Posts Tagged ‘saas fee’
Ski + City Breaks in Europe
Make the most of your holiday time with our definitive guide to the best European cities for a short break – before or after a stay in the mountains.
Whether you want to take advantage of cheaper weekday flights, or you just fancy a bit of culture and shopping to enhance your ski holiday, Ski Independence can easily add on a night or two in a city destination.
Here are 7 great cities that work well combined with a ski holiday – with some recommendations of where to stay and what to see while you’re there.
1. Verona – The City of Love
10 Ski Bucket List Experiences in Europe
The last couple of years have taught us just how important travel is for the soul. We all need a break from the everyday. The delight in being somewhere new, admiring spectacular scenery, sampling new food and exploring different terrain on your skis shouldn’t be underestimated.
With this is mind, we’ve put together a bucket list of top ski experiences in our European programme.
1. Marvel at the Mighty Matterhorn (Zermatt, Switzerland)
You’ve seen photos of this iconic mountain but have you seen it in the flesh? It really is as spectacular as it looks. Zermatt is a picture perfect resort and works well for skiers and non-skiers alike. The best views are from the top of the Gornergrat mountain railway at 3100m.
Read the rest of this entry »Our top Hotels for a Christmas Ski Break
If the idea of Christmas spent in the snowy mountains surrounded by friends and family sounds appealing, read on. We’ve selected the best hotels in Europe offering programmes filled with festive fun from sumptuous Christmas dinners to spectacular decorations helping to create that magical festive feel.
Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski, St Moritz
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 »
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
Skiing in September…in Switzerland!
European Product Manager, Claire, has just returned from Switzerland with all the latest news and tales of skiing in Saas Fee!
Brand New Swiss Alps Ski Train
No longer are the French resorts the only place in the Alps easily accessible by train.
If in the past you’ve been put off travelling to the Swiss Alps by train due to the horrible prospect of lugging your skis across Paris to change trains, then things are about to change. A new Swiss train service has been introduced, The Swiss Alps Ski Train, which leaves London St Pancras (with a stop in Ashford) every Saturday during the winter season. After a short and easy change in Lille you are on your way to some of the best ski resorts in the world.
Arrive in Switzerland in style and comfort
Snow, sun and fun in the Swiss Alps
I’ve blogged about the delights of rail travel in Switzerland here before… so the opportunity for Cathy and I to take a 4 day trip to the Swiss Alps, travelling entirely by public transport sounded like a great way to test exactly how easy it is. Now let me begin by saying that I’m not a train geek, but it’s such an easy way to travel and what could be better than sitting in comfort watching the Swiss Alps roll past your window.
Our journey began early. Turns out it was the beginning of the school half term holidays and Edinburgh Airport was busier than I’ve ever seen it.. a queue is bad any time, but at 6am it seems so much worse so it was a relief to arrive into Geneva Airport. By 10.45 we were on our train, just 20 minutes after landing! Read the rest of this entry »
Fact Files: Gareth
Over the years we receive superb feedback on the knowledge, passion and experience of team here at Ski Independence. So we thought it would be an idea to give you a bit of an insight into who’s who..
To start things off, here’s Gareth, our Sales Manager:
For the benefit of our readers could you explain your role at Ski Independence and what you’re responsible for?
I do a bit of everything which keeps my days varied. The bit I enjoy the most though is booking the most amazing holidays for our clients (and myself). Another enjoyable aspect of my job is working with a great bunch of hotel, transfer and on mountain suppliers from all over the world. You get to meet some fantastic people and I think they like working with us too – hence the reason we get some of the best ski deals in the market! We have a fantastic team here in the office and the job wouldn’t be the same without them – I love every minute of my working week with them. Don’t quote me on that over the busiest parts of the season please…! Read the rest of this entry »
Looking for a change next season?
It can often be a habit for us winter sports fanatics to veer towards going on holiday to a well known and well advertised resort.
These big resorts, with the examples of Val d’Isère, Courchevel, St.Anton, Zermatt and Vail, are top places with excellent ski areas but some of their smaller neighboring resorts can also reveal very much hidden gems in both terrain and atmosphere. Small resorts doesn’t necessarily mean small ski area; take Les Coches or Peisey Vallandry in the Paradiski area, or St Martin de Belleville within Les 3 Vallées. Smaller resorts which do have a smaller ski area, such as Les Saisies or Chinaillon, tend to be less busy over peak times, which means less time in queues, more time on the slopes! It is also worth saying these lesser known destinations can be much friendlier on your wallet in terms of buying an après ski drink or going out for a meal and if it is quieter slopes during the peak periods you want, these may fit the bill.
Here’re a few examples of this type of resort and their main benefits along with some ideas for accommodation:
