subject: Ski Accommodation A Few Aspects To Consider Before Making A Selection [print this page] Ski Accommodation A Few Aspects To Consider Before Making A Selection
The type of place you stay in will make a huge contribution to how much you enjoy you ski vacation. You should therefore set aside an hour or two beforehand to carefully think about where you are going to spend your holiday and what type of ski accommodation you prefer.
Before you even start thinking about reservations, you should first think about what kind of resort you would like to go to. Get a couple of brochures from the different resorts and study what they have to offer and what there is to see and do in the immediate vicinity. During any ski break there will be days when you have inclement weather so you can't ski. On those days you will really appreciate a resort where there's other things to keep you busy apart from playing games on your laptop.
Generally speaking you have two kinds of ski resorts. The one type is near a town or city and there will be many interesting shops to browse during non-skiing days and many restaurants and pubs where you can while away empty hours or make new friends. Often the surrounding area also offers a lot of interesting sightseeing possibilities.
The other type of resort are those that are situated in far-off places where there's no nearby town. There might be a couple of hotels and other accommodation establishments and not much more. Unless you plan to ski night and day, this type of resort can quickly get very boring. It's fine to go there for a quick day or two's skiing, but an extended holiday in a place like this is not really an option.
The more upmarket ski resorts, such as St Moritz, have a huge variety of accommodation options to choose from. There are certainly sufficient numbers of five star hotels to satisfy the jet-set crowd who only want to stay in top class accommodation. These hotels sometimes have their own little shopping malls and enough restaurants, gyms and saunas to keep you occupied during the days that you don't go out skiing.
Mid-range hotels provide a home from home for the bulk of middle class skiers. They offer perfectly acceptable accommodation to fit the budget of the average guy in the street. Facilities that you are likely to find here are private bathrooms, televisions, perhaps a small refrigerator and a kettle so you can make your own coffee or tea.
You will find self-catering accommodation in or near virtually all the better ski resorts. For the family man these are the perfect solution. They offer a true home from home experience, with kitchens, TV lounges and often even hot tubs. Many of the more upmarket resorts have heated indoor pools and gyms where you can while away non-skiing hours.
An all-time favorite when it comes to ski accommodation is of course the guest house. This is the perfect option for people who like to make new friends. Many new friendships have indeed blossomed around the breakfast table of a guest house. They normally provide great value for money and the better ones can be compared to the best of hotels.
