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Things you hate about chalet holidays! Ski Val-ue-less!!!!!!!!!!!

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I always enjoy asking the hosts to tell their "worst punter" stories. You'd be amazed at some of the strange folk that show up. It's always reassuring to find that there are people worse than us.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Swore years ago never go to chalet ever again, then was offered fully catered flight and transfer 3V £225, really great week, was disappointed it did not include lift pass though
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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?
It's all about the company. Both the one you book with and the one that fills the chalet. We're off on Saturday and this year, by all accounts, could be the best in terms of chalet and hosts. We book the entire thing so that company is known and we fish around for recommendations focusing on quality of staff, service and experience.

Ok it costs us a bit more but there are no caaaants and no foul ups. This year the company have a wine list of 300 others to choose from so we're doing a wine tasting one evening and they're putting together a specific meal to go with it.
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Cynic wrote:
Swore years ago never go to chalet ever again, then was offered fully catered flight and transfer 3V £225, really great week, was disappointed it did not include lift pass though


I would have expected at least one valley at that price.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I'm going on my first chalet holiday next week and I'm more concerned about members of my own group upsetting the other chalet guests. My friends can get a bit loud and there are a couple of them who aren't the brightest.


Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Thu 28-02-13 8:46; edited 1 time in total
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justatheory, don't worry, the food poisoning should quieten them down.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Bode Swiller, Hmmm a vial of campylobacter might be just the ticket if they get too excited.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Gave up on chalet holidays 10/12 years ago, couldnt stand being with 10+ people in one small space I didnt know and having to sit down and eat with people I didnt like or want to be with. The friends we were with always had fun by ourselves but theres always others in the chalet you dont want to spend time with IME. Ego's, poor food, poor service, charter flights, poor transfers, lazy hosts, cheap wine etc, and there was always tension with the other groups in the chalet, don't need it. Not for me.

Just do b&b and indi travel now, works every time, not cheaper just works.
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I tend not to go chalet as the early booking tends to include huge single occupancy charges - no doubt for late bookers some companies waive them as they are desperate to fill the chalets (not my experience in early December when they still wanted stupid single room supplements) so like Markymark - independent and booked B&B and ate out.

However, I have never had a bad experience and had some absolutely great times with super hosts and food and not a hint of bad hygiene and never had a problem with fellow guests - some sometimes cling to their group but you do not have to socialise with them. With one group, at the end of the week, they awarded everyone else in the chalet a via ad fluvium (whether rightly or wrongly translated.....) "go with the flow" badge - a really nice touch.

Mind you they have all been independent chalets I have been to.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
You know the mantra, every chalet holiday has one tosser , if yours does not its probably you.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
I have always preferred chalets to hotels or BBs, and can cope with a broad spectrum of people.
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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.
We did 4 holidays in small (shared) catered chalets, which were all fine and other guests were good company. One larger chalet and one chalet hotel, not so good - more like being in rather downmarket hotel though in a rather basic chalet in Les Gets one of our party, 17 at the time, fell madly in love with a girl he was together with for the next eight years! Another guest, a rather striking blond, took a fancy to one of my sons and tried to demonstrate a judo throw on him, at one of their "Old Lady Gin" parties. He was a solid, muscular, lad and she was skinny and had no idea how to do judo even when she was sober. Next morning we were mortified to learn she had broken her collar bone in the attempt - her sister and my son had gone to the hospital with her at 1 am! The OH and I had slept happily through the whole thing.

Our last chalet holiday, and the only one without kids was a last minute (booked 48 hours before) with Le Ski, and very good value - a more upmarket chalet than we were used to, piste-side in Courchevel 1650, at about half-price. We drove, and having allowed an extra week off to allow us to dawdle back, we stopped for a few days in a ski area entirely new to us and ended up buying an apartment there, which had not been part of the plan at all.

Having been to youth hostels and backpacker type places in the past maybe I'm more tolerant than some but you do wonder when people bang on about all the disagreeable people they meet on holidays. Like the lad at a Civil Service Selection Board interview who told me he'd had bad luck with his flatmates at university - he'd had 16 different lots of flatmates and they'd all been awful. Laughing
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I prefer chalets or self catering, have not really enjoyed the hotel experiences we have had, nor the chalet hotel, apart from one, the chalets we have stayed in have always been good, with good food, service and company, but perhaps its us thats the Fockers Shocked
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Filthyphil30k, Good point; I need to look at myself carefully! We stopped going because the food and booze was TOO much, too rich, too cheesey, and too creamy. Also, we had another family`s 13 yr old with a vomiting bug, who spent 2 days throwing up in the communal toilet whilst sitting next to the kitchen area, watching tv... it spread like wildfire !!
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
pam w wrote:

... snip...

Like the lad at a Civil Service Selection Board interview who told me he'd had bad luck with his flatmates at university - he'd had 16 different lots of flatmates and they'd all been awful. Laughing
Did you have the heart point out the common factor in all his bad flat sharing experiences? Toofy Grin
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Me and mine have been on approx a dozen chalet holidays and had a brilliant time on each one. We have generally stuck to the smaller, recommended operators e.g. Ski Olympic, Silver Ski or private owners. The only poor chalet and staff we had was with Neilsons, but we had epic co guests so had a brill time.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Quote:

Did you have the heart point out the common factor in all his bad flat sharing experiences?

No - I was just asking the questions. Twisted Evil But it added to the other evidence through the 2 days of weak inter-personal skills.
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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?
I just manage the risk of being exposed to bad fellow guests by ensuring I'm the caaant. There's only so much empty middle class bragging and affected false modesty one can stomach anyway.
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pam w wrote:

Our last chalet holiday, and the only one without kids was a last minute (booked 48 hours before) with Le Ski, and very good value - a more upmarket chalet than we were used to, piste-side in Courchevel 1650, at about half-price. We drove, and having allowed an extra week off to allow us to dawdle back, we stopped for a few days in a ski area entirely new to us and ended up buying an apartment there, which had not been part of the plan at all.


Well that was hardly a cheap holiday then! Very Happy
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
fatbob, Talking of false modesty, skied with a chap his friends called Hamlet at end of day it turned out he was the prince of Denmark
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Alas, poor Cynic…
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Just putting in my two pennies worth Very Happy

While you can not control who the other guests are I always find it quite fun if there is a mixed bag of people in the chalet, one thing I have found over the years is that the cheaper chalet operation have less interesting guests for want of a better way of putting it. The best one was some years ago, two guests (couple) telling me and my lad, on the first night, how they had skied all over the world over the last 30 years, their daring exploits and general black run ability.

Funny thing was I was pretty sure I recognised them from somewhere but did not say anything, as I was not sure. Turns out that I met them back in the very early 80's when they were learning to ski on the dry slope in Torbay, they were pretty much a laughing stock back then and when we saw them ski a few days later not much had changed. The highlight was them getting on the lift in St Foy to go to the top station at the top the lady in question managed to fall over getting off the lift, as it was an icy day the liftie decided it would be too dangerous for them to ski down and made them go down on the lift.

They left early the next day, think it was mid week, CLASSIC
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
have only done Chalet holidays with Silverski, and found them on the whole to be a great experience, met some nice folk and the hosts were also the ski guides and ate with us, usally mature chalet/ski hosts,
did go one though and the host couple did not want to be there,!! he was a chef and it showed, but the woman however was 'trailer trash'. her idea of cake in the afternoon was a plate of biscuits!!! then halfway through the week they went for a job interview and then handed their notice in.
Would gladly go on a chalet holiday again though, ....there not for everyone
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Freddie Paellahead, no, it wasn't a cheap holiday in the end. The irony was that, booking at the last minute, we'd been just about to do North America for 10 days till I factored in the horrendous cost of the ski passes.

However, we have never regretted buying the apartment and without that serendipitous week after the chalet holiday we would never have found it!

My daughter, now aged nearly 30, still remembers one of the other guests on our first chalet holiday (with ski Olympic) when she was about 8, a chap on his own, who was prepared to spend some chilly hours out in the garden building snowmen and toboggan runs with her when we opted for tea and cake. We have a photo of the two of them, by their creation. We also enjoyed his company on the slopes - he was a rather better skier than we were, but preferred to have company. There was also a family with two very nice smaller kids - I remember playing Ludo with them. You can obviously get some horrid guests but we didn't meet any. One family, with an exceptionally pretty daughter, were extraordinarily tolerant when my younger son, trying to impress said girl, had far too much "free wine" when we weren't paying attention and subsequently threw up. He was 15 and couldn't look another glass of red wine in the face for a good 6 years. He was the most horrid guest we encountered. wink That family included a non-skiing mother who spent a fair bit of time in the chalet and enjoyed helping the staff - the hostess had broken her wrist and appreciated the assistance. We bumped into them in Mottaret two years later and Nick was exceptionally gratified when the father recognised him (he was wearing the same Degré 7 one piece suit) but thought he'd been the ski guide, rather than the disgraceful under-age drinker.
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pam w, You have such lovely tales - have you ever thought of writing a book of your memoires? It would be one I'd read, for sure
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Have been on quite a few chalet holidays. Would have gone on a half-price late deal this year too but there weren't any! Shocked If I'm paying full price I would rather go in a hotel though, even though the bottle of wine with dinner is usually extortionate, it's better than chalet plonk. Last year we went on one and I was rather uncomfortable that the other guests (10 of them but not a group) were all in their twenties and early thirties, ie young enough to be my children. However, they were brilliant company and included us (well, mostly me as OH generally went to bed earlier) in all their drinking games! Embarassed I'll never forget "Sid Snot" who reckoned that he could lift me into the famous Dirty Dancing Time of Your Life pose. I was a bit drunk, but not as drunk as to think that it may possibly go horribly wrong so I didn't jump as high as I could. He still got me up there though! Gutted that the other guest who videoed it never sent it to me Sad .

Only odd guest I met was the female "new age" therapist. Mad as a box of frogs but quite interesting. One night I stayed up talking to her, just the two of us, and she made a pass at me! Shocked Laughing . My other half was in bed in the next room!
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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.
Stayed in lots of Chalets always enjoyed them. Never had poor food, sometimes very good. Bigger chalets tend to have a real chef employed. We stayed with Crystal in Kaprun a few years back and although only 16 guests still had a genuine chef (who did nothing else, only cooked, dishes and prep were not his problem).

Prefer to stay in Hotels and have managed that this year, but hard to turn down, flights, transfer, meals and wine for £500 at Easter (last year, snowbombing).

And self cater?!! I can do that at home, not on a holiday.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
maggi, Laughing Laughing Laughing not sure whether your anecdotes are going to encourage, or deter, potential chalet holiday-makers. But where else could you have encountered a randy new-age therapist in the middle of the night!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Once had a rowdy bunch on pals with us and the other 3 guests were a pair of non skiing new-age parrot earring wearing, tanked-topped, beige corded/ viyella shirted butch gay ladies, c/w a 9 month old baby. Oh how we all laughed when the baby was crying all night, and the TV was on full blast at 6am with Telletubbies DVD on to keep it amused........... mind you they didnt find some of the over-dinner humour too enticing either! Laughing
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Markymark29, I can imagine a noisy baby was irritating for other guests, but why was it relevant that the parents were gay? And what was it about the over-dinner humour that upset them?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Quote:

why was it relevant that the parents were gay?

Or tank-topped?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
They didnt like the bawdy style of northern-man humour from our team thats all, end of wink
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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?
Markymark29, if the company had included, say, a Roman Catholic priest, would you have rolled out all your bawdy Pope jokes? People who are not prepared to take into account the reasonable sensibilities of folk around them (as the Fockers presumably weren't) are the ones you'd hope to avoid on a chalet holiday. Evil or Very Mad
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Agreed, it WAS loud and bawdy, slightly different IME. My point was that the tour operator had booked the other party of 3 people including a young baby into a 15 person chalet, ie with 6 couples in their early 30's intent on having a good old time, completely different requirements. Maybe this didn't come across in my post, apologies for any offence, my point was that TO only wanted to fill the space with no regard for those within the 4 walls, and that the 2 parties werent exactly an ideal match, nor were they ever likely to be. By the way I dont know any roman catholic priest jokes, but if you want to share i'd welcome them, I know one in my village and he also enjoys the craic wink
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
If a party of 12 intends to be noisy and bawdy regardless of the company then they should choose to have a chalet to themselves so that they will neither be annoyed by babies at 6 am nor keep babies awake at 11 pm. You sound like the people Mr Piehole encountered on his coach. I don't suppose the parents were sticking pins in the baby to make it cry. Should the TO have turned away your booking, knowing there was a baby in the chalet?
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OH POOH....don't get me down, off on my 1st Catered Chalet in 2 weeks. Reading this thread with dread (it rhymes!)....I hope we aren't the dreaded couple Laughing
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Simon94, I wouldn't worry about it - as long as quite a few of the contributors to this thread aren't in your chalet, you'll probably be just fine wink

FWIW, I've done the catered chalet thing 12/14 times or so - no problem, so long as one is sociable and able to get on with others and don't expect all the other guest to conform to one's own "standards of behaviour". Sure, some may not end up on your Christmas card list, and some you may even chose to go away with again.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Been with this operator couple of times before - had excellent chalet holiday last year at tired and cheap chalethotel in Val D'Isere .... but was exactly what I was expecting with a great bunch of people, good food and superb location.
Looked at this very chalet and deal a couple of weeks ago .... it was a great offer. But decided to go Mark Warner in St Anton instead ..... yes a bit more money, even though still a good deal .... but we had a great time.
Sounds like you were unlucky ..... I'd certainly book with S Val again.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
skimastaaah, m8 - that's bringing back memories. I have done two catered chalet stint in my life and the 'discounted' St Anton one put me off the whole process (bar the time the g/f insisted). A lot of what you quote happened to me too but without the 'up' of the Chalet Manager. I swear the guy I was sharing a room with lived with his mother. The one bit that really jarred was the fact that they had a 'honesty' bar for spirits. I found out later that this bar was stocked with the bottles left over from the duty free previous guests brought in and then left. They even held bottles over from season to season. So they were getting the stuff for free then charging us by the glass at a slight discount to local prices. Thieving twunts!

The other stay at Cham had the following highlights:

1.) Group food poisoning and projectile vomiting
2.) Driving up to Argentiere past the debris of the massive avalance that wiped out two of the villages en-route
3.) Driving past the Mont Blanc tunnel and wondering why there was smoke coming from somewhere and the main access route was blocked off by the local plod just as we were due to do a day trip to Courmayeur (yes, that year)

Never, ever again.

Quote:

It's one of the closest I've ever been to just punching someone in the face in blind anger.


you don't travel on the London Underground, I can tell.
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RattytheSnowRat, Confused I regularly travel on the London Underground & have never once come close to wanting to punch anyone in the face
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