I have worked in Chamonix and Switzerland and have also skiied Courmayeur - it is on the basis of first hand knowledge that I recommended the site I did because I have found their recommendations to match my own findings. Also one can enter grade of skiier etc. .........

Lech, Austria, is a higher elevation resort where you are more likely to have good snow. It's also good for beginners and intermediates (the ski pass, aka the Arlberg pass, is good not only at Lech, but neighboring resorts). It's a pretty village with non-ski things to do like skating, curling, (indoor) swimming, horse-drawn sleigh rides, walking, etc. Nice shops and restaurants. Has good nightlife but not the wild scene that Ischgl is famous for.
Many chalets are built for larger groups--10 to 14 people, for example. Have you considered staying in a "residence" or apartment/hotel? You'll have your own apartment with two baths, a kitchen, space to spread out, plus some extras you don't find in most chalets like indoor swimming pools, saunas, game rooms, a bar and restaurant.
One example in Lech is the Filomena Apart/hotel (3*). An apartment for 6 to 8 is about 800 square feet. The residence comes with parking, indoor pool, spa, etc., and there is a grocery store in the building.
Lech has other residences offering similar accommodations. The costs for a 3-bed will probably run about 2000 euro for a week, which includes daily cleaning.
Go to www.lech.at for more info. Their tourist department can help you find accommodation to suit your needs.
The only downside to Lech that I can think of is that it is in Austria and perhaps you want to try another country before traveling to Austria.
Dathai, I used to be a big fan of the ski-europe.com site. It was extremely detailed and helpful and I saved several of their resort descriptions. But about a year ago, they changed it and I like it a lot less. The descriptions are much shorter and the site is full of technical errors (not wrong info, when you try to access info you get all kinds of error messages). Too bad.

Hi Ro -- if you still visit this site! We are also Aussies heading to Italy for skiing in January and we've decided to go to Madonna di Campiglio because our kids (20 & 17) are snowboarders. I've done all my research through the web. Heres hoping we both have a good time!

Question--

I posted elsewhere that I was interested in skiing this winter. A few people sent me some good links, but I'm so confused as to the type of accomodations.

What is a chalet?

on some of the links, there's maps which show many buildings with assumedly different accomodations. Are all these buildings still part of the same resort? Do you typically need a car to get around the resort? it looks massive from the map.

i'm TOTALLY new to the world of skiing, and very confused! thank you.

MissZiegfeld; a chalet is a house, that you share with a number of people. There's usually someone who cleans and cooks for you. Sometimes a nanny for the children if necessary. You either book the whole chalet if you are with a group, or just a room if it's just you or the two of you.

As for getting around the resort; where are you going? Most resorts will have a ski bus that will get you to the lifts, if you cannot walk there from your accommodation.