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A couple of hours due west of Denver is the world famous Aspen resorts. As far as Colorado ski areas go, Aspen is a jewel in the crown. You can star gaze while skiing and while shopping, day or night. It is hard to believe that Aspen is actually an old mining town. This part of its history makes skiing only one of the many things to fill out your vacation. In short, Aspen is family friendly. Dig more information about Aspen ski travel at http://www.skiresorts.com

Second visit to Les Arcs ski area. Stayed at Pan Peisey so great access to both Les Arcs and La plagne through the Vanoise express. Stayed at Arc 2000 last year but preferred Pan Peisey for location, standard of accommodation and access to two huge ski areas very easily.

Trip booked through Born2Ski who took care of everything (and with 4 kids in the party there was plenty to take care of!) Great company for sorting out all the detail and making sure you get what you need.

Stayed with Esprit in the Ecuriel chalet - great staff in chalet, through childcare and in ski school. Nothing ever a problem with Esprit - they really make sure you enjoy your time in Pan Peisey.
Great conditions which always helps and some excellent uncrowded piste skiing through whole resort (especially local to Pan Peisey). Very little waits for lifts and all in all a great holiday

Hotel Tirol

A small hotel with really friendly service. We were made to feel very welcome, all the staff spoke excellent English. We particularly enjoyed the food, which was much better than anticipated. We have travelled quite extensively over the years and my husband and I felt that the quality of meals we had there were some of the best we have ever had! The breakfast had hot food, which was unusual for a European hotel and an excellent selection of breads and jams etc. Dinner was five courses, with a soup, starter, buffet salad, choice of main meal and dessert. All the food was beautifully presented and the soups were quite delicious.

The location was reasonable and as good as any other in the village. The bus stop was just a couple of minutes away and one could get to the slopes within 30-45 minutes (changing bus at the bus station). If you timed it right, you could get a direct bus right up to the ski slope. We particularly enjoyed coming back after our tiring ski to relax in the open-air pool. It was quite an amazing feeling to be out in the open surrounded by beautiful mountains and watch the snow come down on our heads – this is something we have not experienced before and the kids in particular really enjoyed it. The Jacuzzi within the indoor part of that pool helped to ease our aching joints. The spa and sauna area were relatively new and beautifully maintained, there was a lovely room where one can sleep wrapped up in soft woolly blankets. Again, the facilities were of a much higher standard than we had expected. We had anticipated going to the Alpen Therme in the town centre, however did not need to do this as we had everything we needed at the hotel.

Although the rooms were small and basically furnished, the hospitality, food and facilities more than made up for this. We would definitely recommend the hotel.

All booked and recommended by Mike at Born2Ski who helped with the whole boong process.
Contact them on 0871 951 1010

A group of lads from Ireland, we had a ball, snow conditions so the locals say the best since 30 years, great little family run hotel just by the piste, Miosotis Franco and Patriza looked after us. Flew in with Ryan air from Shannon for a ridiculous price and booked all we needed through skiinitaly.com. The owner, ex-rep from 18 years Christine made travelling independently so easy, she booked all we needed from the transfer from Turin,the hotel,the ski hire(New K2 Apache skis and twin tip public enemy!! at prices of standard skis), ski school and lift pass- and all discounted. . What can I say Mega resort for skiing and more, great night life, value for money drinking happy hours. Email christine@skiinitaly.com with your needs she will do the rest

This is a very small Italian town, with most people still speaking italian.

There is everything you need here - chemist, tourist info, bank and smallish supermarkets. Plus a handful of restuatants and cafes.

We skiied on what they were calling "their busiest week ever" - infact even the hire shops ran out of equipment!! but it was still dead quiet.

If you like to go somewhere that is not hectic than this is the place for you....even on this busy week, we barely had anyone ski pass us on the pistes, and never had to queue for lifts.

Runs are good, but along with the rest of italy, probably not to stretching for the more advanced skiier.

Avoriaz is quite unlike most ski resorts - it at 1800 for a start, plus it is totally no vehicles apart from skiing, pony and cart and skidoo etc. We actually stayed a bit lower in Les Podrians, but the cable car to the top was running until midnight!

Due to high winds some of the lifts didn't open, but generally easy to get about and loads of great skiing to be done. The Stash in Les Linderes is well worth a visit even if you're not into jumps you can all laughy yourselves silly coming down the big bumps in fresh powder!!! Plenty for all abilities, even a world cup down hill black run for the brave.

We had an excellent four days mid January with plenty of good snow. Stayed at the Hotel Miosotis with Flexiblebreaks and we were very pleased. It is cheap and cheerful with plenty of good food and friendly staff. Apres Ski in Paddy McGintys for a really good atmosphere. Beer was 4 Euro's for a large one which we did not think was too bad. Just about all the lifts were working and the slopes were not too busy even at the weekend. If you are not looking for anything up market then Sauze could be the place for you.

Whens the snow is good the skiing is great. A huge ski area, Grand Massif connects 5 ski areas, a real mix of blues reds and blacsk and some great off piste to be had! For total beginners there are green runs but these are fairly limited. In Morillion however there is a lovely long green run, with some good off piste as well!
Les Carroz is a predominantly french village which is very pretty and small which makes getting about easy. The free ski buses which run are efficent and you are never waiting long.
It is a chilled atmosphere where you can go out for a good night or stay in and relax.
I have been going here for a few years now and the level of english spoken has definaltey improved though having a go at French is always appreciated.

Hotel Grande Claviere excellent for childcare facilities and friendliness, and food very good.
Quiet, small resort with others easily accessible with ski lifts. Do not know about the night life, stayed in hotel most evenings.

Nice wide pistes - very well maintained. 2 great snowparks and 3 boardercross runs in total to choose from. Plenty of off-piste to try if you want to. No lift queues and quiet slopes.
Nightlife poor as there was hardly anyone in resort when we went (mid Jan). Lots of potential and could easily imagine it getting good later in the season. Don't bother going out till after 10 though.

Its a lovely resort, its not a Verbier or Meribel but there are enough good slopes for a few days break and they dont get over busy. It also has some very good off piste runs for the more adventurous!

Theres a dozen or so restaurants and a handful of apres ski bars.
Plenty of tuition available and the ski pass is ok for Zinal, St Luc and Grimentz and are all a free bus ride away.
They are working on a cable connection to and from Grimentz/Zinal but I dont think its finished yet?
Although there is a ski run from Zinal back into Grimentz which I tried last year, it has some black runs as well as amazing mountain forest runs, its quite long but doable!
The only downside is there are quite a few button lifts which can be a challenge for boarders. Having said that all the main runs have cable cars.

It doesnt have a 'Dick Tea Bar' or equivalant so dont expect to be partying until 3 in the morning but after a good day of ski-ing some apres ski
For a bigger resort which has some great shops and is more of a 'Verbier' size, Crans Montana is 1/2 hour drive away. Personally, for 3/4 days I think there is plenty to do in Grimentz but its always nice to have the options available.

I think ski passes will be around £25 pp per day based on a 3 day pass. - http://www.rma.ch/anniviers/suisse/ski-valais/tarifs-abonnements-grimentz.html

For those that are looking for tuition here is the link- http://www.ins-ski.ch/ski-school/home/home.htm Im not sure of the costs?

Another useful link is http://www.grimentz-location.ch/new/type.cfm?pages=liens which has lots of website links relevant to Grimentz and the Valais.

A small ski resort that offered a decent week of skiing. The runs are limited and we were worried about the availability of snow. In the event it arrived just in time. The food was not good and a real low point. The ski area is in three parts and one area was closed throughout due to teh main lift being out of action. We lost one day of skiing as the lifts were closed - no reason given. Accomodation was fair. We stayed at Malina village which was very pretty with Scandanavian style A-frame pine units. (C. 2 miles outside Borovets so a transfer bus was needed or taxi).

We stayed in Valloire itself, it is a small, compact, typically french village. This means everywhere is near the lifts. The skiing was fantastic, we went early January this year 08 and some days it was cloudy in the village but once you got above the clouds it was glorious. The views back into the valley were breathtaking. We were a mixed ability group and we had a child beginner with us. Although the classes had french instructors they were very good and the 10 year old came on leaps and bounds. Food and drink on and off the slopes was excellent. Food on the slopes was suprisingly reasonable and delicious although as usual the beer was expensive.
The apres ski suited us with a range of bars, a couple of english types and a variety of french ones. There was also a bar that had live music on but I can't remember it's name.
I would recommend Valloire to all abilities.

Wagrain - what a great place - massive ski area, great slopes and no queues - blue skies and lots of snow - 10/10 - can't wait for next year

This resort is less known among the many ski resorts in France. Most people who come here are locals, particularly those folks who live in the south of France. It would help if u speak a little bit of French for foreigners.

Since Isola is only about 90 km from Nice, this understandably is a weekend resort for the locals. Isola 2000 enjoys a lot of snow due to its high altitude and position, sometimes even more snow than the northern part of the Alps. It also gets good weather condition most of the time. Skiing here caters to every skill level but I would say it is best suited for beginners and intermediate skiers. If u are a beginner, this is the best place to ski and practice to gain more self-confidence. The ski runs are wide and long and before u know it, you would be ready to challenge yourself in the higher levels of the mountains. Your bravery would be rewarded with the beautiful scenery in front of you, as well as a view of the Mediterranean sea.

Isola 2000 is more suitable for families with children. If u are into nightlife and apres-ski scene, then this is not the place for you. Having said that, there are a couple of good decent restaurants on the Front de Neige. There is also a cinema, some shops selling ski outfits and such, 2 groceries and a pharmacy. The main building in the resort is old and outdated, and makes for less appealing accommodation. However, there are several chalets that were newly-built and make a far better option should you opt to spend a few days skiing here. You could ski-in and-out from some of the chalets.

What I liked here, aside from the fantastic skiing, is because there are very few tourists who come here so there are virtually no long queues for lifts. And snow here is even plentiful than most ski resorts in France. True, this is not one of the prettiest nor the poshest resorts in France but the fantastic ski runs and wide long slopes, uncrowded pistes, no long queues, and proximity to Nice, make this one of France's best kept secret. I would definitely come back here again with my whole family.

Price-wise, it is relatively cheaper compared to other resorts, considering its location near the pricey French Riviera.

This resort is less known among the many ski resorts in France. Most people who come here are locals, particularly those folks who live in the south of France. It would help if u speak a little bit of French for foreigners.

Since Isola is only about 90 km from Nice, this understandably is a weekend resort for the locals. Isola 2000 enjoys a lot of snow due to its high altitude and position, sometimes even more snow than the northern part of the Alps. It also gets good weather condition most of the time. Skiing here caters to every skill level but I would say it is best suited for beginners and intermediate skiers. If u are a beginner, this is the best place to ski and practice to gain more self-confidence. The ski runs are wide and long and before u know it, you would be ready to challenge yourself in the higher levels of the mountains. Your bravery would be rewarded with the beautiful scenery in front of you, as well as a view of the Mediterranean sea.

Isola 2000 is more suitable for families with children. If u are into nightlife and apres-ski scene, then this is not the place for you. Having said that, there are a couple of good decent restaurants on the Front de Neige. There is also a cinema, some shops selling ski outfits and such, 2 groceries and a pharmacy. The main building in the resort is old and outdated, and makes for less appealing accommodation. However, there are several chalets that were newly-built and make a far better option should you opt to spend a few days skiing here. You could ski-in and-out from some of the chalets.

What I liked here, aside from the fantastic skiing, is because there are very few tourists who come here so there are virtually no long queues for lifts. And snow here is even plentiful than most ski resorts in France. True, this is not one of the prettiest nor the poshest resorts in France but the fantastic ski runs and wide long slopes, uncrowded pistes, no long queues, and proximity to Nice, make this one of France's best kept secret. I would definitely come back here again with my whole family.

Price-wise, it is relatively cheaper compared to other resorts, considering its location near the pricey French Riviera.

If you are "only here for the beer" or you like rowdy nightlife, then La Thuile is not for you. Don't go there, you won't like it at all.

If you want to ski 150 kilometres (almost 94 miles) of pistes that usually have very skiable snow from the beginning of Dec to Easter, then that is a different kettle of snow all together.
Half a dozen of more than decent places to eat out, all of which tend to serve Italian food - Burgers and chips? NO! Decent Italian food, YES.
There is the main hotel complex, Planibell, that is situated just the width of a road from the beginner's ski area where there is a travelator lift and a button lift for beginners to practice on before hitting the big boys lifts higher up. The speedy Gondola lift and a four seat chair lift whisk you up to the main ski area which again is well served with restaurants and cafes like Le Foyer at the top of a second chairlift, and Offshore Bar situated a good ski run away from everywhere, but situated on a blue run that takes you back to the village ending about 25 yards away from the Hotel Planibell again.
Piste number seven will take you back past hill forts and old military buildings along forest tracks to the village again but this time, with a short diversion through France. Again you end up just across the road from the Planibell.
If you want to try ski in France you can. Go to the topmost chairlift and off you go. When you get off at the top you are less than 100 meters from the border with decnt runs down to La Rossiere. Just make sure you have your passport with you when you go.

Accommodation, choose from Chalet Eden and Hotel Dora full board to Planibell apartments self catering. Take your pick. All tastes catered for,

Do I like it there? Well here is a clue. I have been skiing now for 50 years. This will be my 51st year. I worked every winter for 18 years in the Italian Mountain rescue. I have tried Austria, Andorra and the usual EU ski countries as well as across the pond in Canada. I will be holidaying in La Thuile again this December for the 15th time. Oh yes, and that will probably be all of December. If I get the chance, it will be most of January as well. Do I recommend it, what do you think? It's great.

My daughters and I spent last week in Morzine and we had a great week considering it's late in the season. (The last week of the season for Morzine) Rain up to 2500 mtrs was the worst problem and we had to give in on two days in the early afternoon, a little like "drowned rats"!! But the other days were much better. Two days were warm and sunny with decent snow in the mornings and two days where visibility was not great.Resort was good with great food, if a little pricey !!

Not for the faint hearted, but this is an excellent resort for those looking for adventurous and a total skiing experience.
My friend is a ski instructor there and thoroughly enjoys the varied conditions that you always find with Scottish Skiing!

Isola 2000 is a very French resort and therefore they do not cater very well for Adult beginners. The Ski School is appalling and although we paid for private lessons we did not gain very much and were extremely unhappy with our instructor. I would not recommend this resort for beginners if they want to participate in lessons.

The nightlife was terrible, just one bar!

Stayed in Valmeinier 1800 meters, small resort but with lots of varied slopes. Good real snow.

We travelled with Snowcoach which took 14.5 hours!!!! They said it would be 9, but that was impossible given distance and speed of coach. Never travel this way it is unbelievabliy long.

Resort has a superb new bowling alley with DJ and pool tables, good atmosphere.

Learn some french because in Valmeinier they don't speak a huge amount of english!

Good lifts with 3 ski hire shops, would definately go back again.

Only slight problem is all runs end up on one blue run which gets really churned up by 4pm. Lifts close at 5pm.

It was great in alpbach. The people were nice and friendly. the lady we stayed with was lovely.She was called Frauhilda .The sking contitions in Alpbach were great. One night the whole village was covered in snow. up in the mountins i had a sking instructer called sophie. She was extremely nice to me. ALL THE SKI INSTRUCTERS WERE NICE. The scenery was great.

THIS PEACE OF WRITING WAS DONE BY GEORGE YEROU AT 10 YEARS OLD.

As a family we had a fantastic time. The children took to skiing immediately and the instructors were capable, professional and spoke great english. People are friendly, food is good and we had loads of snow. The blue slopes are quite challenging so as beginners we felt really proud when we could manage them and there are enough reds and blacks to satisfy more expert skiers. We will definitely be going back!

Good location, right next to piste. Got busy but neighbouring resorts easy to get to and quite. Hotel Du Col 20 yards from piste, comfortable, good food and friendly staff. Not much to do at night, but too knakered after skiing. 90 mins bus transfer from Turin airport.

Great family resort, easy access, gentle slopes, good lifts and mountain restaurants. No nightlife really but not an issue for us. Stacks of skiing, piste and off piste all easily accessible.

The village was lovely and clean. Bars were good and people friendly. Hotel was very good, but a bit too far to walk every day to the gondola with ski's and boots so had to spend money on depositing them in a shop next to the main gondola every night.

Very nice place, excellent ski and logistic infrastructure! I stayed at Kirchberg hof hotel, 3 stars but has everything you need for a ski holiday: nice, clean and spacious room, dissent food. In Kirchberg there are plenty of restaurants of all choice. Kitzbuhel is 5 min drive.
As for skiing, there are so many options around that 7 days is just not enough to visit all the resort has to offer, from beginner to expert level.
I flew to Munich and drove to Kirchberg, 2 hours drive, very convenient. Within the Kitzbuhel- Kirchberg ski resort you don’t really need a car since bus/ shuttle transfer is very well organized, but with car it makes life easier!

I would certainly recommend the place and would like myself to go there again!

Finkenberg is exactly what its set out to be, a small village within easy reach of a gondola to the main ski area. limited night-life but easy access to the town of mayrhofen if that is what you are looking for. Buses run up and down the zillertal valley taking you to differnt areas of the ski area, all included in the lift pass.

Travelled with Crystal, Skis never got on the flight and last i heard they where in Frankfurt, Reps no help what so ever, so got a good pair from hire shop out of my own pocket and got on with enjoying the skiing, which was pretty good for spring.

If you can get to resort independently for cheaper I would advise it, Crystal really are no help, had to chase problems myself.

As for the Hotel Kristall, we where trully looked after by the staff, food was top quality you can contact hotel direct and check out their website. If you are a wine lover this hotel prides it self on providing top quality wines, beer aint to bad either.

this was a surprise birthday treat from my partner and we really enjoyed it,apart from the landing at salzburg very bumpy scary long transfer than normal due to traffic and storms,snow was bad at lower slopes and busy with ski school,best higher up.at time a lot of walking between lifts (run 18 especially)best runs 19,23,24b,20.a great place for beginners families,very freindly and scenery village etc,i got bored with runs quickly but they where well maintained and i enjoyed skiing them,very good resturants,clean, good food.

Hafjell Alpine centre is located at the entrance of the Gudbrandsdalen valley, 15 km north of Lillehammer. The Olympic trail network has been extended and disposes 30 slopes offering winner experiences for skiers of all levels. 15 lifts, including the Gondola, serves the 835 vertical metres from the base to the top of the mountain. Hafjell`s trademark are long runs, excellent snow and sunny climate.

The snow conditions were not great as the weather was to hot during the day and there was no snow fall. However the slopes were well prepared every day and the more shaded runs held up fairly well.

Eating at the top of the gondola was not the best with better food found at the bottom of the hill. The food in the Himalaya was excellent and the rooms of good standard.

With good snow this is an excellent resort with plenty of scope for all levels of skiers.

I love Chamonix! The place has amazing views no matter where you are, good coffee, nice crepes, good bars and a real good feel to the place! It's a real working town, not just a purpose built resort! The ski/snowboarding areas are varied and the terrain can be gentle to incredibly steep and sketchy! I enjoy the variety in all the areas and you'll be able to find something good somewhere no matter what (unless closed), it does help to have your own transport though as areas are spread out!

Great resort. Ski pretty much from the hotels. Apres ski good and several bars in the evening, mainly for adults though

fantastic place ,great people and service. take pleanty of money .

Stayed in Arc 1950 Radisson (Stayed in Arc 2000 last year). Very nice new village, ski-in/ ski-out apartments. Good quality apartments, with good facilities and lots of space. Only negative was the late check-in time on arrival day.

Good tip is catch the Cabriolet up to Arc 2000 to save at least 20% on everything - ski hire, beer, food, etc. - as 1950 is over priced. The restaurants are particularly expensive.

Slopes are mostly good, the blues tend to be fairly narrow tracks though. Most of the lifts are chairs rather than drags, so great for boarders. Key lifts can have very long queues at times.

Highly recommend the pizza parlour in Arc 2000 for a no fuss, filling, cheap and very tasty meal.

Very short transfer form Bourg-St-Maurice train station.

Very impressed with the amount of pistes available,well bashed every evening.only down sides were the amount off ski schools on the slopes,found our selves haveing to wait for a time for the little ones to finish snakeing across the piste.Busy periods at plagne bellecote was sometimes a problem waiting 25 mins to get on the cable car , staff were letting cars go on half empty,very frustrating as your wait in a massive que.

Don't come, you won't like it!

Going for the fifth time soon. No lift queues, a decent variety of pistes, good snow record, no gangs of apres ski drunkards, really quiet, but with 7-8 really good restaurants (if you like Italian food). Oh, and the transfer isn't bad either.

If you like killer nightlife, La Thuile is not for you. But If you want to ski and relax after with a beer or wine and have some quality food, book now!

Accommodation a good size with excellent views from the balcony. There was only one lift in our apartment block which had a mind of its own at times. It was a gamble to which floor you ended up on. Parking excellent but you have to get there early to get a space. Snow clearing happens once a week so you have to remove your car for a few hours while this takes place. All amenities could be reached without going outside via underground tunnels. A good number of restaurants and bars although some rather expensive. Good size Spar, and bakery although you would have to que in the mornings for bread. Slopes not great for beginners with only 2 greens. At lot of blues steep blues which were more like reds! The chair lifts were painfully slow but the views fantastic so it makes up for the slow ride. Would recommend Intersport for Ski and boot hire and Oxygene ski school for lessons. Overall a great place to ski and would definately go back.

A fab resort, lovely old pubs, the best bar for apres ski. Everyone you see on the mountains that day packs in at the end of another sunny ski filled day.
Theres limited skiing in obergurgl but i love the sunny spot and lovely well groomed runs. Were going to explore Hogurgl and Solden next week.
I cant wait for another fab week.

Great snow. great weather
Little nightlife. Ugly town centre.
but that didn't matter to us, as we were having a family holiday.
We went self catering and choice of shops and food was adequate, and fairly reasonably priced by ski resort standards.

Accomadation was good, if a little small. Great views from balcony, literally right over the piste. Loads of good on and off piste skiing, numerous slopes. You can easliy get away without doing the same one twice. Can ski down into other parts of La Plange as well as resorts such as Champany.Local shop is a spar with the usual food as well as a nice selection of french cheeses and meats. Two good restaurants, a pizza place and a bar in La Plange Soleil, many more in Plange centre. Exibitions put on by intructers at night time such as torch-light ski displays. The lifts were excellent, vary reliable generally open 9 till 5. Child friendly - child penguin ski school and smaller lifts and slopes. English generally Spoken throughout.

Albach is the most amazing, friendly, lovely resort - great skiing although it's more for intermediates than beginners or the seriously good. Mainly red/easy blacks. Fantastic social life, amazing food I would definitely recommend it.

Fantastic varied pistes from easy green up to unpisted blacks & moguels.
Great little 2* hotel in Les Praz called Les Launchers, really friendly and great food!

Best resort I have ever been to. We went with a group of thirteen people, 6 adults and 7 kids and there was something for everyone. Highly recommended.

Just got back from staying at the Hohe Tauern (catered Chalet) with Crystal Ski. Fantastic accomodation, great dinners and brilliant chalet 'boys'! Would recommend to anyone...cannot speak highly of Crystal right now. Relaxed shared and clean chalet (we were lucky as the other groups were a really nice bunch, and no children in our group that week!).

As for Kaprun itself, nice town. Slopes are good and well maintained (but we did have snow so to be expected I guess). Short ride to Zell Am See brings more slopes to explore.

Quite busy at times and had to queue twice for some time to get on the lifts (Sunday and Tuesday), but on the whole very good. The Glacier there is great, very cold, but great skiing. Nothing is instantly on your doorstep, but all a free 'Dorfbus' ride to where you need to go. Bus very frequent and only ever really busy at 9am and 4.30pm.

Can't comment on childrens activities and snowboarding.

Lessons with the local ski school were very good. Long day but friendly and helpful instructors.

Downsides...erm...none really!
Would recommend anyone going. We had a group of 5, 2 very good skiiers, 2 intermediate and 1 beginner, so suits all needs.

We went to the Snow Park near Zell organised by Crystal for 35 euros each...was fun, but wouldn't really do it again. Would be great for kids and families though.

Transfer is fine, little under 2 hours.

Lovely scenery and good nightlife for a drink or three. Bar Crawl done with Crystal on the Monday proved interesting as you go to Zell for the night which is a larger and more 'happening' town (but then when you are skiing all the time, Kaprun has more than enough for the occasional drink and/or dinner).

First time Boarding and I have to say the Pistes here at Les Arcs were a joy to cruise. Loads of snow and well maintained. Lifts were effective but not fast, and don't use the published lift closure times, go by what's on the lift-clcocks themselves to avoid disappointment.

Stayed in 1950, hotel was excellent, loads of room. Not much in the way of nightlife, but apparently 1800 is the way to go.

Food and drink was expensive, 6-ish euros for a beer, and some of the restaurants were a bit pricey, but Melli's snack bar was very reasonably priced and the Panini's were great. Use the Spar shop and go self-catering for the most cost effective stay.

Transfer to the resort was around 3 hours, although the traffic through Annecy and Bourg-St-Maurice can add a couple of hours at peak times.

However, I would definately return to this resort, with friends or with the family!!!

The dogs bollocks!!!
A must is go Catboarding!!!
And a hot tub!!

CANADA IS ACE

We were lucky enough to have a huge dump of snow on the night we arrived which lasted the whole week we were there. Skiing conditions were perfect with sunny blue skies and lots of snow.

Skiing itself in Arinsal is fairly limited meaning you will get bored of doing the same runs over and over again. Luckily your lift pass is valid in entire val nord region(Arinsal, pal and Arcalis).

If your a beginner this place is perfect for you as the runs are very wide and not very steep. The Ski instructors spoke perfect English and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Night life in the town is pretty good with lots of bars competing for trade. Lots of the bars give you incentives to come in such as a free toastie with every drink between 3-6pm.

The only negative I have to say about Arinsal really is the ski lifts. The main gondola to the bottom of the main ski area broke down one morning meaning we had to wait 45 minutes for a bus replacement to take us up to the ski area. On top of that the main 4 man chair lift to the top of the mountain(which also connects you to the pal resort via the cable car) broke down in the afternoon.

When the four man lift was working its a nightmare getting on(even for experienced skiers) as it doesn't decouple from the couple at the bottom. Once your on it takes ages to get to the top which makes you consider jumping to stop you going crazy!

Another really minor point is the marking of runs is for some reason very confusing. We accidentally ended up a couple of times on a red run with a beginner in our group despite the piste maps and signs saying it was a blue run in pal!

Half an hour bus journey away is the Arcalis ski resort which is covered by your ski pass. You get there from Arinsal via bus in the morning. Its easily the best skiing area out of the 3 with lots of green runs for beginners and more challenging red/black runs for the more advanced skiers. This was also where the snow was at its deepest (around 110cm i think).

All in all a very good weeks skiing by all of us. I would definetly recommend this resort to beginners in particular although everyone can find runs to suite their tastes.

Good resort, good runs with great snow that week. Good boarding parks. Food and drink a little expensive, but all french resorts seem to be.

Would go back

Val Thorens is a resort which would be waisted on beginners. In order to enjoy the skiing at its best you would need to be at least a high intermidate. I am a good skier and I hardly scatched the surface of what the 3 valleys had to offer. We had the best and the worst of the weather the resort had to throw at us. Strong winds which close every lift on our first day and the next day 2ft of powder which made for the best days skiing of my life followed by the next day fog! The good really outwayed the bad in my opinion!!!

The resort itself is a good one with everything you need. the daytime food is not great and is pricey although the nightime food is still expensive but is outstanding as long as you like to eat well.

Would I go back again? Probably. Would I ski the 3 valleys again? Certainly

Long Weekend with the boys and my first time, enjoyed every minute and would highly recommend this resort. Not only are the slopes, lifts and people 5 star but the nightlife is excellent too. Recommend The Pub with the live music, the bands are excellent.

Absolutely AWESOME resort! It's not as "englishified" as I'd feared... Still lots of French bars and Restaurants as well as english run bars.

Nightlife is BRILLIANT (Val Claret is the best area for bars etc)

Skiing is FANTASTIC! Lifts running smoothly and Pistes groomed perfectly.

DEFNINTELY going back!

Lovely town located near the Swiss Border , you actually ski half the time in France and half the time in Switzerland .

It had'nt snowed for a while but the pistes were still good

Great resort for beginners and intermediates , the most challenging run is "the Wall" which is steep with really big moguls .

Accomodation was good and the apres livley , especially the Budha Bar .

Downside is getting on to the piste from Morzine to Avoriaz takes a while and is easy to miss the last lift back and then there is a bus or a 50 euro taxi

A very pleasent resort. However, very expensive. On average 5.5 euros for a beer. 8 euros for a vodka. Food was nice but some places seemed more expensive.

Overall, it was very good. Would go again

I was in Bad Hofgastein, not Bad Gastein, and it's a different kettle of fish altogether... You have access to the same skiing areas as in Gastein, but you have a smaller village, with easier access to restaurants etc. On the flip side, there's very little apres ski to talk of, and very few bars. Not that I/we were looking for a party but it would have been nice to have gone out for a couple... I had a drink at the Park Hotel (5*) on my last evening and I was the only one in the bar at 20:30!

The place would have been perfect if you were serious about your skiing and wanted early nights to be fresh the following day. Trouble is, the skiing isn't that good. The valley consists of five disparate areas, of which two are interconnected by means of ski-lifts. To get to any of the other ones, you have to get all the way back to the resort and get on a ski-bus to go to the next area. Very time consuming and annoying indeed. On my last day. I got to Sport Gastein around 9:30 am to be told that the lifts weren't open all the way to the top. This made it virtually pointless to stay, but I went up once before I got on the next ski-bus back to Hofgastein. I didn't stand on my skis again until 12:15!

Having said all that, it's great if you are a beginner->intermediate. If you are good and demand a little fun outside the piste it would only be good if you were lucky enough to have copious amounts of snow fall...

Cannot speak highly enough about this resort. Our boys learnt to ski here 2 years ago and were on the reds and black run by the end of the week, due to some excellent tuition. Bed and Breakfast is the ideal way to stay. We are returning to the gueat house Brezov Gaj for our third year in Feb 2008. Very friendly resort, swimming available and everything is close at hand, ideal with having kids.

Transfer an hour drive. Flights reasonable try Adria airways and eating out excellent value.Skiing for avvanced limited as ski area not that huge. Fantastic for beginners and nervous/cautious intermediates. Locals fab, very much 'home from home'.

Champoluc is amazing it is the best ski resort ever!!! i cant wait to go again soon

Small resort in Patagonia near the military town of Esquel.
Great place to visit with few people and lots of terrain within easy hiking distance.
Several good pistes and a snowpark.
True Argentinian skiing and snowboarding.
We were recommended this place by http://www.snoventures.com

Been here many times with www.snoventures.com and loved every time.
Only 450 bed spaces and 2.5 hours from Santiago virtually eliminates any skiing.
Often voted one of the World's top ten resorts.

excellent resort and the best skiing in Europe with as many runs as you could possibly hope for to suit all abilities. Its my 4th time back in the 3 valleys and there is still so much to find.

This is the third time I have visited Val Thorens, the first time was in 2001, the new automated lift pass system works well but I would now say that this is a good intermediates resort, not one for novice or advanced skiers, the are no enough true nursery slopes and not enough challenging runs for the more advanced skier but it is a good all round resort.

Make sure you use the full 3 valley ski pass and get across to Meribel & Courchevel.

Apres ski there are plenty of good bars but make sure you book up to eat out in the evening.

On a personal note I would recommend avoiding the Tex-Mex for food, myself & 1 other in my group both had food posioning after eating the chili there.

Great place great people great bars needs more snow to make the home run better.

fantastic resort with the best ski conditions I have encountered in years. Limited ski on/off accommodation however there is a reliable public transport service which is free to all ski pass holders. Locals are very friendly and welcome all guests. Can't wait until next year.

small village, with limited shops and poor restaurants, although hotel was good and links to the piste was excellent. Skiing and snowboarding was fantastic with links to 3 other resorts easily accesible by the lifts

Overall an awesome holiday. Some of the most spectacular sights ever, snowboarding on some of Europes highests pistes. Even a chance to ride on fresh powder when we were there, followed with 5 days of blue skies and sunshine. Couldnt ask for much more!

Plenty of pubs, restarants, and a few clubs to keep you busy at night. The bowling alley is a good bit of fun if you have a chance. Drinks are a bit expensive when out, but there are supermarches dotted all over which offer very good prices for alchoholic refreshments.

Definitely recommended resort by ourselves, looking to go back next year already!

second visit to cervinia and were not dissapointed again! superb weeks skiing in perfect conditions and very good accomodation in the hotel meynet,,same resort,same hotel as last year and an absolute overall perfect holiday,many thanx to all those involved

Great high altitude resort for beginners and intermediates. Few challenging runs for higher intermediates and experts. Good potential for off piste adventures given the right conditions. Too many drag lifts on the higher slopes limits access for snowboarders. Also the snow park was closed all week.
The resort was very quiet the week we were there so night life / apres was quiet too.

A nice resort,very pretty.Accommodation was excellent(the Shonblick).Slightly elevated from the village, with awesome views from the balcony,3 min in a ski bus, 10 min walk, .Nice food .Ski in, Ski out, well 50 m to the piste with a 2 min ski to the train which takes you to the top of the mountain.Massive ski area,all connected up.

Absolutely fantastic for skiing, snow cconditions were superb and the weather was lovey. A really nice place but the only fault was lack of lively apres ski and nightlife. Quite an expensive place also, average price for a beer was 6 Euros.

Recommend Nelly's Resturant and the Brown Cow

Very unfriendly/unhelpful place. Boyfriends skis got stolen on the first day. Hire place extremely unhelpful, only after going back about three times would the actually give us documentation to pass onto the police.

I was there last week 12th - 19th Jan and conditions were perfect. I have never enjoyed such good skiing. It snowed most nights. I want to go again. Lixxie.

Alagna has to be visited to be truly appreciated. This tiny little out of the way village has some of the most epic off piste skiing in Europe. The link with Gressoney and Champoluc makes it an intermediate's dream as well with miles of often deserted pistes for those that don't want to venture into the backcountry. People really should gat a guide and head out though as the terrain is not all "fall and die" stuff with many flattering runs through bowls and between the well spaced pistes.

The village itself is a charmingly rustic affair with a real sense of community that is missing from so many of the larger resorts. If you are after thumping apres-ski then Alagna is probably not for you, but a good time can still be had with a couple of bars open until you leave. The Cafe de les Guides and the Bacher being worthy of note, the latter in particular due to a phenomenal wine cellar.

We travelled with Ski Monterosa, a boutique outfit that provided a wonderfully personal service and took care of the needs of a group of 8 with consumate professionalism. The company is evidently making a great name for itself as another English group we bumped into were returning for their third trip in a row!

The people, the atmosphere, the skiing and truly stunning backdrop of the Monte Rosa region make Alagna a winner. Tell your friends, just not too many!

A very commercial place with loads of bar restaurants. Unfortunately they are all very similar with pretty much the same menu's. the food can be hit n miss, even in the same place and the service is normally erratic. At every meal time, there was ALWAYS at least 1 out of 7 meals that were incorrect or never arrived although the staff were normally freindly.

The ski/board school was very good with great instructors and good value for money. no queueing for the lifts during the week and only a short wait at the weekend when the locals were on the slopes.

a good place for beginers.

Not the prettiest of places with everything very functional but overall a fairly good deal. A good budget holiday.

We arrived in our mini bus to falling snow on the mountain road so snow chains were obligatory, it therefore took about 3 hours to slimb the mountain. A couple of coaches got stuck on the way up but this was exceptional, and it did mean that when we got up to blue skies and sunshine the next day here was plenty of snow. I hadn't been skiing since I was 8 (36 years ago) and now I know what I'e been missing. Other people who have skiied plenty said this was the best snow they had ever known so perhaps we were fortunate. There are literally hundreds of runs in the 3 valleys which would take more than 3 week long ski trips to cover. Lifts were'nt crowded and the longest wait during the week was about 5 minutes. All the resort personnel were friendly, helpful and awake. Nightlife almost absent and yes 2 pints of guiness 2 shorts and a pint of lager did cost 36 euros. Ski school was very good and reasonably priced 32 euros for a 2 3/4 hour lesson or 135 euros for a week of morning lessons. Eating out was quite expensive and we should have taken advantage with simple self catering in our small but bijou 4 person appartment. Next time we will bring more easy to cook meals - because we will definitely be back!!!

Chamonix has something for everyone, being one of the largest resorts in the alps. There is so much to do, both on and off the slopes, and is superb for snowbaording.

Unspoilt quaint town, with good nightlife, food and friendly relaxed atmosphere. Excellent access to ski lifts and no waiting. Friendly and efficient ski hire services.

Good variety of ski runs although slope classification slightly strange and not a place for the absolute beginner.

The ski area is superb, but the various areas have to be reached by bus or train.

Most hotels are in the centre of town, while the gondola for the local area is on the outskirts of the town.

But once up there, you have around 160Km of piste locally, plus access (by free bus/train) to Mayrhofen, Kaltenbach, Finkenberg, etc.

A great resort as it's a picturesque French town rather than a purpose built resort.

The one drawback is the ski areas are spread out along the valley and it is a pain having to use the (free) bus transfers if you don't have a car.

Nevertheless great ski-ing/boarding and massive choice!

The smittenhoe (overlooking zell am see) is not a great snowboarding mountain as it's either icey black or long narrow blue cat tracks to get right to the bottom. The pistes get battered by skiers too.