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  4 of 5, "Serre Chevalier March 2008" 25/04/2008 @ 21:19:13 |
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| 1 member has given this review a rating of 4 of 5 |
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| Price Paid |
| 300 |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Neilson |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
There was a group of 4 of us that stayed in self catering apartments in Villeneuve L'alpaga apartments 3*. The apartments said it would sleep 4, however when we got there it the one that we were allocated could easily sleep 6. It had a double bedroom and bathroom upstairs, downstairs in the living area were two twin beds/sofas which had a pull out single bed under each. The living area was large with dining table/chairs, kitchen and further bathroom and wardrobe space. Lockers for all your kit were downstairs.
The accomodation was about a 5-10 min walk from the slopes and opposite the bus stop for the other villages and the ski trolley/bus local transport around the village.
We were there for a week, 3 boarders and 1 skier. We had a few private lessons from a snow school called Snow Connections. They have an office in the village, speak good english and it is easy to book with them. Their instructors speak good english, and it was the best instruction we have all ever received!!!Def recommend a chap called Nicolas for snowboarding and a chap called Guy for all the skiers!
We ate out a few nights during the week, our favourite would definately be a place called Mojo's, its run by an english couple but they have an amazing chef..food is fantastic.
We ate a bar called the Grotte, its a typical pub food type of place, nothing special
There is also a tiny restaurant called something like the (excuse the translation) the restaurant over/on the small bridge, its in Villeneuve. We all felt ill after eating here and never went back!
We had some good snow for the majority of the week despite it being sunny and warm, first thing in the morning it was a bit icy in places, but generally not too bad. (march 2008) When it gets a bit windy they stop the chair lifts/gondolas, and if your stuck in them they make you carry your board on the outside, and you're constantly worrying its about to fall out! so if you're sneaky you can try and get it in the gondola with you.
THe runs were ace, great resort for all abilities, the park was split into three sections and the jumps were graded blue, red and black. There was some great powder on the last couple of days of our trip..so deep i got stuck in it at one point!!!
Its a big ski area loads of variety would definately recommend that people go. |
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| Strengths |
Size of the ski area
Snow connections ski school
French food!!!! |
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| Hot Spots |
Mojo's
Any Patisserie in the village! |
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| Weaknesses |
| Not the greatest party resort |
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 4.5 of 5, "Serre Chevalier Great Mountains Poor Apres Ski" 06/01/2007 @ 20:16:45 |
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| Price Paid |
| £450 |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Snow Line |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
Serre Chevalier is one of France premier resorts if all your after is riding the slopes. My party stopped in the middle village of I think 4 called Villenuve.
Its very traditional quiet mountain village with a good mix of nationalities and very few bars for those of you who like a drink. Its the first time ive done apres ski in the purist form. i.e. Getting down of the mountain having a few drinks then getting back to the chalet. Small choice of eating places all of which were not upto scratch
Which was a benefit because I got far more boarding done then in a usual beer infested holiday which was great. The choice of piste is immense and there is something for everybody, the lift systems are great as are the mountain restauraunts. The slopes are super wide and its always guarenteed to be sunny.
Ill defo go back to Ser Che purely for the piste and not to get pisted (Old joke I know)
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| Strengths |
| The slopes |
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| Hot Spots |
| Yeti Bar |
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| Weaknesses |
| Poor Apres Ski and choice of Decent restaraunts |
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| Reviews: 1 |
| Gloucestershire |
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| 4.5 of 5, "Serre Che - c'est tres gay!" 30/03/2006 @ 23:39:57 |
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| Price Paid |
| 199 |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Equity |
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| Times Visited |
| 2-5 Times |
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| Review Detail |
Just returned from the best week away so far.. dirt cheap last minute deal.. 3 days of snow and 3 of blazing sunshine.. nice clean chalet hotel, Le Grand Aigle in Le Bez, right at the bottom of the run home and a minutes ride down to the Pontillas bubble.. good food.. great staff especially the gorgeous rep Jennifer Juniper.. and the important bit - awesome riding.. deep deep base after weeks of snow with fresh sprinklings on a regular basis made the fantastic terrain this place offers - gullies all over the place for arsing about in, tree runs from almost every piste with another piste at the bottom and immaculately groomed pistes every morning for carving.. some of the worst drags from 4 years ago have either been replaced, Foret with a 6 man chair, or slowed down so no more involuntary 10 feet of airtime at lift-off ... only down was that it was ridiculously hot - 4 degrees at 2100 at 9 in the morning!
Last run was backcountry in 2 feet of almost untracked pow down Les Grandes Pres between Villeneuve and Monetier followed by a scramble over snow covered bouldered river bed at the bottom with a bunch of crazy french dudes... proper bo!.. |
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| Strengths |
| Monetier area, terrain, off-piste opportunites, compact yet very tourable, 300 days of sunshine a year, mountain restaurants (L'Echaillon in particular with a hilarious skidoo track down to the chair after lunch), free bus the length of the valley included in cheap pass - £115... and you get to fly into Turin airport full of gorgeous Italian babes! |
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| Hot Spots |
| Loco Loco has lost Patrice!.. Still a nice bar though.. check out his kitchen/bar Le Club in Briancon if you're down there at lunch time.. 5 mins up the hill at 3 Rue Central in the old town - awesome club sandwiches and chilled chilled tunes.. Swedish bar in La Fermiere just up the hill from LL on a Thursday night.. LB in Le Lievre Blanc.. |
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| Weaknesses |
| Still a few too many slow chairs and drags.. Villeneuve is not the prettiest of 'resorts' but Le Bez is gorgeous with lots of nice looking restaurants - didn't try any so can't comment on food.. |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Les Arcs, Whistler - in a way!.. |
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| Reviews: 34 |
| Review Mod |
| Kirkcudbrightshire |
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| 4 of 5 13/10/2002 @ 11:33:29 |
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| Price Paid |
| n/a |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| n/a |
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| Times Visited |
| 2-5 Times |
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| Review Detail |
This is an area that i like a lot. I have been lucky enough to have spent three weeks here each January for the past four years. We have always had good snow cover except for this year when most of the upper areas were closed, but the lower areas had great artificial snow which was superb to ride and ski on.
Serre Chevalier consists of four main areas spread along the valley floor from Briancon(highest town in France) to Monetier with Villeneuve and Chantemerle in between. You can get to Serre Chevalier from Milan or Turin via Montgenevre but the most common way is over the Col du Lautaret from Grenoble passing Alpe dHuez,Le Deux Alpes and the legendary cult resort of La Grave set at the foot of the mighty La Meije (3980m). This is a really scenic drive but the road gets narrow and twisty at times and on more than one occasion we have had to get the snow chains on.
This resort is a lot bigger than a lot of people imagine and it basically does have something for every ability level. It has plenty of runs through the trees and some good open bowls higher up that allow access to plenty of varied off-piste terrain. The runs from above Briancon offer superb views over the old town and through the valley towards Italy. This is the lowest part of the area but the man-made snow back to town is good and plentiful. It can be a weird feeling when it is only the piste that is white and the area round about is green grass. The next main village is Chantemerle where the Luc Alphand race piste sweeps steeply down to the road. Above here you will find a selection of lifts opening up a large area of varied runs where you can link over to Villeneuve. This is the place we always stay and with it being central it makes it quite easy to reach the other areas. There are some good long and fairly steep in places runs back down to base. The highest village is Monetier(1500m).The area above here offers the best terrain in my opinion. The Tabuc area is quite remote and quiet and steep in places but has also some flat parts near the bottom. At the top here there are usually plenty of places to go off-piste as well as a really big natural halfpipe above the Bachus restaurant.
Serre Chevalier is a mix of the old traditional French village and the ugly modern ski station developments, but these do not dominate the place. There are plenty of really good small French restaurants, especially in the old parts of both Villeneuve and Monetier and unlike many other resorts in France, not too expensive. There is also a McDonalds in Briancon.
The nightlife here is not the wildest in the Alps but most people should find something to keep them happy. There are a lot of visitors from Norway,Sweden and especially Finland and Latvia. Our "local" is Le Frog in Villeneuve which is owned by Luc Alphands cousin and his Scottish wife. Luc Alphand was twice world skiing champion in the late 1990s and now owns a brewery nearby which produces its own ales for sale in local bars.
In January there is a round of the Trophee Andross held on the ice circuit where you can watch some of the top drivers competing on the ice. It is a really good night out but do wrap up warm!
It surprises me that there are not a lot more British boarders out here as there is an abundance of off-piste oportunities as well as a lot of fun parks. In Villeneuve there is a halfpipe and boarder cross circuit and there always seems to be competitions going on. There is also a halfpipe above Chantemerle and a Big-air down at Briancon. The lifts are generally boarder friendly but i do not like the one you have to use to link back to Villeneuve from Monetier as it is a long, quite steep drag with a violent tug at the start!
All the villages have a good selection of equipment and clothing shops as well as supermarkets,bakerys etc etc..
The local French people here are friendlier than you find in a lot of other parts of France and the Ecloe du Ski Francais has a good reputation. We have used local instructors in the past for race training and have found them most helpfull.
If you are thinking of somewhere a little different from the normal for your next winter holiday you could do much worse than give "Le Grand Ser Che" a chance
P.S. You would think i worked for the local tourist office but i dont.... not yet! |
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| Strengths |
A big area with something for all abilities.
Reasonably priced lift pass.(hands free)
Good places to eat.
Lots of accomodation. |
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| Weaknesses |
Limited nightlife.
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Over 100 resorts worldwide. |
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| 4 of 5 18/03/2002 @ 02:33:00 |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Non-Package |
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| Times Visited |
| 2-5 Times |
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| Review Detail |
Recent fresh snow made for good conditions in the Serre Chevallier area.
The area itself is split into four sections, each large enough to enjoy for a few days without getting bored. The high end of the valley at Monetier tends to get the better snow, but is also the smallest of the four areas, and the quietest village.
Briancon, at the other, lower end of the valley is quite a large town, and offers easy access to the central regions where the best riding is to be found.
The ski area is pretty open and varied, and has some wide and gentle pistes ideal for beginners. There are some good off-piste areas too, but a lot were well-trodden by the time I got there!
In Briancon centre there is a park with a couple of kickers and rails, and in Villeneuve (Another village) there''s a halfpipe. However, neither of these have been very well maintained, and hardly anyone was using them. There were the championships there the week before I arrived, which might suggest the pipe was built for that and isn''t normally there.
If you do get stuck with no snow, there''s an ice-driving centre in the valley and a strip-joint in Villeneuve (not that I''d know anything about that...) but they keep the artificial snow coming all night long, so the conditions will never be too bad.
Overall, the Serre Che valley is a ''nice'' place to ride, but I wouldn''t say it''s the liveliest of resorts. Extreme boarders keep away, but good for a relaxing week of easy riding. |
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| Strengths |
| Large area, good for beginners and veterans alike. |
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| Weaknesses |
| Not so lively if you''re at the wrong end of the valley. Freestyle facilities not well maintained. |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Various resorts in France & Austria |
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