Switzerland Ski Resort Advice please

Bateman · Jan 21, 2006

I have an opportunity to leave my children with the in-laws for a week at the beginning of march and go skiing with my wife. There are some limitations in that I can only go to Swizerland so, assuming that, can anyone recommend a nice resort. I am a beginner (been skiing once before), my wife is an intermediate, I don't necessarily need great nightlife - just good skiing for our abilities. At the moment, the best option that suits me price wise is Saas Fee but I have read mixed reports. The other option I have looked at is Grindelwald as it offers a flight from Southampton and relatively quick transfer. The restrictions I mention are because I am paying in Tesco Clubcard vouchers, which means I can only book from one particular Swiss brochure.

cookie · Jan 21, 2006

swizerland is one of the few popular ski destinations i've rarely visited so my info is a bit limited...

only place i've ever stayed in is morgin, you could ski france & italy as well from there. bit low, but very nice.

we are planning on going around the same sort of time as you, maybe even swizerland as mrs cookie works there. if you need local info, she may be able to help.

her colleagues recommend davos, but i fancy zermatt

The Phantom Pieman · Jan 21, 2006

OK

Saas Fee is fine ... quite pricey. I thought the pistes were really badly prepared
Zermatt - great resort very expensive
Davos Klosters - rated as 10/10 in a recent snowboarding mag. I'll go there tomorrow
Flims Laax - not very british, and probably wont be in you brochure. The skiing are is excellent. The twon sort of spread out. It is a big "core" boarding centre , with a nightlife to suit. My favourite
I know very little about Grindlewald, other than Wengen, which is meant to be good, and Kensington on the slopes
Skt Moritz - too pricey, to goddam far from anywhere
Arosa - grat family resort, thought the drive there is vomit inducing because of the amount of hairpins!
Lenzerhide - many rave about it, I thought it was shit
Engleberg - again good skiing , good town, picturesque. South facing so can get slushy or icy
Gstaad - playground fopr the rich, the talentless and the Beckhams

Lou Can · Jan 21, 2006

Zermatt everytime. Fantastic place and doesn't have to be as expensive if you are careful - there are a couple of cheap bars run by Brits and some cheaper eateries. That view of the Matterhorn is to die for though......

LC

LivNorway · Jan 21, 2006

I have no idèa how Switzerland (Sveits, as we call it) is, but I know we (in the south part of Norway) got snow - if that is what you are looking for!

Enjoy!

Liv.

AndyT · Jan 21, 2006

Verbier has a great range of skiing and as there are quite a few Brits there it is reasonably priced.

For Scenery when you are there Zermatt is just superb - never slied there though!

Have fun

AndyT

Losttheplot · Jan 21, 2006

I've just got back from a week in wengen. It was my first time ever on ski's.

I did a days ski-ing over grindlewald and found most of the pistes do-able.

There were a few heart stopping moments at the top of some of the decents

, but if you don't challenge yourself, then whats the point?

Wengen wasn't bad either, though towards the end of the week, with no fresh snow, and the town buzzing with the build up to the lauberhorn weltcup downhill and slalom event, the pistes were starting to get very icy in places, though towards grindlewald the pistes were in better condition.

I don't think either place (wengen or grindlewald) have much in the way of night life, but then there are plenty of bars around if you feel the need for a drink :beerjug:

. this is assuming you exclude the huge party thrown for the downhillers. nutters the lot of 'em :confused:

nathan

timeandtide · Jan 21, 2006

AndyT said:
Verbier has a great range of skiing and as there are quite a few Brits there it is reasonably priced.
Agreed!! Climbed and skiied there.

For Scenery when you are there Zermatt is just superb - never slied there though!
Skiing v good at Zermatt and you can drop over to Cervinia

YosemitePaul · Jan 21, 2006

Question to those who know Zermatt. Any idea if we were to book over Christmas, is there much skiable snow????

The Phantom Pieman · Jan 22, 2006

I would highly recommend Davos .... after today trip.

Great snow record (village at 1550). It's a real town , if you are there for a week. Plenty of skiing to be had. 1 3/4 real driving from Zurich.

Re Zermatt and snow at christam . Sort of depends whether it snows !! It's high, so it will keep what snow it gets.

This year we had loads of snow early december so skiing over Christmas was excellent. The previous year sweet FA until the 28th December ...

Zermatt at Christmas will be nearly as busy as Oxford street is ... it's not just the Brits that go there, but about half of Switzerland. Tis also very expensive.

Bateman · Jan 22, 2006

Thanks for the advice. I have now booked something, although with the restrictions imposed by using clubcard vouchers (i.e only one brochure to choose from) and the limited availability of flights and accommodation in the resorts listed, I have picked a fairly obscure one called Adelboden. It is fairly low but seems to suit beginners/intermediates and lift passes are much cheaper than other swiss resorts. At the end of the day, I haven't had to pay out any cash - £300 of clubcard vouchers stashed in the draw gave me £1200 of holiday vouchers, which is what this cost for a week half board. For those that don't mind shopping at Tesco's, their loyalty scheme can provide some nice bonuses.

Alan1963 · Jan 22, 2006

Well, as you have to go to Switzerland (I wouldn't! lol) then I'd offer the following advice.

Saas Fee (mainly north facing so good if weather is warm as pistes hold their snow; f'ing freezing if it is cold anyway). Runs tend to prefer intermediate to advanced skiers.

Verbier - great range of skiing and if you like skiing with half of Kensington then you'll have a ball in the nightlife. Bars etc unusually pricey.

Davos - great resort, loads of other things to do as well as ski. Good range of skiing and a bit classier without the ludicrous expense of St Moritz.

As I think someone has already said, Morgins is an interesting alternative. The Swiss side of the Portes du Soleil with a huge range of skiing for all abilities and rather less expensive than the Eastern end of Switzerland.

I've also tried Villars which wasn't bad, but that was a few years back, so I'm out of date.

On balance, Morgins or Davos.

Whatever you choose enjoy - I'm just jealous - have to wait another 3 weeks! Skiing, possibly the only thing I'd rather be doing than riding the bike!

Alan

Switzerland Ski Resort Advice please

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