Archive for ‘Switzerland’
Top Tips for a Successful New Year Ski Holiday
Celebrations in Morzine
Along with the partying, eating copious amounts of food and celebrating in the streets, one of the most integral elements of a New Year ski holiday is snow. The start of the year is generally a great time to ski in Europe, however snow cover in late December and early January can vary from resort to resort, so why not pick our brains for information on the most snow-sure destinations?
Our knowledgeable reservations team will be more than happy to talk through your requirements and point you in the right direction. So whether you’re looking for wild après, the ultimate in-resort dining or high altitude slopes, we’ll do our best to make sure you bring in 2019 in style.
La Folie Douce on the slopes of Val Thorens
Here are just a few of our picks for high-altitude early-season skiing in Europe:
Verbier, Switzerland
The highest slopes sit at 3,300m, ensuring snowy mountains throughout the season.
Tignes, France
Great piste-grooming and high altitude make Tignes a dependable New Year resort!
Val Thorens, France
The village sits at 2,300m, making it the highest resort in the Alps and a snow-sure destination.
Our Top Tips
1. Once you’ve decided where to go, make the most of the mountain by letting us organise your instructor. Whether its group or private lessons, we can help!
2. Book your lift pass before you travel. With the majority of our French resorts, we can send your hands-free cards out with your travel documentation to ensure you’re not waiting to get on the slopes. Read the rest of this entry »
New in Zermatt for 2018/19 Ski Holidays
Zermatt offers snow-sure, unique skiing in the shadow of the famous Matterhorn. Surrounded by mighty summits, on offer is over 350km of pistes, with easy connections between Zermatt and the neighbouring Italian resort of Cervinia. As well as awesome skiing, the car-free village of Zermatt has a lively après-ski scene with plenty of restaurants serving everything from traditional Swiss cuisine to Italian pizza and several bars to enjoy live sports or dance until the early hours. Add in a handful of four and five-star luxury hotels, and Zermatt has all the ingredients for a great getaway.
So what’s new in Zermatt in 2018/19? While the resort offers the same quality experience year after year, we’ve put together a list of some of the exciting new additions for the upcoming season.
© Pascal Gertschen
Lifts & Access
The world’s highest 3S (three cable) Cableway, the Matterhorn Glacier Ride, will start operating in Zermatt in December and will transport passengers from Zermatt up to the Matterhorn glacier paradise. Enjoy the glorious panoramic views of the surrounding mountain range as you travel in luxury cable cars – a handful of which have been encrusted with Swarovski crystals and even feature a floor that becomes translucent three minutes into the journey!
The Matterhorn Glacier Ride (copyright Zermatt Bergbahnen)
10 of the Best Luxury Ski Escapes this winter with Ski Independence
It takes a special blend of ingredients to create an unforgettable luxury ski escape. Beautiful surroundings, luxurious facilities, first-class service and outstanding food – to name but a few.
That said, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to luxury ski holidays. Whether you’re looking for a peaceful getaway in an alpine village or an action-packed break in a lively resort, it’s all about finding the perfect 5-star ski holiday for you.
Why not take a look at our pick of the best luxury ski escapes this winter for a little inspiration?
Hotel W, Verbier
Best for: urban decor and stylish après ski.
Our Pick of the Best Family Ski Holidays
Our top 9 recommendations for 2018/19
A family ski holiday is one of life’s great pleasures. There’s nothing quite like being together in the fresh air of the mountains, watching your children grow in confidence and ability. Ski Independence have been a family ski holiday specialist for 25 years and we know from experience that the bet family ski holidays take a lot of careful planning and a good dose of detailed knowledge – so why not leave it to us? We’ve highlighted some of our recommendations for the best family ski holidays for next winter, and if you don’t see what you fancy below we’re happy to recommend a huge range of alternative destinations, accommodation & activities to suit your family. So, in no particular order…
The excellent nursery slopes at Aspen Snowmass
1. Les Gets, France
A short transfer from Geneva and a traditional pretty village are often two sought-after points on a family holiday wish list and Les Gets more than ticks these boxes. The centre of the village is lined with shops and restaurants serving a selection of Savoyard specialities along with a couple of lively bars offering laid back après-ski. Read the rest of this entry »
Swiss Twin-Centre Luxury Skiing
“These last few days in Switzerland have been more relaxing than our honeymoon!” announced my husband of seven months whilst lying in the 38°C water of the ‘warm bath’ in the Chedi Andermatt’s spa. There’s no way I could disagree – we had loved our Canadian road trip right after getting married, but it was not in the same ball park in terms of kicking back and totally de-stressing.
Getting There
We began our Swiss twin-centre luxury skiing trip by flying in to Geneva and then transferring up to resort in true Swiss fashion… starting with the iconic red trains. The views, the efficiency and the space on-board all make travelling by train a very different experience than in the UK. Our first resort was Saas Fee and this involved changing in Visp and taking the bright yellow Post bus to the resort. We weaved our way up to the entrance of Saas Fee and stood in the sunshine for the hotel’s electric taxi to pick us up. For the uninitiated, a handful of Swiss resorts are car-free (Saas Fee and Zermatt among them) and to get around, the equivalent of a covered golf buggy ferries people, luggage and supplies around the resort making for a peaceful and noticeably cleaner village centre. Read the rest of this entry »
European Ski Extras Service Better than Ever!
Hitting the slopes hassle-free in Flaine
Saved time on the first day having lift tickets!
James, Flaine, February 2017
Booking the right lift passes, ski & snowboard tuition and rental equipment for your ski holiday can be a daunting prospect. Should I book a local or full area lift pass? Is it better to book full or half day lessons? Where will I be able to pick up my rental equipment?
Top 5 Short Break Tips
Short breaks or ski weekends are becoming more and more popular so we thought we’d put together our top 5 short break tips for skiers.
1. Be flexible; To get the best price and the best availability have a bit of flexibility in your dates. We can book from many local airports in the UK but the prices tend to rise from Thursday to Sunday (as does accommodation cost sometimes) so if you’re looking for the best price then mid-week might suit best.
Kempinski – St. Moritz
2. Avoid school holidays; There are very few hotels or apartments that will accept short stays over the Christmas / New Year holidays or the February holidays (that stretch in to March on mainland Europe) so keeping clear of these dates will give most flexibility. Read the rest of this entry »
Ski Resort Updates – 1 December 2016
The 2016/17 winter season is officially underway! Here is a short roundup of recent news and images to inspire your next ski holiday. From early resort openings in France and Canada to record snowfalls for the time of year, we can’t wait to get out there and ski! The first of our resort visits for the season start today – our Sales Manager, Gareth, is off to Verbier whilst Ski Specialist, David, is heading out to Colorado.
Whistler Blackcomb Open Ahead of Schedule
It has been nothing short of a brilliant start to winter for British Columbia’s ski resorts, with huge snowfalls early on. Whistler is celebrating its biggest November snow base in 6 years. Watch this video from Whistler’s opening day:
>> Find out more about Making the most of Whistler Blackcomb
Also Open for Winter 2016/17
- Banff and Lake Louise: Lake Louise Ski Resort has been open since Friday 18th November and the famed Delirium Dive at Sunshine Village is now operational too. These superb Alberta ski resorts are off to an incredible start to the season, with yet another storm system passing through this weekend.
New Year Skiing – Our Recommendations
117 days and counting…
It may feel like there’s plenty of time between now and the bells chiming the start of 2017 but we’ll be linking arms and trying to remember anything past the first verse of Auld Lang Syne before you can say Hogmanay.
Fireworks over Val d’Isère (image: Andyparant.com)
Without wanting to wish away the autumn, it definitely pays to be organised and sort out your plans for the 31st December. And where better to see in another year than surrounded by mountains and enjoying some of the very best alpine hospitality? Not to mention a New Year’s Day spent on the slopes, where the effects of the night before always seem to be magically banished.
Here’s a few of our favourite resorts to enjoy New Year skiing in Winter 2016/17:
A Short Break in Saas Fee
I don’t need to tell you that January can leave you feeling a bit blue. Christmas is over, the days still so short and with recent downpours around the country it’s the kind of month I want to run away screaming into the hills from, which this January is exactly what I decided to do. Running away for the entire month apparently wasn’t an option however to my delight running away for a few days seemed a bit more feasible. So a short break in Saas Fee it was!
This would be my first short break and it feels ridiculously luxurious to start the working week like everyone else then smugly skip off to the snowy mountains much to the envy of your snow loving colleagues. As the one who is usually waving others off my guilt at this was limited.
The reviews of Saas Fee from clients this season have been excellent, see below, so I decided I had to get in on the action:
“The Hotel Allalin was wonderful. Clean and tastefully decorated, friendly helpful staff and wonderful food. The rooms were spacious. The whole experience was quite exceptional.” Michelle Dec 2015
Brushing off the January blues
