Chill Chalet was set up in 2000 by Chris Cracknell and Lucy Hughes. They didn’t like the large Tour Operator format, so set out to do something different. They’ve managed to put together a service that’s both tailored to the individuals needs and affordable. The chalet is in Bourg St Maurice, only a 5 minute walk from the funicular that takes you up to La Plagne. The service they offer includes the following:

* bookings on a nightly basis
* breakfast whenever you want it (boy do we like the sound of that!)
* no fixed arrival or departure times
*walking distance from lift and all ammenities
* the ability for you to make hot drinks when you want them
* AND… unlimited biscuits and cakes available all day

Usually to get this kind of service you’d need  to break the bank but amazingly their prices start at just £50 per night. We also particularly like the fact that Teachers get a discount since they ‘don’t think it’s fair that teachers get penalised because they have to travel in the school holidays’ and that they offer a ‘Green incentive’ discount if you travel by train!

This fantastic chalet is obviously very popular and gets booked up quickly so if you fancy giving it a try this season check out the website and get in touch with Chris asap!

If you haven’t got time to take a full week skiing, then why not consider a ski weekend. You can often get nearly as much time skiing as you do in a week with only 2 or even 1 days holiday from work. The problem often is that ski weekends in France can cost nearly as much as a weeks skiing. But…… if you are happy to go with budget options a ski weekend in France needn’t cost a small fortune.

We’ve listed a few good options for ski weekends in the area around Moutiers / Aime La Plagne and Bourg St Maurice, so perfect for a rail ski weekend or with budget flights into Geneva. All these hotels / chalets are available to book for any number of nights.

Ski Weekend Val d’isere

Hotel Les Chardons - ski weekend in twin rooms from €62pp per night including half board. Centrally located in Val d’isere

Hotel La Toviere – ski weekend quadruple rooms from €62pp per night including half board. Prices get more expensive for 2 person rooms. Located on the piste in La Daille (5 mins bus from central Val d’isere, but straight on the La Daille lifts.)

Hotel Relais du Ski – ski weekend with two levels of comfort, ensuites with half board from Euros82pp per night including half board. Budget from €57pp per night with half board. 500 from Val d’isere centre, but 50m from the regular ski bus.

UCPA – the Val d’isere UCPA is great for ski weekends, when they are available. It’s a great weekend, the prices start from €300 but include full board, ski hire and lift passes for Espace Killy! Bargain! You are probably better off booking through Action Outdoors, the UK reseller. FOr some reason they don’t always list the weekends on their website but a phone call to them will find out what they have available.

Ski weekend TIgnes

Chalet Chardons – budget ski weekends, in fact any days available. Situated in Tignes Les Brevieres, the lowest point in Tignes but good links into central Tignes, and a shorter transfer!

Mountain Sun – ski weekend again based in Les Brevieres, but a higher standard of accommodation. Still relatively cheap though! Prices from £63 pp per night, including half board (with wine I think.) Watch out for supplements though

UCPA – ski weekend at the UCPA in Tignes Val Claret  is about 50m from the piste, and there’s a drag lift to the nearest lift so you don’t have to walk uphill. We’ve been on ski weekends early and late (late) season and can guarantee that it’s fab. Read same note about ski weekend deals and booking the UCPA on the Val d’isere entry above.

Ski Weekend Meribel - there’s not many options, but here’s two!

Ski Weekends – do what they say on the tin. Get a ski weekend based in Bride Les Bains from £219 including coach travel from London and half board hotel. Only a 20 minute lift ride from central Meribel.

Activ Experience – get the chalet experience for your ski weekend. Phone them for availability.

Hotel Croix Jean Claude – prices from €86pp per night including half board.

Ski weekend La Tania

Hotel Telemark – run by Ski Inns, it’s a budget hotel that can be booked for any dates. Prices start from £60pp per night including half board with wine.

Ski Weekend La Plagne

UCPA – on the piste in La Plagne 1800. Better comfort than most UCPA’s, rooms for 4 all ensuite. On the piste, literally. Great place to stay. Read same note about UCPA’s from the Val d’isere entry.

Ski Weekend La Rosiere

Auberge du Val Joli -Ski weekends from Euros46pp per night including half board. Week night stays from only €39pp per night including half board.

Whatever you do on your ski weekend in France, make sure that you have everything organised before you go and maximise your time on the slopes. Our top 3 tips for the perfect ski weekend :

1. Many resorts allow you to book ski passes online now like Val d’isere and the Three Valleys, you can get them sent them to your home.
2. Book your ski weekend ski hire online before you go and then you just have to pop in and pick it up – it’s up to 40% cheaper too! Visit SkiSet who have ski hire shops in most French resorts.
3. Go for half board deals, as cheap as apartments are for a ski weekend, with only a few days on the piste, you’ll be grateful for a cooked breakfast and ready made dinner, believe me!

Hotel Aurelio’s winter season starts this year on November 26 – and the Pure Luxury offer is perfectly timed to experience this stunning spa chalet found on the ski slopes of Lech. Guests will be picked up from Zurich or Munich airport by private helicopter, and upon arrival welcomed with a glass of ice-cold champagne before checking into one of the hotel’s huge Aurelio suites. In the evening, a five-course dinner at Aurelio’s, (the hotel restaurant) awaits, designed by Executive Chef, Christian Rescher, (renowned for spoiling guests with his internationally-acclaimed creations). The next day guests are picked up by their own private ski instructor to explore Lech’s slopes. For those who want pure relaxation, a soothing massage at the award-winning Aurelio spa is just one option to end an unforgettable day of active outdoor pursuits. The evening then turns romantic: tucked warmly into a horse drawn sleigh, guests can experience a winter wonderland by night – perfect to build an appetite for Aurelio’s special candle light fondue dinner, perhaps. On their final day guests are invited to try out a new winter sports experience: ride a Segway on snow and ice and explore the awesome winter scenery in a whole new way.

Price of the Hotel Aurelio Luxury Package for two guests, including all above services and ski pass, half-board, and accommodation in an Aurelio Suite: starts at € 8,000 – valid for stays from the middle of December to end of April, high season not included, subject to availability. There is a heli-pad near the Hotel and key airports include: Altenrhein, Friedrichshafen, Innsbruck and Zurich. Visit www.aureliolech.com.

“One of the highest resorts in the alps is a rather unnattractive little resort called Cervinia. Or if you are feeling brave Breuil Cervinia to give it it’s full French Italian name. It is twinned with the much nicer and far prettier Zermatt in Switzerland and on good days you can ski both resorts very well. In summer you would have thought that the place would be deserted except for a few mountain climbers and walkers and with the resort being under the shadow of the beautiful Matterhorn mountain (the picture at the start of the Paramount hollywood films), there certainly are plenty of both. However, Cervinia/Zermatt has a secret up their sleeves, well a secret that most of us don’t know about, but the ski teams of Europe certainly do. The glacier. Which means that you can actually ski all year round in Cervnia. It is not for the faint hearted, because mostly it is the most highly skilled and trained who are there, whizzing down the slalom courses or taking big air in the half pipe that is built each year, ensuring that their skills are not getting rusty.

Summer skiing in Cervinia

It is a wonderful sight to behold. Beautiful scenery, especially as high as the skiing here goes (circa 3500m), coupled with some of the most amazing skiers and snow boarders (with a few amatuers dotted around) all under a beautiful blue sky. The sun is out along with a lot of happy faces and generally lots of fun is being had all round with a good atmosphere. It is a surreal experience and one everyone should undertake at least once in their lifetime.

The upsides are the fact that you are skiing in August, the downsides are that skiing is from 7am until 1pm (the snow becomes too slushy after that) and it is still 41 euros for the (half) day, with only around five or six slopes to explore. But hey, skiing in sunshine, with people wearing t-shirts and shorts is fabulous and for this snow boarder who gets withdrawels during the summer periods it is a way of starving off the summer blues…

Oh, and if you do decide to go, don’t forget your walking boots, your mountain bike and your golf clubs (there is an eighteen hole golf course in Cervinia)…

What more could you want from a real summer break? Who needs a beach, grab your skis and your boards and go to Europe!”

Thanks for the great post Neil.

The Arlberg lift pass covers both the St Anton area and Lech and Zurs area so no need to stop to get a lift pass. What is essentially a large ski area, you will definitely need more than one day to do the area. We only had one day, so we decided to take the White Circle Route which takes a route “fleetingly” around the whole area. More about our day later, onto giving you a general idea about the Lech and Zurs area.

Lech (1450m) is undeniably Austria’s most exclusive resort, along with Zurs and high altitude Oberlech there are six large 5 star hotels here. However it is not entirely exclusive with a chalet in Lech or Zurs costing no more than a similar option in Val d’Isere, Coourchevel and other top ski resorts. Unlike St Anton round the corner, Lech has a refined feel. The hotels are of an excellent standard, and people are just as likely to be seem wondering down the river as they are skiing. However unlike other top resorts there aren’t arcade’s of designer shops here. The real luxury of the resort is it’s charm, with a river running through the centre, the pretty alpine architecture and the warm, friendly, family hotels.

Centre of Lech ski resort

The centre of the resort can however become clogged with traffic, especially at weekends with the base station of the Rufikiopf cable car from the centre. The other cable car from the centre is also the only access available to Oberlech and runs until 1am. Guests staying in Oberlech leave their cars in lech and get up their by cable car. There luggage is delivered through a series of underground tunnels, which in bad weather guests can use too.

Zurs, is the highest of the three resort areas, at 1716m. There is not much of a village here, just a collection of high end hotels built along the busy road. Zurs is the nearest resort to Haus Rauz so you can be in the St Anton ski area in less than half an hour if you’re based in Zurs. Buses are extremely efficient from what we experienced, so make sure you’re on time!  From Zurs you can also get the bus to Lech, as in actual fact the ski is a rather long one.

Zug is the last base in the area and is the cheapest of the three. You can link directly onto the wide pistes above Lech by a 2 man chair lift from Zug, which makes it a handy option.

Zurs ski area looking towards the Trittkopfbahn lift and the free car parks

The skiing in Lech and Zurs seems to contrast completely with technically difficult St Anton. There are only a couple of blacks here and the runs in general feel wider and flatter your ski standard! The snow record is excellent, and they reportedly receive twice the snow of round the corner St Anton (yes unbelievable I think!)  The pistes felt very very quiet, but then we found St Anton to be very crowded so maybe the pistes in Lech were just averagely busy. The lift system is a mixed bag, you’ll ever get high speed 4/6/8 seater heated chairlifts with covers, or old 2 seaters! Luckily these days it is more of the former than the latter.

The main collection of slopes are found on the Oberlech sector and are largely well pisted reds and blues perfect for motorway crusing. Like St Anton the piste map also marks off piste runs (called ski routens), these are marked by diamonds instead of circular piste markers. Most of these are to be avoided if you’re not into off piste, but several are worth a go for the intermerdiate skiier, including the run down from Zurs to Zug (33), part of the White Route. This was a slightly bumpy red run, but wide and with plenty of room to turn.

For off piste officianados then there are some options, don’t be fooled into thinking St Anton is your main option. Probably best to hire a guide to seek out the best areas, but the one thing that is better than St Anton is that it doesn’t all get tracked out within hours.  Off course if you do have time then the off piste in St Anton is legendary and you can take the trip back via the back of the Valluga which can only be navigated with a guide.

The White Ring (Der Weisse Ring) is definitely a great one day activity. It takes you in a circular route around the main areas of Lech sk area and it is this route that we took around the area. You can start from key points, all marked on the map, we started from Zurs. Here is an overview of The White Route as started from Zurs.

As for apres ski in the areas, then it’s certainly not as mad as St Anton, there’s no Mooserwirt equivalent, well not that we could find. Most of the apres ski centred on the hotel bars from the afternoon hotspot of the hotel Montana in Oberlech to almost any of the hotel’s discos. As most people tend to be on Full Board holidays the only restaurants tend to be in the hotels, rather than independent restaurants, but there are plenty of options available.

Personally I loved Lech and the areas around. The skiing really does have that free, expansive feeling, unlike local St Anton. I’d compare it more to Tignes, but perhaps without the difficulty, as it’s quite bleak, but with brilliant motorway pistes. It’s probably a great resort for anyone who’s skiied between 0 and 6 weeks, after that you may get a bit bored unless you’re already throwing yourself down off piste or are happy to commute to St Anton for some harder runs.

Hotel Tirolerhof

On arrival at Hotel Tirolerhof the staff were very friendly and welcoming, also very inquisitive on why we had chosen to drive from the UK. Our room was very spacious with an Austrian twin bed which is basically a double bed consisting of two single mattresses and separate duvets., en-suite bathroom, plenty of storage space, satellite TV and a balcony looking out to the opposite side of the valley. If you’re a light sleeper and like to sleep with the window open then do request a room at the rear of the hotel. However we were on the road side and the double glazing was absolutely amazing, you couldn’t hear a thing…. until you opened the window.

Having freshened up after the long journey hunger was getting the better of us so we made our way to the restaurant. Decorated in Austrian agricultural antiquities and photos from a bygone age the restaurant has an intoxicating alpine feel and with the waitresses dressed in traditional Austrian outfits you felt like an extra in the Sound of Music. Most importantly the food was excellent. Served between 6.30pm to 9pm every night a four course meal is offered consisting of soup, a salad (buffet stye), either a meat or vegetarian option and finally dessert. A menu in German and English was posted in the reception everyday.

Breakfast was a less formal affair served between 7.30am to 10am. The buffet breakfast comprised of cereal, fruit and a selection of meats and cheeses. Along with bottomless orange juice, tea and coffee it certainly sets you up for a day on the slopes.

Other than the standard ski equipment room for storing your equipment (which has wall mounted boot warmers), the hotel also has a well equipped gym, sauna room and car parking.

St Anton is one of the finest ski resorts in the world and accommodation is therefore priced accordingly, that does not seem the case with Hotel Tirolerhof. We paid €550 per person which included a six day ski pass for the Arlberg ski area (includes Lech and Zurs), nearly half the price of other hotels in the area. If anyone has wanted to ski in St Anton but has been priced out of going then Hotel Tirolerhof is the answer.

Finally I would like to say danke schön to all the staff at Hotel Tirolerhof who made our stay very enjoyable and persevered with my basic German! Auf wiedersehen.

1. Head up the Zursersee or Seekopf lifts, then up the Madloch two man (from here you look over to your left and right to some short off piste runs, perfect for newbies to off piste).

The White Ring - above Zug about to do Ski Routen 33

2. Take Ski Routen number 33, which is not pisted but absolutely fine when we were there. This heads down into Zug and is a gorgeous run, one of my favourites from the day.

3. From Zug take the Zugerberg 2 man up over Zug and the forest. At the top is the Palmen Alp restaurant, which would be great for a pitstop (looked a bit expensive for us!)

4. From here there is a handy rope tow to lead you into the main Lech ski area.

5. Then you have a few choices, if you’re not in a rush spend some time enjoying the wide reds and blues in this area but if you’re on a challenge then head straight down Blue 34 which leads you all the way down to Lech.

6. Walk across the road to the Rufikopf cable car then back towards Zurs via red 38a or blue 38.

7. Take the Schuttboden drag then blue 38a.

8. Finally follow run 3 which will take you back to the car park in Zurs. 

The White Ring route in Lech / Zurs is marked with signposts all the way round if you get a little lost, or just want to take memento pictures of your day.

If doing the White Ring route for fun doesn’t quite do it for you, then every year in January a race is held. Around 300 competitors set off to complete the White Ring route in the quickest time. Currently the record is an amazing 44:35:07 by Olympic Downhill (2006) winner Patrick Ortlieb, although he was only a guest competitor rather than an official one – the record still stands.

St Anton has 2 lift linked ski resorts, St Christoph and Stuben. St Christoph is famous for the Hospiz, it has an extensive history, starting life as a monestary and being rebuilt many times, it is now an exclusive 5 star hotel. The Hospiz dominates St Christoph village which is geared towards affluent visitors who shun noisy nightlife.

Stuben is quieter still, with several affordable family run hotels. Until 2001 Nasserein was a poor relation to St Anton, being linked only by bus, but in 2001 the Nasserein Bubble was added that will take you up to Gampen, now Nasserein provides cheaper accommodation with excellent access to the skiing and with only a quick bus ride or 10-15 minute walk to St Anton itself.

St Anton Ski Area

View from Kapall, with the lift open / close signs availbale at all major points

The St Anton ski area includes three main areas, the south facing Galzig / Valluga area pistes, accessed mainly by the Galzig bahn and the Kapall area, accessed to Gampen by the Gampen Chair or the Nasserein bahn. The other St Anton ski area faces north, Rendl and is accessed from the new Rendlbahn.

There are beginner nursery slopes located on the main St Anton pistes and in the Nasserein area. I’d recommend using the beginners slopes in the Nasserein area as it’s more extensive and seemed to be quieter. However St Anton is really not a beginners resort, usually about 3 days into the first week of lessons you would progress up the mountain, but I can’t think of a single blue that I would have fancied going down after 3 days of lessons! If you’re adventurous and with some gusto then I’m sure you would improve at St Anton far quicker than you would at any other resort.

It is advanced and expert skiiers that will enjoy St Anton the most. For intermediates the blue runs are potentially red runs in other resorts, although I did feel that the red and black runs weren’t massively harder than other resorts. For those looking to progress to expert skiiers then you have the option of the Ski Routen runs, marked by diamond piste markers instead of circles. These are marked off piste runs which are provided to provide a safer route down (note they are not patrolled though and avalanche care still needs to be taken.) In reality though most were well trodden and a good, safe challenge. For experts there is plentiful off piste to be tried within the resort, including the famous run off the back of the Valluga only accessible from the Valluga II cable car, which you are only allowed up if accommpanied by a guide. This run leads back to Zurs and is the only way to reach Zurs without getting on a bus or driving.

Intermediates may best enjoy Stuben’s North slopes, they will be best in the area in warm weather, but of course will be on the chilly side! There are several great reds here with views up the mountain to Zurs and Lech. When we went this was definitely a quieter area that the main St Anton areas. There were certainly no lift queues here, but you will be riding several old 2 man chairs so don’t be in a rush to get anywhere here.

The design forward Galzig Bahn - St Anton

Speaking of lift queues, at Easter there weren’t really many considering it was the holiday season. At the Nasserein bahn, yes the queue looked longish, but actually was not more than 10 minutes in the morning “rush hour”. At other times there was around a 2 minute wait to be had. The other lifts barely had queues at all, but the one we struggled with most was the connector chairlift between Kappall and Galzig areas, the Zammermoos, this provides good access without going back to St Anton but you may have a 15 minutes wait on your hands, this is made worse by the fact it’s also at the end of the only black run in the Galzig area (number 2). Most other chair lifts are fast and new 4 / 6 seaters, some of which are heated, a godsend in colder weather. The other thing to add about the lift system, is that the designers really have thought about the usability of the lifts, the Galzig bahn now is accessed at the ground and then loops up to reach the wire (see picture), there are escalators at the Rendlbahn and Nasserein bahn from ground to bring you up to the lift, at most lifts there are moving carpets to ease you on and many have heated seats.

The Kappall area provides what feel like less skiing as it’s more compact but does have several good blue and red runs, and also a lovely black that runs all the way from the top lift down to the Nasserein bahn. The other area is the Rendl area, this year December 2009, the new Rendl bahn was opened, moving the access to this area into the centre of town (100 metres from the Galzig bahn). The bubble is an 8 seater and heated and cuts the lift time on the previous bubble by a third. The Rendl is again an intermediates playground with some good reds and the only snow park in St Anton. There are also several blues but the only way down is by a windy long red, however you could get the bubble back down instead of navigating this.

St Anton Apres Ski

The legendary apres ski bar in St Anton - The Mooserwirt

The apres ski in St Anton is legendary and centres around several piste side mountain restaurants until the early evening. The Krazy Kangaruh, just off the main run from the Galzig area was the first. However in more recent times the Mooserwirt, on the other side of the piste, has become more popular. This plays traditional German folk music mainly and is pumping by mid afternoon. Be warned it will be absolutely rammed, so get there earliesh to get a space for a large group. The ski back to town (they both close at 8pm) is a snow cannon slalom, short but often performed imperfectly.

Hotel Tirolerhof - St Jakob near St Anton

There is plenty of accommodation in and around St Anton, we stayed in St Jakob, just 2km down the road from Nasserein and only 4 minutes on the number 5 bus (leaving at 08-40, 9am and 20 minutes there after in the mornings. The hotel was called Hotel Tirolerhof and it really is a great option if you’re looking for a good value hotel in or around St Anton. However if you really must stay in St Anton, try Crystal Ski . There are also many many Pensions (B&B) find all of these on the St Anton tourist website, but one very reasonable one is the Haus Rali from 275 euros per person for a week including a 6 day lift pass. Buses connect all the main area, and they are extremely efficient, don’t be late, because they won’t wait (as we discovered)!

Our verdict on St Anton ski resort

All in all we loved St Anton ski resort, it’s a great area for progressive skiers, though not a great area for beginners, and a brilliant area for apres ski lovers.

Also check out our posts on the lush Arlberg Well.com spa and Lech and Zurs ski areas (available to ski on your lift pass though only accessible by road.)

Well.com spa is situated in the centre of St Anton and is open until 10pm every day in the ski season. We visited on a slightly dreary afternoon with snow forecasted to fall that evening, so we thought it would be the perfect time for a spa trip.

There are many facilities to use at Well.com St Anton including the following ; a superbly equipped fitness studio is available for your training and exercise, massage treatments,  ice skating rink, ice curling lanes, tennis, outdoor clay courts as well as indoor courts are available. Of course then there is the spa area

We opted for the sauna and swimming option (16.50euros each). The sauna is a traditional Austrian sauna (i.e. no swimming costumes allowed) so do be aware of this if you, like us, are typical Brits!!

But when in Rome……. we eventually did venture into the sauna area and there are several traditional sauna’s available and also a steam room. There are also numerous loungers for relaxing in the warm areas, so make sure you take something to read. After warming up in the sauna we headed for the swimming area.

We went after skiing finished, at about 4pm and perhaps we could have left it a little later as the swimming area was busy with children, however if you have got children then obviously this is the time to go!! The swimming area consisted of an indoor poor with several Jacuzzi areas, and waterfalls, great as a pummelling massage! Then pop through the gateway and you’re in a gorgeous outdoor Jacuzzi, whirlpool area. It is really a great feeling to be sitting in the warm water whilst it’s snowing (or not).

There is also a 25metre (I think) pool, so if you haven’t worn yourself out skiing you can do some lengths to work up an appetite. This 25metre pool was quite quiet and therefore great if you really were looking to do some exercise. Afterwards there is a café bar next door which offer some light bites for a pre dinner snack.

I would definitely recommend a visit to the Alberg Well.com in St Anton, it will truly chill you out after a long day skiing and is great for revitalising those weary limbs! You can find out more about Arlberg Well.com on their website.

We spent the first couple of hours in and around the Gampen and Kapall area blowing off the cob webs by skiing; the blue and red runs and also experiencing a T-bar lift for the first time in 20 years. After a quick pit stop in the Heusstadl mountain restaurant we headed towards the Galzig area then up to Schindler Spitze. The red and blue run from Schindler Spitze to Alpe Rauz was very bumpy and ideal for picking holes in any un-technical skiing style (like mine). After this leg burning run we headed back to the Galzig and stopped for a bite to eat. Post lunch skiing involved the busy blue run back to the Mattun lift then skiing down the black and runs from Kapall to the bars at the Nasserein lift for a well deserved après drink.

Though it snowed last night (approx 10cms at resort level) the increased temperature and number of skiers the majority of the runs were becoming bumpy, especially the final 500 metres into St Anton. With the temperature predicted to stay above freezing on Tuesday it would be wise to ski as high as possible or maybe head to the north facing slopes where the conditions maybe better. We’ll keep you posted. Auf wiedersehen.