frankdaddy

I am looking for the best ski area in Europe for my family.I am a good skier and my 2 boys age 8 and 14 are good skiers as well. My wife is a novice and will only ski 3 days at most. I am looking to go Presidents week Feb. 19th-28 2005. I would ideally like to have a place that is great skiing, great food, great apres ski, and a great price. My choice would be Italy or France and one which I can find a ski package that would include air lodging food and lifts. Any suggestion would be helpful. Thanks

grandmere

I think Briancon in the Serre Chevalier ski domaine is a wonderful family place; it is a traditional resort rather than a purpose-built concrete monolith area, as so many French alpine resorts are. There are several small villages along the Guisane valley, but we stayed at the Auberge Mont Prorel, literally right across the street from the Mont Prorel ski station, in Briancon. Briancon has its fortified old town section that has lots of charm, regional restaurants, and shops. It's a "well kept secret" as few Americans know of this place, and most skiers are French and other Europeans. We learned of it through www.all-mountain.com, and booked the package thru them. Monica Keller was our agent, and she was very helpful, being very familiar with the area.

We flew into Milan and were met by private car (arranged by All Mountain) for the almost 4 hr. ride into Briancon. (Probably easier to fly into Lyon or Grenoble.)

Our breakfast and evening meal were included in the package (along with airfare); the hotel was flexible and served us lunch on the couple of days that we wanted to eat out in the local restaurants for dinner.

Even as a non-skier, I can't say enough good things about Serre Chevalier; our young adult skiers found the slopes to be great and challenging for their varying abilities. For a real thrill, hire a guide (a must!) and ski the famous Le Meije at La Grave, about 45 minutes away--all off-piste skiing. My son and son-in-law did this, and they said it was the experience of a lifetime!

Luc Alphand, former Olympic skier, hails from the Serre Chevalier area, and he still lives there and owns a brewery.

Check out the area at www.serrechevalier.com and www.briancon.com

This area will probably become much better known when the 2006 Olympics are held not far away in Turin.

frankdaddy

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. I have an opportunity for Sestriere but have been told that the skiing is not as popular or the apres ski is not really that much. The price is 1350 for air, hotel, lifts, half board, and transfers. How is Sestriere? Does it compare with the skiing to the other locations or the one you are describing? I want something that will be as much fun for the family on the slopes as well as off. If my wife does not want to ski, will there be enough to occupy her or the kids? What do you think about Sestriere? Your location sounds great.

Steve_James

FD - For Italy I'd recommend the Val Gardena area in the Dolomites. Hard to beat scenically, with a huge ski area (Dolomiti SuperSki) and slopes for all levels - and plenty of non-ski options as well.

The villages (Ortisei, Santa Cristina, Selva) have a delightful Tyrolean atmosphere with great bars, restaurants and apres-ski.

Good public transport and easy access to other places of interest too.
Here are some links:

www.val-gardena.com

http://www.dolomitisuperski.com/gard...3&MES=2125

Hope this helps ...

Steve

grandmere

Frankdaddy, I don't know anything about skiing at Sestriere. From what I read, it is not an attractive resort, being built mainly of concrete blocks. The Alps, of course, would still be beautiful. And perhaps your sons don't care about charm and traditional villages as long as the skiing is good.

If you check out www.ifyouski.com and www.goski.com you can get good descriptions of resorts, including comments and ratings from those who ski there on aspects such as snow, apres ski, value for $$, etc. Also a good agency that specializes in European skiing, such as All Mountain, would be a great source for info.

grandmere

ttt

frankdaddy

Thank you Grandmere. I am now concentraing my efforts on Chamonix with All-Mountain and spoke with them today. They are very knowledgable. I am going to decide either Chamonix or Courchevel. Either one sounds like a winner. What do you think about either of those choices?

cova

I am with Steve in this case. We have been gone to the Dolomites for hiking during the summer a few times, and we have always wanted to go there in the winter, but never managed. Instead of that, we have convinced a few of our friends who have skied around Europe, and since going there ... they have found their favourite place. There are standing arguments between Alta Badia and Val Gardena, but both places get great ratings. Skiing is great both for experimented and beginners, and Alta Badia has the plus of a good nordic ski area. Food is amazing, a mix of german and italian (including a good chinese restaurant cum pizzeria in Alta Badia ...), and people are great.
http://www.altabadia.it/
http://www.altabadia.org

I have seen that allmountain.com have indepedent packages to that area ( Arabba/Corvara/Canazei and Valgardena ).

But of you decide to go to France, I think that Chamonix would be better for your wife. Courchevel has great skiing, but it is more of a resort, and if she is not going to be skiing all the time, Chamonix would offer more to her.

Also, be aware that the end of february is very popular. Weather is better (the cheapest time is the beginning of January, because it is very cold), and schools in France have the "white week" vacation during the month of february. It depends on the department, but all of France moves around and many families go skiing for the week ...

Good luck,
Cova

Tulips

Chamonix is a larger town, and would offer more for non-skiiers. Be aware that Chamonix is in the shade most of the day, due to its position against Mont Blanc. If you look on the other side of Mont Blanc, there's a village called Megeve; very charming, great skiing, and enough to do if you don't ski. We have been going there for the past 15 years, and the snow is generally great in February. Only once was there not enough snow (and we drove to Chamonix to ski).
The French all take their skiing holidays in February, so it could be very busy.

grandmere

I don't have any firsthand experience with either Courcheval or Chamonix, but just today received an online ski newsletter from www.ski-europe.com, and it quotes London's Daily Telegraph as saying that Courcheval has been rated best ski resort in world in it's annual poll. It came in ahead of Banff, Val d'Isere, Charmonix, and Zermatt. It was praised for its diversity, with 4 separate resorts.
For what it's worth!

Also, I don't think you can go wrong with All Mountain; after we used them for the family trip to Briancon, my son and his buddies booked thru them for a trip to Les Arcs and were very satisfied, also. They also arranged another trip for a large (10) family group for us to Innsbruck, Xmas 2001, but it had to be cancelled due to serious injury of one family member and some members' fears following 9/11.

I'm sure you will have a great time wherever you go; think snow!

grandmere

Whoops, see that I have misspelled "Courchevel".

skikat9

Whatever you do do NOT go to Sestriere. I took a large skiing group there 2 years ago and of all the places we've been it was the least favorite of everyone. It simply has no charm and the skiing is no better than any other area in Europe. I've been all over Europe skiing, including some pretty obscure ski areas (Andorra and Spain)and Sestriere is one place I would never go back to, Winter Olympics or not. If you're looking for value, Italy really can't be beat right now (which is why I'm skiing Bormio, Italy this coming January).
I would highly recommend the Dolomites and the Val Gardena region. The skiing is wonderful (the Sella Ronda is GREAT!!), the scenery gorgeous and the towns just so interesting. I stayed in Ortesei and loved every minute of it. I think your boys would love it there. We stayed at the Hotel Posta Bianco Cavalina. Very nice and good food. We took a midweek break and took a day trip to Venice. It's that close!!
I agree Briancon is a beautiful place but I don't think you'd get as much value for your money there. We found France to be very expensive, all the way around.
As I said there aren't too many places I haven't skied in Europe so if you need any more info please don't hesitate to contact me @ [email protected].
Happy trails!!

Idnas71

Frankdaddy,

Just yesterday I received the latest copy of my Arthur Frommer's Budget Traveler magazine. There is a very nice article featuring three different ski areas in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. Maybe you would find this an interesting read.

frankdaddy

This has been great and I am very thankful for your responses. I have been looking at various and it looked like I am going to take your suggestion and ski in Cortina D'Ampezzo. The Dolomites looks like the best place to ski for the family. My question is regarding Cortina and how expensive it will be to have dinner there. It will cost about $4,000 for the plane, transfers, and hotel with breakfast. It does not include lifts or dinner. Should I look for a place with dinner. I could go to on an escorted trip for 7,200 but that seems a little steep for dinner and lift tickets. Does anyone have any experience with Cortina and dining. The hotel is Olimpio (Olympic). Also does the Dolomite ski pass include Cortina and is it easy to get to the other slopes from there. There is a another choice which is Val Gardena which has hotel with dinner for almost the same price maybe 300.00 more. Please let me know what the difference might be. My wife says she will only ski maybe 2-3 days max and will look for apres ski. Will I find that for my wife at Val Gardena

Steve_James

FrankD - I was hoping the skiers would have posted comparing the two areas for you from a skiing viewpoint.
Where's SlowJan when you need her ...

I can only repeat what my skiing friends say - they much prefer the Val Gardena area.

Val Gardena gives you access to the famous Sella Ronda circuit - so you have access to 4 adjoining ski areas - Alta Badia, Arabba/ Porta Vescovo, Val di Fassa ... as well as Gardena/ Alpe di Siusi.
According to Dolomiti Superski that's 175km of slopes.

The Cortina area is smaller and I don't think it links up with any of the other ski areas (- maybe the skiers can confirm this as I'm not 100%) - so you'd probably need a car or taxi transfer to get to other parts, e.g Corvara/ Alta Badia/ Sella Ronda.

As a non-skier I can say I much prefer the Val Gardena area. ORTISEI (1200m) is perhaps the most charming of all the Dolomite resorts IMO so it makes a great base - and has good public transport connections to other places of interest, e.g Castelrotto, Bolzano (Ice Man), Merano, the 'Wine Route', Trento, Innsbruck, Vipiteno, Novacella monastery, Bressanone ...
Even Verona and Lake Garda are not too far.

Here are some websites that
will help with your skipass and other questions:

www.dolomitisuperski.com
www.valgardena.it
www.val-gardena.com
www.dolomiti.it

Let me know if I can be of more help ...

Steve

Steve_James

P.S Sorry Jan!

If you can do the Saslong on two feet, you sure aren't sloW

Don't you wish you could edit sometimes?

Steve

FlyFish

frankdaddy, by "with dinner" I'm assuming you mean a hotel that offers "half board", i.e., breakfast and dinner. If so, my experience after several ski trips to Switzerland, Austria, and Italy is to take the half-board plan. It's much cheaper than dining out each evening (for comparable fare, of course) and saves you the trouble to having to deal with planning and reservations after a day on the slopes. If you end up eating out once or even twice the half-board plan will typically save you money anyway.

P.S. I have not skied the Val Gardena/Sella Ronda area, but it's on my list - I've been there in summer and the scenery is magnificent. The only thing that has held me off so far is that the runs are typically shorter than most of the Alps (1200 ft vertical or so) and the lower altitude is less snow-sure than many other areas. If I'm booking a trip 5 months in advance I don't want to spend the time agonizing over whether there'll be good snow when I get there.

frankdaddy

Thank you for your reply's they have been extremely helpful. It looks as though I am going to Cortina because I cannot get the same deal going to Val Gardena and that is $1300 p/p which includes brkfst/dinner or half board as they explain it. After all my research it looks as though Val Gardena is a more quaint place to stay but the price I was quoted for Val Gardena was about $1700 per person for the same deal. The only amenity I did not get in the hotel is a hot tub or pool which would have been nice. Does anyone know anything about Cortina and how it compares to Val Gardena? Everything I am reading says you can have access to all the slopes with the Dolomite Super ski pass and it looks as though that is the way to go. How much do guides cost as well? Is my wife going to be happier in Cortina because of the apres ski? She will probably only 2-3 days. I also heard that Cortina can be crowded but will this make a difference during the week? How nice is Cortina and what will I lose not choosing Val Gardena? Any info would be great on Cortina.

cova

Hi frankdaddy,

Cortina is a bigger place than Val Gardena or Corvara. Lots of stylish shops, kind of dangerous, I know
Here you have the official website :
http://www.cortina.dolomiti.com/

You will have a great time, I´m sure.
Rgds, Cova

Ingo

I would prefer Val Gardena over Cortina. The skiing in Val Gardena is much better (more extensive, better connections with lifts/runs). Although Cortina is included in the skipass Dolomiti superski the transfer to the skiing areas is not as easy as in Val Gardena (separated skiing areas).

Cortina is very much frequented by Italians while Val Gardena is a favourite destination of Germans - makes a difference in ambience. Apres Ski is excellent in both, Cortina celebrates the "passeggiata" (walking, see and be seen). Cortina is more expensive IMO.

From which other resorts can you choose for that price? By the way, is the quality of the hotels you mentioned (name?) the same in Val Gardena and Cortina?