The best deals for the ski season
FANTASTIC snow conditions last winter – the best in 40 years – has triggered a rush in bookings among ski fans for the new season. But don’t panic, let us guide you to the perfect slopes for you.
BEST FOR SHORT BREAKS
SHOP around for the best deals. Check out Crystal Ski, Abbey Travel, Topflight and Click&Go.
Tip: To reduce stress, keep flights and transfers to a minimum. INNSBRUCK Just 7km away from the Nordkette-Seegrube (accessed by ski bus), the ski bus stop is outside the hotel.
Stay: Seven nights’ B&B in the family-run Hotel Zillertal in Innsbruck costs for €1354 for two adults sharing, departing Dublin January 12 (crystalski.ie).
Eat: The Seegrube Restaurant is 1,900m above sea level and is a real chill-out zone. The Nordkettenbahn cable cars transport visitors on Fridays at a reduced price after 6pm from Hungerburg to Seegrube, and the final carriage into the valley leaves at 11.30pm. Risotto is a speciality, and treat your kids to schnitzel. GENEVA The Alpine gateway is good for nearby French resorts including Flaine, Morzine, Megeve and Chamonix, or the Swiss resorts of Villars and Champery.
Stay: Three nights at the majestic, 105-year-old Villars Palace (villarspalace.ch) on a half-board basis from January 12 now costs €555pp. The price is based on two sharing and includes use of the hotel’s spa, lunch on the mountain, lift passes, ski rentals and ski lockers. Flights cost from €143 return (aerlingus. com), while car hire for four days costs €210 (sixt.com).
Eat: Tuck into roasted ham knuckle in alpine honey at L’étable (etablegryon.ch), a pretty, converted cowshed on the Villars slopes opposite the Croix des Chaux chairlift. TURIN The Italian city is close to Courmayeur, Champoluc, Sauze d’Oulx and Sestriere.
Stay: Hospitality offered by Andrea and Patrizia, owners of Hotel Bouton d’Or in Courmayeur, elevates their B&B beyond three stars. And what a breakfast: home-made breads, cakes and jams, cheeses and sizzling egg and bacon skillets. Four nights’ B&B departing January 28, based on two sharing and including BA flights and Avis hire car, costs €682pp (momentum ski.com).
Eat: You’re spoilt for choice in Courmayeur. Maison Vieille is adorned with picnic tables and rows of deckchairs to sip prosecco before enjoying plates of salamis, cured hams and cheeses, or homemade pasta.
BEST FOR CHEAP DEALS
Eastern Europe offers cheap skiing but the terrain can be limited for strong skiers, the ski lifts are worryingly outdated, and resorts are purgatory for foodies. Infrastructure can appear bleak and soulless. Of Slovenia, Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria, go for:
Bansko: Open spaces and a warren of cobbled lanes throughout the unspoilt old town reveal abundant mehanas offering a warm welcome,
and the ski area genuinely delivers terrain for all abilities.
Stay: A double room at the four-star Hotel Lion, with indoor pool, spa and private shuttle to the ski lifts, costs €503pp departing January 5 (balkanholidays. com).
Tip: Visit the imposing Holy Trinity church. Sip cocktails in the Buddha Bar or savour Bulgarian vintages at Wine Bar 25.
Eat: Peshterite’s wood cabin, just off the Chalin Valog piste, serves grilled specialities including delicious ribs and horse sausage, or pork and vegetables baked in clay pots.
The shepherd salad, topped with Bulgarian cheese, is great washed down with rakia, a delicious fruit brandy. PYRENEES Whether perennial Irish favourite Andorra, Spain or France, this striking mountain range offers a worthy budget alternative to eastern Europe. FONT-ROMEU A Catalan gem in French Pyrenees-Orientale. Not for experts, but this attractive ski area rises to the Pointe de Vue at 6,500ft, where you can scope neighbouring resorts skiable on a joint lift pass. Stay: A studio at Residence Le Pedrou, which sleeps four, costs €266pp for seven nights, departing January 19 (pierreetvacances.com). Return flights to Toulouse cost from €120 (lufthansa.com) and car hire from €140 (rentalcars.com).
Tip: Take time at the end of the day to marvel at the world’s largest solar furnace – a field of 10,000 mirrors. Keep your sunglasses on.
Eat: The local boulangerie, boucherie and delicatessens offer mouthwatering delights. For dinner, try Table des Saveurs for delicious turbot, crab, scallop and lobster. LES ANGLES This enchanting resort is the home of Lake Matemale, which looks as if you can ski straight in to it from 6,500ft.
Stay: A seven-night stay in a twoperson apartment in Chalet Ana, with a communal hot tub and sauna opening out to the garden, costs €890 (chalet-ana.com). A six-day lift pass covering Les Angles and Font-Romeu costs €222pp.
Tip: Not all Pyrenean resorts have bona fide black runs but here there are eight. Test your nerve on the three named after hunting birds that swoop from these skies: hawk, royal eagle and vulture.
Eat: Chez Antoine, a carnivore’s heaven overlooking the lake, features Catalan specialities such as picoulats – balls of pork, beef, olives, ceps, carrots and coriander.
BEST FOR ADULTS
LA PLAGNE An enchanting ski-in, ski out village. Three-star Residence Plagne Lauze is made up of seven wood and stone-clad buildings. The main, chalet-style building has a squash court, sauna, and games room. There is also a cosy bar within the complex. And best of all, there is an outdoor heated swimming pool with great views of the mountains. Residence Plagne Lauze is less than five minutes’ walk from the nearest lift. Stay: Topflight (topflight.ie) offers a one-bedroom apartment for seven nights from January 12 for €1,304pps for two including Aer Lingus flights. MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO In the heart of the Dolomites, these stunning mountains attract skiers, snowboarders and artists in equal number.
Stay: Seven nights’ half board in a double room at the four-star Hotel Gianna (hotelgianna.it) from January 12 costs €1,892. The hotel offers an excellent restaurant, pool, sauna, complimentary shuttles to the lifts and afternoon tea. The price includes two six-day lift passes. Return flights to Verona from €259 (aerlingus. com). Return transfers €55 (fly skishuttle.com).