The Ski Holiday Blog

Tag Archives: Switzerland

Luxury Skiing in Verbier

By Kirsty Edwards | Published: April 4, 2011
Verbier and high end luxury go hand in hand; few resorts offer more luxury chalets than Verbier and for years it has been the winter playground for the world’s rich and famous. Anyone who is anyone, from pop stars to royalty, flock to what is one of the world’s top ski destinations every season, and so the opening of a new luxury chalet will inevitably cause a stir. That is exactly what happened with Chalet No. 14 – the most recent addition to the luxury ski chalet scene in Verbier.

Read More »

Posted in Chalet Reviews, Resort Reviews | Also tagged , | Leave a comment

Fresh Snow Across the Alps

By David Froom | Published: February 16, 2011

It’s been a while. According to an old pal who still lives in Chamonix and posted on facebook this morning, it’s been 36 days. Some resorts might even claim a longer drought, but what we do know is that the worst is over and that there is fresh snowfall in most major resorts right now. The whole ski industry has been nervously checking weather forecasts, looking to the sky and I’ve seen a few videos of snow dances being performed in various resorts since the New Year. Happily, I’m glad to be able to say the Guardian’s article yesterday, predicting the possible end to the entire season in mid-February is nothing short of a scaremongering fabrication. Even if it didn’t snow again between now and Easter, all major resorts have excellent infrastructures in place to ensure that the vast majority of their pistes remain open all season long thanks to their numerous snow cannons and creative use of piste bashers. Read More »

Posted in Ski News, Snow Reports | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Skiing off the Beaten Track

By David Froom | Published: February 15, 2011
So you think you know everything there is to know about skiing in Europe? Done the Three Valleys? Of course you have. Val d’Isere and Tignes? Without a doubt. Les Arcs, La Plagne, La Rosiere? We cover all of these resorts time and time again in our blog posts and for the majority of the holidays we sell. Some of the more niche destinations are also becoming well travelled roads amongst the UK ski package holiday market. Chamonix, Morzine, Zermatt and Verbier have all become popular destinations in recent years and whilst a blog with this title would have featured them a few years back, these days we send so many people to such destinations that they simply no longer qualify as anything other than mainstream. Not that there’s anything wrong with the mainstream resorts, mind you. They all have superb modern lift systems, large ski areas, established ski schools and the altitude to ensure good conditions all through the season.

Read More »

Posted in Resort Reviews | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Matt’s Morzine Ski Weekend

By Matt Simpson | Published: February 1, 2011

I was recently offered the opportunity to head out to Morzine (due mostly to a last minute ski deal which I was lucky enough to find), to sample the resort and the fantastic chalet Amis. I naturally jumped at the chance. Any altitude snobs amongst you will no doubt scoff at the idea of visiting Morzine on the 12th of December due to it being only 1100 metres high. Morzine has a real trump card though, and that’s Avoriaz. Even though the Morzine/Les Gets ski area wasn’t open for the duration of my stay, Avoriaz is a simple gondola ride away and provides more than enough skiing for a short break.

Read More »

Posted in Chalet Reviews, Resort Reviews | Also tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Meet the Interactive Resorts team!

By David Froom | Published: September 10, 2010

Interactive Resorts is now established as the UK’s biggest ski specialist travel agent. Unlike some other agencies, we deal only in Ski and Snowboard holidays which means our specialist knowledge of ski resorts is unrivalled in the industry. Not only that, but we’re completely independent, which means that when you deal with us for your Skiing or Snowboarding holiday, you’ll receive completely impartial, objective advice and help with choosing your holiday. In order to provide such a service, we dedicate a lot of time to picking only the very best people to work in our sales team. Everyone in our sales department has done at least one season in resort, with some having done upwards of 5 seasons abroad. This is the first in a series of “meet the team” articles which will profile some of our staff members old and new and give you the chance to find out about the people who make your holidays happen.

Read More »

Posted in Staff Profiles | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Morzine – A Brief History

By Chris Callaghan | Published: July 12, 2010
The polar opposite of 1970s tower-block resorts like Tignes and La Plagne, the beautiful, charming ski resort of Morzine began life as far back as 1090. The area was one of only two crossing-points over the river Dranse and as such was of great geographical importance.
 

Around the start of the 12th century, Cistercian monks began arriving in the area of St Jean d’Aulps on pilgrimage from other areas in France, most notably Dijon. The term Cistercian comes from the Latin ‘Cistercium,’ which was the name given to the Dijon village of Cîteaux from whence the monks mostly came. By 1181 they had fully established themselves in St Jean d’Aulps and in the surrounding territories, and Morzine became a “monastic grange” from the abbey of the same name. Read More »

Posted in Resort Histories | Also tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The History of Zermatt in Switzerland

By Kirsty Edwards | Published: July 7, 2010
 

Today, Zermatt is one of the top ski resorts in Europe, if not the world, but how did it all begin? Has Zermatt always been a popular ski destination for the rich and famous, or has this only developed in recent times? Having visited the resort for the first time earlier this year and as I spend most days talking about the resort’s various chalets, I thought it would be interesting to look back in time and find out how Zermatt gained its international reputation.

A view over Zermatt and the Matterhorn - Spectacular!

A view over Zermatt and the Matterhorn - Spectacular!

Read More »

Posted in Resort Histories | Also tagged | Leave a comment

Chalets in Zermatt reviewed

By Alex Bardsley | Published: April 6, 2010

Having spent a couple of years working in chalet holiday sales, I’ve had the good fortune to stay in some amazing chalets….the Bellevarde Lodges in Val D’Isere – ski in/out with hot tubs on the balcony, and the Taiga Lodge in Meribel with its cinema rooms being previous favourites.  Fabulous though these are, they don’t really come close to the accommodation I’ve just stayed in on a recent trip to Zermatt.

Read More »

Posted in Chalet Reviews, Resort Reviews | Also tagged | Leave a comment

A week’s Ski Holiday in Zermatt and Verbier

By David Froom | Published: March 25, 2010

Having worked in the ski industry since 2004, I’ve seen a lot of resorts. In fact, until last week there were only 2 major resorts in our programme that I had never visited. I won’t tell you which one I’m still to experience, but Zermatt has now been ticked off the to-do list. The only question I was asking myself is why has it taken me until the age of 30 to get out there?

Read More »

Posted in Chalet Reviews, Resort Reviews | Also tagged , , | 3 Comments

Les Portes du Soleil, Val d’Isere, Verbier and a lot of motorway!

By Isabel Evans | Published: February 9, 2010

Working for a ski company means that familiarisation trips out to resort and the chalets are part and parcel of the job. Perk yes, but absolutely necessary! It is essential for us to know as much as we possibly can about each chalet we sell, to avoid any kind of disappointment once clients reach resort. This time round, James and I jetted off to, well, everywhere. Val d’Isere, followed by Verbier (I wouldn’t recommend that trip, it’s a long way, especially on a hangover!), followed by Les Gets, Morzine and finally Avoriaz. We saw loads of chalets and thought we would share our honest opinions.

Read More »

Posted in Chalet Reviews, Resort Reviews | Also tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment