Snowy Sauze D'Oulx
We had a lovely short flight which was just two hours from Birmingham to Turin, and the coach transfer was relatively short. In under two hours we were safely arriving at our hotel - the 4 star Grand Beeson. The hotel gave us such a lovely welcome, and it was a team effort from all the staff to make sure every person welcomed you to the hotel.
The hotel had a free minibus during peak times to the chairlift to help make it easy to get on and off the slopes, and took less than five minutes. It was enjoyable each morning to do the short transfer to the chairlift as the driver was lovely and always got everyone singing. I'm not sure what we were singing but was a good way to start the morning laughing and joking.
The resort Sauze D Oulx was ideal for intermediates and advanced skiers/boarder as you have 400km of the milky way area and had the chance to ski to France. We really loved Sauze for skiing as it was our fourth ski holiday, but never got bored of the runs as there was plenty for us. Our best day we did a ski distance of 22.5 km over nine runs in just shy of seven hours. I enjoyed keeping up with our friends we had met in our hotel, and got a lot out of skiing with a group of friends.
We were very lucky to have excellent ski conditions, as it snowed the first night and we even got some sunshine on our faces, so you could spot a few human raccoons on the flight home.
English is spoken excellently all over the resort and in all the ski schools. The schools are worth attending if you want to brush up on some of your skills, and as they are in groups it's perfect to make new friends. I booked 3 days in ski school and also hired a private instructor for one on one coaching to build my confidence.This did wonders for me - I felt my skiing has improved a lot on this trip. Private ski lessons are roughly 39 euros for one and 49 euros for a two hour lesson and if you are going as a family are great value if you want that extra help. If you just want a brush up it's worth doing, as one on one lessons are very good. I'm planning to book a private ski lesson for an hour before I ski on my next time to freshen up & think it is worth considering even if you are a good skier.
We enjoyed skiing to the bottom of the slopes into the village after we had finished a hard days skiing. It was nice to have plenty of choice for bars, restaurants and lots of hotels here in the village, if you prefer to go back to the hotel first. The food in Italy and Sauze was gorgeous, and we found all the bars and restaurants excellent. We did notice a few livelier bars and ones with music but I was happy with a cosy bar with good food and wine and a few hot chocolates with cream. We did enjoy staying chilling in our hotel of an evening as the drinks choice was excellent, and it had a relaxing vibe. From the hotel to the first restaurant in the village you are less than 2 minutes walk away. The views from the hotel are stunning.
After a five year break I actually bought new skis and boots while in Sauze to ensure we go skiing next year, as I don't want to wait as long for the next one.
Skiing clearly is lots of fun for families couples and groups of friends and families. Please contact me to learn more and let me help you plan your next ski or snowboarding trip.