 Poster: A snowHead
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Anyone got any good/bad experiences travelling with Inghams?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Over the years I've been with several of the major tour operators, and imv Inghams is one of the better ones, I've no complaints about 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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Thanks Alastair...they're on my short list 
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My first trip was with Inghams, they were ok, got everything we booked, marred slightly by undertrained and unenthusiastic rep and major delays in flight both ways.
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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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Been 4 times with Inghams before started DIY'ing - never had a single problem, when one member of the party broke a wrist they were great - 3 years in a row we got a room upgrade for free due to size of party and family room - unfortunately they dont do Crans anymore.
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Travelled with Inghams once (some years ago) and they were excellent, in a different class from the other large operators.
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everytime I look at prices, they are always the most expensive. Neilson usually offer the same holiday for about £150 less (based on 2 people) Their internet quotes have always put me off using them. More expensive than Crystal!!
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I did all my trips to Canada with them and been with them for my last 3 holidays.
No complaints here!
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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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Jon Ford - I had a very poor holiday with Neilsons and would not use them again. I'd rather pay slightly more for better service. Although it is a while since I have used either company so hopefully others will have more recent experience.
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We have had several holidays with Inghams, no problems with them at all. When you do a Lapland holiday with them there are a lot of trips, of which the reps attend, they were all very efficient and great fun. Our last trip to Lapland/Ruka we were due to leave about 6.30pm but the plane had a problem and would not be flying back to Gatwick (not Inghams fault but Jet 2). They had to transfer us all back to resort and put us up in a hotel for 24hrs, the rep came back off her day off and went behind reception at hotel and helped book us all in. She helped carry luggage and arranged everything. Excellent service.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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No complaints from me either. Went to Val T on a last min deal last June. Another factor which might interest you is how they treat their staff. Our chalet host told us that the general consensus amongst the chalet hosts there for all the major companies was that Inghams paid the best and had the best working conditions. He reckoned they had better training and better quality food, too.
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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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Inghams are definitely one of the better TOs. From choice of hotel, rooms allocated in the hotel, airport transfers, to the quality of their reps. That may all be reflected in the price but you do get what you pay for - cheaper TOs are available 
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I had a big problem with a botched transfer Morzine-Geneva (driver an hour late, didn't know his way around the resort to pick up other clients, didn't take the obvious route and, finally, got lost in Geneva!) otherwise have always found Inghams to be good.
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You know it makes sense.
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| cathy wrote: |
| ...to the quality of their reps. |
Just out of interest, how do you measure this?
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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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ALQ, personally I never use the reps service apart from the transfer. But for example, we went to Kitzbuhel 3 times with Inghams. The reps there were a married couple that lived in the town and had done for quite a few years, they were also the reps for Inghams summer programme, and could speak German fluently. I seem to remember maybe she was Austrian but I could be wrong about that. Now no doubt if you did need help whilst in resort these two would be able to sort you out. Their reps do tend to be more mature and stay with them for seasons.
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Poster: A snowHead
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We use them regularly and have been happy with service
We have had odd delays but that's been down to weather or aircraft issues ( we have had the same issues when diy summer trips)
Some reps better than others but none that I would describe as less than fine
If its the hotel and resort you want at a price you are happy with use them
Like all TOs there will be some folk who have had issues with them for one reason or another but we have been happy with their service and are booked with them this winter again
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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've used them a few times. Nothing special, but no complaints either. Their rep in Seefeld is a nice girl and has been with them out there for more than one season which must be a good thing.
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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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snowymum, true. Never been with inghams. Always been .TC, Neilson . Never been over the top customer service but never anything to complain about, surely certain TOs don't get better rooms than others. Are they just not of booking a holiday ?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Glad to hear Inghams have a good reputation as we go with them in January... I know people say they are expensive but we got a really good deal by booking very early and they did us a deal on ski passes that I can't find better anywhere else. Going to a hotel in Val Thorens (hotel 3 vallees I think it is called?) and booking with them with early / online discounts etc didn't work out much more expensive than just the accomodation / food if booked direct on the hotel website.
The girl I spoke to on the phone was also very helpful - especially for such a ski new girl like me. Was even very helpful / honest about being able to get hire skis cheaper by not booking through them.
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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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| cathy wrote: |
| ...to the quality of their reps. |
The '98/99 Val Thorens Inghams rep was so good I married her 
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BobinCH,
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Went with Inghams (chalet) to Meribel last year. Early on. When I arrived the chalet staff had arrived about 2 hours before me and nothing worked. Local resort management was poor - enthusiastic but disorganised. I always think its the local staff that make the difference with these mid-range companies!
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Mid range, haha. Are you a telgraph reader?
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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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| Quote: |
Just out of interest, how do you measure this?
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Pen test!
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We have used Inghams several times - probably will again at some point if we are going for a package option but that is as much to do with limited choice as thinking they are something fabulous!! They are not. We never had any problems till last year when we tried (!) to so something that did not quite fit with Ingham's usual packages. We had two weeks booked with them - the first in Mayrhofen, the second in Obergurgl and they agreed to transfer us (albeit via Innsbruck airport) between the 2 resorts. We were paying them for this. It is a long story - far too long to post here - but suffice to say that they treated us terribly. They messed up so badly we lost a day's skiing. I did write to them afterwards to raise the problems we had experienced (there were a number of other issues to do with rude, badly informed reps which made matters worse). What shocked me the most however was the rude and dismissive reply I eventually received from Inghams - this was after I had to collect it from the post office and pay the excess charge because the letter had not been stamped/franked by Inghams! Their reply basically said that they had not had any other complaints about the matter and began with the classic 'I'm sorry that you feel...
The moral of this story is book with Inghams if you want one week skiing in one place - but do not even think of trying to negotiate with them to do anything more complex - they will take your money, screw it up and potentiall leave you stranded in the wrong place.
We have learned our lesson - this year we are looking forward to two weeks skiing - own flights booked, accommodation sorted, transport from airport sorted and travel insurance policy checked to ensure that it covers us for all those elements of our travel/hols. Can't wait for the snow.. yeh 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Only been with them once. They were excellent in resort, whilst the accommodation wasn't fantastic (our choice we knew what it would be like so no problems), it had a great position literally 50m from nearest lift. They provided the catering too, and this really stood out. The chef and his team were outstanding. Maybe lacked in Italian-ness but you couldn't fault what was served.
Going away with them this Christmas.
We've actually found them not too expensive, but then we've managed to take advantage of the free child place. Jnr will be too old next season for these though.
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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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hammerite,
It can work out cheaper DIY because of the kids. The holiday I'm having in January is significantly cheaper than all the big TOs were offering the same hotel for. They were all going to charge adult prices for all four of us (kids will be 5 and 8 ). DIY'ing to the same hotel; OK BA are charging for four seats (as you would expect), but the hotel is charging half price for junior and virtually nothing for the mushette. Same again on the DIY train transfer; reduced rates for junior and the mushette is free. I've lost the bit of paper I worked it out on, but the total saving was well over £1000.
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You know it makes sense.
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We can only really go during school holidays musher, not just a case of just taking Jnr out of school, the OH is a teacher (although this may be changing). For us DIY has never seemed to work out mainly from a flight and transfer (or train) cost, but I have often priced up DIY trips (perhaps I miss out on the lower cost flights by not looking/booking when they're at their cheapest). The OH isn't too keen on driving when we usually go away at Christmas, although Easter she is a bit keener as the possibility of snow storms is less. Our flight/transfer/accommodation/chalet board costs we're around £1,700 for Christmas trip to Arabba - I don't think we'd be able to get close to that DIY.
It is something we'll be looking at for next year though.
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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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I have used Inghams for last Ten years to various places and have no problems and all reps have been great. ideal for me as i travel solo and they have some good options for me. going with them to st Chrstoph this year in one of there Catered Chalet Hotels which i'm really looking forward too.
if there is a bad point it's when they cancell flights from certain airports due to one thing or another. had this a couple of times going to Lapland, but as I'm nearby to alternative airports it was not that much of an issue to me.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Used them in January this year. They had to get us out of the resort a day early due to a forecast suggesting avalanches would close the access roads. They made the right decision (access road was closed on Saturday) and handled the logistics really well at fairly short notice. Had full praise for them although I did get the feeling this was perhaps more due to the quality of the rep they had in the resort rather than the company itself although they did of course employ her! It was a clear advantage of using a package travel company rather than putting it together ourselves.
Had an issue with them a few years ago although it wasn't of their making (supplier problem) and they handled it well.
I'd be more than happy to pass them my money again.
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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 went to Courchevel with them back in January, and thought they were pretty good. Although the format of the packages they offer are similar to Neilson and Crystal, the one thing Inghams did offer which the others don't (as far as I'm aware) is ski guiding. This is particularly useful for intermediate skiers who want to explore the domain where they're based with a guide (usually one of the Inghams Reps). These aren't 'lessons' however, but it's a free service offered to their customers. One of the excursions we did was to ski all the way over to Val Thorens via Meribel. You'd have to pay for an extension to your lift pass if you hadn't already bought the 3V pass, but it was a good day's skiing and helped me in my decision to attend the EoSB back in April, so well worth the effort
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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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Used Inghams for a week in Meribel last January. Stayed in the Chalet Hotel adjacent to the main ski lifts. Quality was fine.
Usual mix of young adults working as reps and staff in the Chalet Hotel - no different to all the other companys in my experience.
They did two days ski hosting which was a tad frustrating. Too many clients of very varied experience thus I spent a lot of time waiting around.
Arranged my own skis and lessons. Think the lift pass was cocked up too.
The transfer from ? Grenoble was the worst aspect. All the transfers change at ?Moutiers which was totally disorganised in both directions. This greatly extended the transfer time.
I won't even talk about FlyBe changing the departure airport when we were 10 minutes from arrival at Grenoble. Transferred all the Southampton flight to another hut by a runway.
In all I found Inghams to be similar to all the other package companies.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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scubadancer, Neilson offer ski guiding in most resorts as well as Inghams, Having been with both TO's I would say there is not much between them and I would base my decision on price rather than any other preferance. I have been away more often with Neilson because of this.
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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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As with all tour operators it can be hit and miss... I used to work for Inghams and they used to be a great company - they are probably still ok.
Based on my experience try to avoid flying to Chambery if going to France as many flights get diverted due to fog and that causes all sorts of problems for all tour operators.
Also, make sure you pre-book skis, it is a LOT cheaper than in resort...
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lilywhite, Oh right, that's good to know, cheers. One trip I go on most years is a large group from Dorset arranged by a friend of mine, who normally goes for the best price and we went to Les Arcs on that basis in January 2010. I don't recall ski guiding being offered then, but I could be wrong as I was booked up in lessons on that occasion.
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scubadancer, I think it depends on what the local rules are as to whether it's offered, It definately was in Sweden/Bulgaria/some of Austria/Italy, not so sure about France as I've not been in ages and my memory had too much alcohol to do it's job last trip! 
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scubadancer, mark Warner do ski guiding too - I know in the Dahu in Courchevel but I don't know about elsewhere
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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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Been with Inghams several times, France and Canada. Never had any real quibbles.
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Just got back from a week's holiday to find all these replies to my initial question ref Inghams...being a newby here I'm impressed with the responses...thanks guys(& girls)!! However, my friends couldn't wait til I got back to book a holiday we found with Nielson's to Sauze so that's where we're off. Got a fab deal so fingers crossed it'll be ok! Went to Sauze on my first ski hol in Jan 2010 so I'm looking forward to exploring it more now I've got another 3 ski hols under my belt!!! Hopefully I won't cry on Red 11 like I did last time..lol! 
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