over Christmas...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
it is sort of possible to ski back
there rae two lifts in calviere the one nearest the hotel has a small road that runs off to the right past the ice rink & tennis courts
( along the side of the river) - this is used as the end of two pistes
you can pole up this ( its slightly up hill ) - and does give the arms a good workout unless you can manage to ski uphill ( you have to go about 150 metres
at the ice rink you turn off up the hill to the car park, and if there is enough snow you can go uphill from there .
The best otion is to approach from behind the hotel ( this can be done from the top lift if you go off to the right at
the top towards montgenevre, just as you reach the borgder uphill there is a sign saying that you are about to enter france, and a small sign pointing down a piste towards claviere, if you go down this then you can approach the hotel from the back and then ski over the back of the hotel grounds to above the ski room door , you then have to drop down to the door.
You will see where you need to arrive if as you leave the boor room, where you get to turn left to the road, you will usually see a trail up over the bank of snow to the right as you turn.
Just to clarify the bar does a have a few things you need to pay for but not very many , the place has a good atmosphere, usually attracting lots of friendly families ( who dont clog up the bar) - it has a lounge area with about 20 seating places in big tub chairs * sofas - and an english channel or three on the TV ( actually i think its UK freeview )
I think you will find the Hotel comfortable, but best of all its seems to attract a great bunch of friendly Crystal staff,
I hope you have a great trip
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Really appreciate this info. Thanks gazza2, .
dsoutar, Are you going to tell us your daughter's name? It would be nice to be able to say hello to her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
we went to Claviere the valley route from the bottom of Sierre tibaud lift in Monty it was a bit of a push 
also we went up the same lift and round the back to the bottom of the montiqittaine lift, the slopes there were deserted, quite un-nerving really
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is also a lift back to claviere from the montgenevre area that goes to the back of the other crystal hotel ( the miramonti)
dont know what its like this year - last year it was a mess ( the black if open is a good challenge though ) as its not very well
looked after.
you do have to walk over the road though ( and often from the miramonti front door to the road as well )
but is a way back ( you go up the 6 man and across to the right ) at the two lifts closest to claviere.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is also a lift back to claviere from the montgenevre area that goes to the back of the other crystal hotel ( the miramonti)
dont know what its like this year - last year it was a mess ( the black if open is a good challenge though ) as its not very well
looked after.
you do have to walk over the road though ( and often from the miramonti front door to the road as well )
but is a way back ( you go up the 6 man and across to the right ) at the two lifts closest to claviere.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
we went up the chair to the red run back to Monty which include about 100m across the black run half way down it got you back the Sierre tibaud lift or the other monty lift there
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
How far is it to get to the lift's and can you ski back?
Not that I consume a lot of alcohol you know 
