 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi All,
Thought I would dip into the vast Snowheads knowledge and see what comes up.
Large group of friends (16) of all abilities from complete beginner to multiple seasons spent in the mountains are planning a trip to the alps. Flights were booked for a steal into Geneva at the end of Jan 2023.
Now trying to find a resort with accommodation. As it is a weekend I am looking for anything within 2 hrs of Geneva.
Preferences -
- ski areas not spread out (ruling out Chamonix) so possible meeting for lunch and apres easily
- plenty of accommodation options near lift/piste (preferably hotels/half board options -dont want to self cater with this size group)
- apres/town/spa so people have something other than skiing if they desire
- mid range ish budget
Or if anyone can suggest and agent that can help or something I may not have considered. I've had a look around and most agents either cater for high end/week long or massive groups.
Have arranged this for other groups but much smaller and similar abilities so was just a matter of finding accommodation that was convenient but this time round there is a lot more to take into account.
thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Flaine would tick a lot of your boxes. But weekend accommodation will be difficult - it's one reason why non standard-week flights are a "steal". Don't rule out apartments. You can still eat out!
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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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Flaine would also be my suggestion. Can't help with how to achieve the booking.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@therock,
"As it is a weekend' Does this mean you are going for a weekend or going for a week, but weekend flights?
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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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Good question, @Kenzie. It would help to know the actual dates.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Kenzie wrote: |
@therock,
"As it is a weekend' Does this mean you are going for a weekend or going for a week, but weekend flights? |
Weekend - Early Friday27th Jan to late Monday 30th - usually means 3 and bit days if we are organised. Normally in January accommodation options are usually happy with not getting a full week as its not too busy.
Having a look at Flaine, it looks like a good option.
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Les Carroz (same ski area as Flaine) might be a better option for non skiing activities as it’s more of a real town.
Other options might be Morzine or Les Gets. Both close to Geneva.
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Lots of resort options, the question is accommodation. It sounds to me hotel is by far the easiest for a large group who don't want to self-cater. And hotels that aren't used by tour operators may well be happy with weekend bookings at that point in January. So you just need to identify a few candidate resorts and phone/email round.
For example, in St Gervais there is the new "Le St Gervais" hotel which opened this year, probably on the pricey side but has its own spa and may offer group discounts. About 10 mins walk from the ski lift or on the bus route. Or Hotel Trois (the old Hotel Regina under new management) a bit further but again with shuttle bus access. Without ski boots on both have easy walking access to the town centre bars and restaurants, and aside from in-hotel spas there is a natural thermal spa down in the gorge with a shuttle bus from the gondola station.
And no doubt similar options exist in Grand Massif, Portes du Soleil (we have used Hotel le Sporting in Morzine) and Espace Diamant as well as smaller resorts - all of those around an hour from Geneva Airport.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Accommodation will definitely be the difficult bit, so finding the right hotel for the group will probably determine which resort. I suspect it will be difficult - it's the last week before the French school holidays, and a popular one, with the combination of likelihood of good snow and not too crowded. French people, even without school-aged kids, tend to favour Sat/Sat holidays.
St Gervais would be a great location if you can find the right hotel. It's a proper town (which, despite the comment above, Les Carroz really isn't).
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@therock, Les Contamines UCPA might well be worth a look?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I am thinking Avoriaz for a mixed group, and also the element of “easy to meet up for apres”.
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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.
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Thanks All,
Some good suggestions currently working on Flaine and St Gervais (always been on my list of places to visit as well!)
Couple of hotel options looking viable, looks like that is the last week of short breaks for most places.
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I don't think UCPA do weekends.
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You know it makes sense.
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Just wanted to post an update here - just came back from the weekend in Flaine per recommendations above. The resort worked perfectly for the group.
With most runs leading back to the resort it meant we could all do our own thing, with lessons and plans, change groups etc and meet for lunch. My only observation on the area as a whole was that there wasn't much for a nervous beginner to develop from the greens on to an easy accessible blue but certainly wasn't a major issue.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Good to hear how it worked out @therock, always interesting to see how someone gets on especially with decent sized group.
I do feel Flaine is a particularly good destination for such mixed skills, social meeting throughout the day of mixed group etc and nowhere to travel usually just lets people enjoy being in the mountains.
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