 Poster: A snowHead
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Has anyone stayed here recently - I know Colletts generally get good write ups on here, but I wanted to know if anyone has experience of staying in this particular chalet. My first and second choices (the new to Colletts piste side Chalet Angelo, and Chalet Verena, both in Corvara) seem more convenient to me from the point of view of access to lifts and the Sella Ronda as a whole, but are fully booked for the week we want to go in 2014. If anyone has stayed in Haus Valentin could they comment on the convenience (or not) of the location, whether the minibus service to the lifts was frequent, and just general comments on the standard of accommodation (room sizes, chalet layout, what the sitting/dining area is like in relation to the number of guests staying eg enough comfy chairs, etc).
All comments welcome, good and not so good...
Alternatively, can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hotel, piste side or very close to lifts in the Dolomites - unfortunately we are looking at Feb half term next year - teens doing GCSEs and A levels, plus a 'big' birthday for me that week, so nothing is going to be particularly 'cheap', but we are not on a tight budget either.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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An alternative may be mountainsunltd who have a chalet at san cassiano Which is accessible for the Sella Ronda and the main Dolomite area. I have not stayed there but enjoyed their other ChaletHotel Diamanté at Kronplatz which you can do the Sella Ronda from but not too convenient...... May be a little quiet for older children though younger ones and adults not wanting to go punning will be happy. Good prices and wholesome food but not luxury.
Personally I would not get het up on access to the Sella Ronda which is basically a route linked by multiple lifts. The Dolomites are a fantastic ski area and you can travel great distances without going near these runs.
I have stayed in Arrabba which is a main (now very busy) thoroughfare for the Sella Ronda. Also Ortisei which is over the hill from Selva and a great area in its own right. Likewise Kronplatz has some fab run which I am not finding in La Plagne where I write this now!
Also great food and beverages at good prices. All agreed on the Snowhead bashes.
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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 the reply hawkesbaynz, Have considered Mountain Sun in San Cassiano but am not sure that all their rooms are en suite, and also at half term it may be more orientated towards younger children and families? Again, anyone with experience of this chalet care to comment?
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gamekeeper, I stayed in Haus Valentin last February and thought it was fantastic. Really nice and modern inside and very cosy, with a spacious, comfortable, well-stocked (and cheap!) social area/bar plus a very friendly atmosphere. The food was fantastic too - cooked by an Italian family team.
I just had one of the single rooms, which was a pretty decent size compared with some of the shoeboxes I've stayed in, and had a very nice brand new ensuite shower room, and a private balcony with a stupendous view of Sasso de la Croce. It was also very warm - during one of the coldest weeks of the season.
It is slightly less convenient than Corvara for the Sella Ronda, but didn't take that long to ski over there (maybe 20 mins from La Villa?). As an intermediate skier I was comfortably able to do the orange Sella Ronda from Pedraces and back in a day, as well as trip to some of the 'spokes' of the main round and the Hidden Valley. The stronger skiers in the chalet did day trips to Ortisei and the Marmolada, and two even managed a 'double Sella Ronda'. There is also some great intermediate skiing on your doorstep from Santa Croce and around San Cassiano; both of which are much quieter than the main Sella Ronda drag. I actually thought that the reds I did around San Cassiano were the best I did all week, so didn't bother travelling any further on a couple of the days when there was good fresh snow.
The staff did minibus drops to La Villa at about 9 am in the morning, which seemed pretty efficient, and a regular pick up service from La Villa and the bottom of the lift in Pedraces towards the end of the day (with a convenient bar to congregate it while waiting).
The hosted skiing offered by Colletts was good too, and included some reasonably adventurous itineraries.
All in all I thought it was fantastically good value - some of the best quality ski accommodation I've stayed in and cheaper than any chalet or hotel I've stayed in in France. I'd definitely stay there again; the only thing that might slightly deter me is the relative lack of more challenging terrain and runs in the Sella Ronda area as a whole. If you are happy on immaculately pisted cruisy reds and blues it's great though.
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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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CathS, thanks for this, it is exactly the type of info I was hoping for. I am definitely a cruisy reds and blues skier, the rest of the family will want something more challenging but I could send them off on some of the hosted skiing days. It would probably suit us to be in a slightly quieter area than the main Sella Ronda, esp if half term is busy (not sure if it coincides with Italian holidays?). Good food and comfortable good quality accommodation is important to us and it sounds like it ticks the boxes on that front too.
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gamekeeper, I guess it all depends on what you're used to, but in terms of quality the only ski accommodation that has met a comparable standard for me so far was one of Le Ski's chalets in Courchevel, which was a good £200-300 more expensive for the week.
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| gamekeeper wrote: |
| Thanks for the reply hawkesbaynz, Have considered Mountain Sun in San Cassiano but am not sure that all their rooms are en suite, and also at half term it may be more orientated towards younger children and families? Again, anyone with experience of this chalet care to comment? |
I have stayed their last year and am heading back this Sunday.
+ve location, location, location, Nice bar with tab feature for drinks. Ok food.
-ve big 'rough and ready round the edges' - used as a religious retreat in the summer, so not exactly overly comfortable - moutainsun do ship in their own sofas. Only about 50% of rooms are on-suite.
Food is perfectly adequate, but not quite upto what I would call 'decent chalet' (non-gourmet) standard.
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bertie bassett, thanks for the information, I think this confirms my impressions, and for this particular trip it won't be quite what we are looking for
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I found the mini bus drops /pick-ups were fine, never long to wait - they gave us their number and said give us a call if any problems/late etc - which was helpful!
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