Never been skiing in my life, would like to go somewhere with guaranteed snow, pine forests and picturesque.?

Question

NEED:

SHORT TRANSFER TIME, LOW BUDGET, NEED TO HIRE ALL SKI EQUIP AND LIFT PASSES ETC. SO NEED GOOD ALL IN PRICE.TWO ADULTS AND OUR 13 YR OLD SON .SUFFERS AUTISM SO MUST HAVE ALL THESE REQUESTS.

,BEST FOR BEGINNERS

NO PREF ON COUNTRY OR RESORT BUT 4 STAR POSS 3STAR HOTEL VERY CLOSE TO SKIING. IM A REAL BEACH BUM SO THIS TYPE OF HOLIDAY HAS GOT ME STUMPED AS I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE TO BEGIN!! PLEASE HELP ANY ADVICE APPRECIATED.

THANKS

PLEASE HELP!!!!

Answer 1

Borovets in Bulgaria is beautiful.

I went with my mate. Never touched snow on skis before. I opted to snowboard and everything was hired there, but the clothes you will have to get before you go. I was lucky, and got a skiing outfit from Aldi that was really good quality.

You can hire skiing clothing in the UK, and hire the skis/boards and boots from the hotel you stay at.

Check out a brochure for this country as it is beautiful.

Answer 2

I agree.

I went to Andorra in March :) Its absolutely gorgeous. The people were so kind, we went to Arcalis I think it was, Vallnord or something? I'm sure you can google it. I don't know much with the hiring and whatnot but I just thought I'd answer and agree with the others that Andorra is great, I wasn't a beginner but some of my family were, especially the children, and we felt safe enough to leave them with their instructor, it was that good.

Answer 3

Some places I have been, when compared to your requests:

Mont Tremblant, Quebec:  Very beautiful and picturesque.  You don't need to know how to speak French.  It is a 90-minute drive from Montreal airport, but Continental Airlines flies direct to Mont Tremblant (from Newark, NJ hub), but I think only on Saturdays.  My wife took her first lesson here and found the lesson only so-so.  We stayed at Le Sommet de Neige hotel, which was very nice and had ski-in/ski-out.  There was a nicer hotel there, that also had s-i/s-o, but don't remember its name.

Snowshoe, West Virginia:  Transfer time is high, as it's not close to any airport.  Pretty far South so the season is shorter...we went in mid-March and it was still quite good, but probably for not much longer.  Wife thought her lesson here was much better than at Mont Tremblant.  We stayed slopeside, but the "front desk" was a 10-minute drive away to another building.  Overall, there are not as many slopes here that are advanced-level, but if you are beginners you shouldn't try going on advanced-level slopes at all, so not relevant to you.

Crested Butte, CO:  Only tiny planes fly to Gunnison airport, then about 20 miles drive to C.B.  Didn't take a lesson, but very nice.  Price reasonable, not very crowded, gorgeous.

Winter Park, CO:  Transfer time from airport is crappy, but the best you'll find in the immediate Denver area.  A little crowded, but not bad.  High elevation was a little difficult for me.  Stayed at a friend's house, so can't comment on hotel.

Wolf Creek, CO and Monarch, CO:  Remote - long transfer times.  But good skiing, picturesque, and not very crowded.  Didn't take a lesson or stay in hotel.

Hope that helps.  The best bit of advice I can give you is don't try to get too advanced too fast.  Trying to ski beyond your abilities is the best way to hurt yourself.  Well, that, and continuing to ski when you're already injured.  I would say that maaaaybe, if you're really showing aptitude, you *might* be ready for an easier blue slope as the last run of the first day.  But probably not.  Oh, and if you get out of control, make yourself fall down *immediately*.  If you wait, you'll just get going faster and faster, and then falling might hurt.  DO NOT try to stop yourself with your poles.

And, please don't type in all caps.

Answer 4

Vail Colorado is the nicest place I have skied and has a great village with tons of shops and resaurants. It got #1 ski resort in the world a few years back and has gorgeous views. Im from Tahoe which also has nice views but Colorado is by far the best. Lift ticket are I think $95 a piece and im not sure on resort pricing. Hope this helps

Answer 5

SUgarbush vt is a great place to learn how to ski they dress warm since you go to beach

www.sugarbush.com

Answer 6

May I suggest Sunday River in Maine.  They have ski-in/ski out choice of hotels or condos.  The better hotels are in Bethel (~15 mins away):  Bethel Inn or Sudbury Inn, but are expensive (you get what you pay for).  The Jordan or Grand Summit hotels on the moutain are improving, but are not 4 star yet. (if you're on a budget, a 2 star hotel might be more along the lines of what you can afford anyways)  Condos allow you to save $$ on meals, you can cook there.

The reason I recommend my fav resort is because of a very special feature that will help your autistic son:  Maine Handicap Skiing.  They will work with your son, free of charge (they will probably ask for a donation).  Sunday River donates the lift ticket, ski coaches volunteer their time and are specially trained to deal with the issues your son faces (it's called adaptive skiing).  It's one of my fav things about Sunday River.

Sunday River has a great adult learn to ski program.  The coaches will work with you, no matter how long it takes, until you are turning and stopping.   Southridge and Northpeak areas will probably work well for you guys.  There are plans to start night skiing next season in those areas.  The mountain has great snowmaking and assuming you are coming from overseas, the weak dollar will make a very economical trip.   There were a lot of folks from the UK and Canada last season.

They offer rental of ski equipment, but not clothes (most mountains in the east don't offer that service).  They have packages that include lodging, rental and lessons.

Let me know if you decide to go there next season.  I'd love to meet up.

Answer 7

The best place to go is Park City, Utah, USA about 20 minutes away from the Salt Lake city Airport. Utah is known for its plentiful dry snow, meaning instead of struggling on what skiiers refer to as blue ice, you are floating on a cloud of powder. It was the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics for a reason! A great town, comprable if not better than Aspen (with more than just a few shops on one main street, but don't worry there is a main street :) ) with countless hotels around the town of all quality. And why take the risk of going to the mountain and not liking it, there are 3 mountains all 15 minutes of each other...Park City, The Canyons, and Deer Valley. Park City is the main mountain of the town, its nice but can get very crowded. The Canyons was just re-done with brand new lifts (safer and faster!) and gives you a picturesque view of gorgeous canyons. Deer Valley is what I recommend though. For the same price as the other mountians, they treat you like royalty instead of like a bum. The best food you'll find on any mountain, personal employees (motto: "when you fall, three people come to pick you up"), they are amazing with children and comfort your personal needs with special services. Deer Valley consists of 5 mountains (connected of course), so you'll never feel bored and 4/5 of the mountains have beginner trails which show you everything around you, so you don't have to be a great skiier to see the entire mountain. And because they only allow in a certain amount of people a day, there are never lines and it is never crowded. (Most of the time, you're alone.) Its a great place, better than any beach! Best Wishes

Answer 8

pas de la casa

andora

cheap and OK resort for

beginner  / intermediate

Answer 9

Arapahoe BAsin, Loveland or Copper. A-Basin has almost no lines on the beginner lift and the tix are cheap. Loveland has great snow and the tix are REALLY cheap, Copper is my favorite place to ski. at copper, the tix might be a touch more expensive but it is worth it. Kokomo lift and Lumberjack are just 2 of the many beginer lifts.

Answer 10

One word only: UTAH!!!  Most consistent and best overall snow in the US. There a 7 solid resorts in the nearby Salt Lake City area and tons of solid 3 stars hotels with easy access to the best champagne powder anywhere.

Answer 11

i dont know if this helps but...

i had never been skiing in my life but 2 years ago i went to andorra which is in south of france (i think). i think it was really amazing, although it took about 3 hours to get from the airport to the hotel, it only took 5 minutes to get from the hotel to the ski slopes

Answer 12

There are nice resorts in austria and switzerland.  France is good as well. We always book via iglu ski which is last minute holidays and *very* cheap.  We were in an inghams hotel paying less than a third of what everyone else was paying...

Answer 13

Where do you live?