European Skiing -- Chalet and Accomodation Advice in France

Ben wrote:

Hi,

A bunch of friends and I are looking into renting a chalet for a week
this March to get some skiing in over in Europe. I was wondering if
anyone out there had any thoughts or opinions on different ski towns
in France -- Val d'Isère, Chamonix, etc. -- and if so if they knew of
any chalets in particular that they would recommend. We'd be a group
of like 12-16. Also, if anyone knows the best way of researching
chalets over there, I would also be keen to hear about that.


Give Skisolutions a call in the UK on 020 7471 7700 or look on their
website
http://www.skisolutions.com.

They are brokers for all the main UK chalet operators. No connection, I
just had good service from them a couple of years ago and were also
helpful this year although we didn't end up booking through them in th
ened through no fault of theirs.

This has also been cross-posted to rsre where the subject is more
on-topic.

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 07:54:47 +0100, BrritSki
wrote:

Ben wrote:

Hi,

A bunch of friends and I are looking into renting a chalet for a week
this March to get some skiing in over in Europe. I was wondering if
anyone out there had any thoughts or opinions on different ski towns
in France -- Val d'Isère, Chamonix, etc. -- and if so if they knew of
any chalets in particular that they would recommend. We'd be a group
of like 12-16. Also, if anyone knows the best way of researching
chalets over there, I would also be keen to hear about that.


Give Skisolutions a call in the UK on 020 7471 7700 or look on their
website
http://www.skisolutions.com.

They are brokers for all the main UK chalet operators. No connection, I
just had good service from them a couple of years ago and were also
helpful this year although we didn't end up booking through them in th
ened through no fault of theirs.

This has also been cross-posted to rsre where the subject is more
on-topic.

It sounds like you are not even sure which resort to visit. I'd narrow
that down first and then worry about finding a chalet. If you want
info on specific resorts then feel free to post here, but if you want
to "browse" general resort info then take a look at the British Ski
Club website (http://www.skiclub.co.uk). Once yo uknow where you are
going you could use the resort's own tourist office and website, or
use someone like Ski Solutions or Alpine Answers.

As for the resorts you mentioned:
Val d'Ise large interlinked area (far bigger than anything in N
America - vertical higher than Jackson and more terrain than
Whistler/Blackcomb). Large village at the base of the mountains, lots
of bars, lots of clubs, great for the nightlife. Plenty of off piste
skiing that is within reach of good skiers, great for mixed groups as
there is a variety of terrain from very easy to very demanding.

Chamonix: Lots of skiing but not all linked together - each area has
it's own distince flavour. You can get around by bus, but you may want
to hire cars to get between the areas. The town is a proper town and
not just aski resort. Again, lots of night life but not as loud and
rowdy as Val d'Isere. OK for intermediate skiers, but not as much
groomed cruising stuff as Val d'Isere. Lots of off-piste, but a lot of
it is more serious than Val d'Isere. Fabulous scenery, some very very
big mountains.

Either resort is fantastic, but if it's your first taste of European
skiing I'd go for Val d'Isere for no other reason than it is more
convenient once you get there. Tthere are a lot of large modern
chalets close to the base of the lifts so you should be able to find
what you are after.


Steve


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"BrritSki" wrote in message
...

They are brokers for all the main UK chalet operators. No connection,
I
just had good service from them a couple of years ago and were also
helpful this year although we didn't end up booking through them in th
ened through no fault of theirs.

When I last was there (summer) we booked a week in Spain. We knew that
we wanted to do something like that during the trip but didn't have
exact dates or #'s of people since some local friends joined us. The BIG
thing was that it was much cheaper to decide just a couple of days in
advance of traveling. Would that approach work for ski trips too?

We ended up with a 2 bdr. apartment on the beach in Blanes for 8 days
incl. airfare (Amsterdam-Barcelona ret.) and transfers for $200 US per
person.

pigo

pigo wrote:

"BrritSki" wrote in message
...

They are brokers for all the main UK chalet operators. No connection,
I
just had good service from them a couple of years ago and were also
helpful this year although we didn't end up booking through them in th
ened through no fault of theirs.

When I last was there (summer) we booked a week in Spain. We knew that
we wanted to do something like that during the trip but didn't have
exact dates or #'s of people since some local friends joined us. The BIG
thing was that it was much cheaper to decide just a couple of days in
advance of traveling. Would that approach work for ski trips too?

It would probably be OK outside the main holiday periods at Xmas/New
Year, half-term (most of February) and Easter.