Ski resort recommendations

[emmar88]

Looking to book a ski holiday for my partners 40th mid January.
He has never skied before so looking for a resort that has good runs for beginners-intermediate.
Does anyone have any recommendations?

What's your budget?

4 nights ideally as we have 2 little ones at home.

max £1500 for 2 of us.

£1500 for two of you including accommodation, flights, transfers plus ski hire, lift passes and lessons?

Erm...

I did Val Thorens last year for a week all in for £600 pp.

I'm just looking for advice on resorts.

For a newbie I'd go for Austria. Obergurgl, Soll, Alpbach or Mayrhofen are all good resorts for that level. Cheaper and prettier than France. But food is fairly grim!

Thanks orchidinthesun!! I'll look into Mayrhofen. Have you been before? Can you recommend any nice hotels that are central close to ski runs ?

I've been to all of them but not for a very long time I'm afraid! So no hotel reccs. Austria is much cheaper than France tho

Bulgaria! We did Bulgaria in 400pp for a week and whilst the snow isn't as fluffy it's great for a beginner.

If you ever find yourself wanting to go somewhere more expensive, Megeve is fantastic. SO pricey though. We went for DH 30th.

For now, Bulgaria or Austria definitely your best bet.

I've been snowboarding for 20 years :)

Thanks ! Will look into Austria

£750 pp for 4 nights in January is eminently doable!
Morzine is good for beginners. As is Samoens which is prettier and close to Geneva for cheap flights and short transfers!

Thanks! I've found good deals (flights and accommodation) to Morzine.

How is best going about paying for lift pass/lessons and ski hire?

Last time I skied I booked a package so didn't have to think about booking any of the above !

You can pre book ski and boot hire online - will usually get a good discount, see if you can find one where you leave ski boots and skis overnight so you don't need to trudge home with them.

You can buy ski pass online but probably as easy to do when you get there.

Yep definitely do ski hire before. I seem to remember there being a ski hire shop near the bottom of the gondola where you could leave your skis at the end of the day.

Ski pass easy enough.. just rock up when you get there.

Book him to a learn to ski in a day /four hours at a snow dome or dry slope before going.

Thanks cestlavie, already done, don't want to waste any time!!

Courmayeur is good for a short trip
Likewise La Tour in Chamonix

Les Gets (next resort along to Morzine) has more beginner runs than Morzine. We skied between the 2 a lot, but I think lessons for beginners would have been better in Les Gets. Lovely area though!

France tends to be a lot more expensive on the mountain though - we have found Italy and Austria to be much better cost wise. You can beat a lovely wood fired pizza or bowl of fresh pasta on a lunch stop.

Thanks! We are set with Morzine (I'm not a beginner so seems like a nice balance)

Now to find a hotel... did you stay in Morzine ? Can you recommend any hotels close to the ski school?

We went with www.Simply-Morzine.co.uk this summer and stayed in their hotel. It was a bit out of town, but otherwise good - if you go on their website they have some discounts on the chalets for January so may be able to come within budget.

Their prices include transfers and also they'll ensure that you're kitted out and ready to start skiing asap and give you advice on things - its a bit like a package holiday without the flight element.

If not that then Morzine is not huge and is well served by the ski bus so I'm sure you'll find something good. Eating out is expensive - we were glad that we were half board although wine was dear at the hotel as well.

Thanks that's helpful! I really don't want to be getting on a bus though so need to be close to ski school, it's hard to tell what it's actually close !

My husband and I stayed in Hotel Alpen Roc for 6 days last year - half board. Lovely pool & hot tub, close to all amenities and included transfer back to Geneva. Would recommend.

PS - love Morzine have been 5 times in last 4 years, New Years, Easter week & midweek. Skied over to Les Gets & Nyon everyday. Didn't go to Avoriaz but easily accessible via ski lift. Great for newbies as well as intermediates.

Thanks Babyg2004 - I've booked les Arielles as looks close to ESF ski school so hoping that will be a good base to stay.

Which resort in Austria is close to the airport please ?

Depends what you mean by 'close'? There will be a fair few around an hour away, which is probably as close as you'd get. Off the top of my head, Mayrhofen wasn't too far from Innsbuck; Zell am See was an easy train ride from Salzburg; Maria Alm is close-ish to Salzburg; Kitzbuhel not far from Salzburg either - there will be plenty within 1.5 hrs which is 'close' in ski terms.

I'd look at some of the other factors which are important to you - size/type of ski area; accommodation type; ski school options etc and narrow it down that way alongside length of transfer. I haven't seen many 'long' transfers in Austria compared with France, where you can easily have a 2-3 hr transfer to get to some of the higher resorts. It's helpful that Austria is well served by Innsbruck, Salzburg and Munich airports, which makes many places within easy reach.