Travel deals, tips, insider news and comment by 101 Holidays editors, Mark Hodson and David Wickers
Holiday details: Enjoy some end of season skiing at the luxury residence of Le Cortina in Les Deux Alpes.
These apartments come with hot tub, sauna and steam room, and are situated just 100m from the Telecabine du Diable lift, surrounded by many shops, bars and restaurants.
Departs: 14 or 21 April
Price: £348 pp (saving £33 pp) for 7 nights based on 4 sharing a 2-bedroom apartment, includes a FlexiPlus Eurotunnel crossing.
Book with: Peak Retreats
Holiday details: Make the most of the last of the winter snow with a ski trip in the French resort of Oz en Oisans.
Stay in the ski-in/ski-out residence Le Chalet des Neiges. It sleeps 5 and includes access to an indoor heated pool and sauna.
Price: £161 pp (was £215 pp) for 7 nights self-catered accommodation, based on 5 sharing a 2 bedroom apartment. Includes a FlexiPlus Eurotunnel crossing for one car and passengers.
Date: 7 April 2012
Book with: Peak Retreats
From 101 Holidays newsdesk
Peak Retreats, which last week won the prestigious Guardian/Observer Best Ski Company Award for the 3rd year running, has announced some excellent deals for pre-Christmas and New Year skiing from its sister company, Ski Collection.
Best value of all is a pre-Christmas week, departing 17 December, at the 4* residence Le Ruitor in Sainte-Foy. It’s now £180pp (was £279) for 7 nights.
Departing 10 December, 7 nights in the luxury 4* Le Nevada in Tignes (Espace Killy) now costs £264pp (was £290pp).
8 nights at the 4* luxury Le Cristal de l’Alpe in Alpe d’Huez has been reduced from £436 to £395 pp, departing 16 December.
If you fancy hitting the slopes for Christmas, a week in the residence L’Albane in Vars now costs £253pp (was £308pp), departing 24 December.
The best value New Year package now costs £376 pp (was £416pp) for 7 nights in the 4* luxury residence Les Granges du Soleil in La Plagne (Paradiski). Departs 31 December.
All prices are based on 5 people sharing a two-bedroom self-catering apartment and also include a FlexiPlus Eurotunnel crossing for a car and passengers.
Book by 31 October 2011.
Find out more from Peak Retreats’ Ski Collection.
Several companies recommended by 101 Holidays have been scooping up awards in the past few days.
Congratulations to Gilpin Lodge in the Lake District, which was named Small Hotel of the Year in the Northwest Tourism Awards 2009. On the same night, the hotel’s chef Russell Ploughman had his 3 rosettes confirmed at the AA Awards. Earlier this year the hotel was named winner of the 2009 Cumbria Tourism Awards.
Hats off to Peak Retreats which was named Best Ski Company in the Guardian and Observer Travel Awards last weekend.
Other 101 recommended companies picking up awards include Eurostar (best train company), Rainbow Tours (best small tour operator), Trailfinders (best large tour operator and best large short breaks operator) and Discover the World (best brochure).
Each week at 101 Holidays we interview one of the people behind the UK’s finest travel companies. This week we meet up with Xavier Schouller, the managing director of Peak Retreats, a specialist in unspoilt Alpine resorts.
After working at the French Embassy in London and for Brittany Ferries, Xavier set up Peak Retreats with his partner Nathalie in 2002. The couple live in Southsea with their two young children.
* Where did you go on holiday this year, and why?
My twin passions are skiing and sailing. I’ve been doing both since the age of five and although I’ve given up the offshore racing, I still need my dose of sailing every year. So we spent a week on the water in the South of France between the Bay of St Tropez and the beautiful unspoilt islands south of Hyeres (Ile du Levan, Port Cros, Porquerolles). I then stayed with my partner’s family and enjoyed a bit of beach and a dose of the French things we miss by living in the UK.
* What is your favourite bolthole in the UK, and why?
The Isle of Wight ,where I first came as teenager on several sailing holidays. I love going back there – it just feels like you are stepping back in time. The pace of life seems so much slower than on the mainland. Ventnor is my favourite place and particularly the Boathouse at Steephill Cove (pictured above). It feels like a little bit of the Caribbean but with UK weather.
* If you could spend a long weekend in any city abroad, which would you pick, and why?
I love the mountains and I love the idea of Kathmandu, a city in the heart of the Himalayas with history and breathtaking scenery . It’s also the ideal base to start some great mountain itineraries. One day I will find the time…
* Please tell us three items that are always found in your luggage.
A Blackberry charger, a plastic carrier bag (in many countries like France you don’t get these any longer in supermarkets whilst in the UK some 13bn are handed to shoppers every year and then take a reputed 1,000 years to decay), and a handheld trekking GPS as I like to know where I am, where I am going and where I have been.
* What one thing would most improve people’s overall holiday experience?
To ignore price for a short moment. These days too many people start their holiday search by focussing on price or a special offer and forget all the important elements that they should be looking for instead. Who remembers how much they paid for a holiday a few years down the line? Experiences make holiday memories, not cost.
* What has been your worst holiday experience?
I have never had a bad holiday as such but my worst holiday memory was getting a phone call from the office whilst on holiday in Northern Spain to tell me that my house had been burgled. We decided to stay on as there was not much to be done but it clearly spoilt the rest of the holiday. In the end it was a happy ending in that there wasn’t that much stolen (apart from all my best bottles of fine French wine). The burglars were caught and most items were recovered – except the wine which they had drunk!
* Tell us your favourite hotel: in the UK; in mainland Europe; in the rest of the world.
I haven’t had a hotel break in the UK for a while as I prefer to stay with friends. Le Normandy in Deauville, Normandy, which is managed by the well-respected Lucien Barrière chain. La Mamounia in Marrakesh, which has just been totally refurbished. The last time I was there a guy called Sarkozy was staying in one of the suites. He has now changed jobs, I believe.
* What is the most exciting project your company is working on right now?
We are working on a new summer holiday programme to France to complement our Ski Collection winter ski programme. It will be under a new brand but I just can’t say any more right now. Watch this space, as they say.
* Thank you, Xavier.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
If last winter season’s cracking snow conditions have left you wanting more, Europe’s largest skiable glacier, above Les Deux Alpes, has opened for summer skiing and snowboarding this week. Set at 2,800 to 3,600m, Les Deux Alpes is renowned as Europe’s summer skiing capital with 11 ski lifts open from 7am to 1pm daily. The 11 runs are mostly blue with one red and 2 green runs, ideal for beginners and intermediates.
The snowpark is open for boarders and a choice of group and private courses, operated by the European Ski School, is available for all levels and disciplines. Once the lifts close at lunchtime, there is a massive choice of activities on your doorstep including kayaking, hiking, mountain- and quad-biking and paragliding.
Peak Retreats is offering a week’s “Ski-Active” package including a 6 day lift pass, 2 half-days rafting and white water sports, a half-day guided mountain biking tour, summer tobogganing and use of the resort facilities in a choice of 3 and 4 star properties. One week costs from £360 pp based on 4 sharing a one-bed apartment and from £417 pp for 2 people sharing a studio, including the Dover-Calais ferry crossings for one car and passengers.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
Combine a family activity holiday at your own pace whilst soaking up the thrill of the Tour de France this summer – and perhaps the chance to see Lance Armstrong whizz by in the famed yellow jersey.
The Tour de France peloton passes directly through the Savoyard village of Le Grand Bornand on 22 July; close by is the brand new 4 star Le Village de Lessy, a collection of luxurious self-catering apartments complete with leisure centre, pool, mini-market and shops.
Activities in the area include mountain biking, climbing, paragliding, canyoning, rafting and walking.
Peak Retreats is offering a week at Le Village de Lessy from July 18 for £126 per person based on a family of 4 sharing a one-bedroomed apartment with bunk beds in an alcove (£142 per person sharing a two-bedroomed apartment). The price also includes ferry crossings with a car between Dover and Calais.
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