Yet more Michelin stars for Courchevel 1850

As if three restaurants were not enough, Courchevel 1850 has recently welcomed four more restaurants to its prestigious portfolio of Michelin acclaimed restaurants.  Of the seven that are now Michelin graded, four of them are in-house, hotel restaurants…All of which The Oxford Ski Company work with!

The newly graded restaurants are:

Pierre Gagnaire at Restaurant les Airelles***** (2 Michelin stars)

Restaurant 1947 at the Hotel Cheval Blanc*****(2 Michelin stars)

Restaurant Il Vino (1 Michelin star)

L’Azimut (1 Michelin star)

And those restaurants that retain their accolades are:

Restaurant by Michel Rochedy at the Hotel le Chabichou**** (2 Michelin stars)

Restaurant le Bateau Ivre by Jean Pierre Jacob (2 Michelin stars)

Restaurant la Table du Kilimandjaro at the Hotel Kilimandjaro by Alexandre Ongaro (1 Michelin star)

The Oxford Ski Company’s tip for future greatness:

Georgina Longsdon whose cake made an impressive début on TOSC’s most recent Cake Thursday.

Snow Report, 4th March, 2010

INTRODUCTION

The mild weather in Europe has given spring skiing all this week which is great for skiers but not for the snow. Fortunately, a return to wintry weather is just round the corner. The higher French resorts offer some of the best skiing at the moment. Tignes received dustings of fresh snow this week and most of their upper pistes are in great condition.

Some of the lower Austrian resorts have very slushy snow because of the mild weather. They all have a good enough base depth to ensure top to bottom skiing in most places though and the upper pistes are all in good condition.

Great weather in Scotland this week has allowed skiers and boarders to make the most of last week’s fresh snow. Cairngorm has the deepest base depth with nearly two metres of snow at the top. Conditions are excellent for the time of year so if you have always wanted to ski Scotland but have been put off by poor snow, now is definitely the time to go.

50cm of fresh snow at Squaw Valley in California provided them with yet more amazing powder skiing. They are enjoying a good season for snow so far and with more than four metres of it on the upper slopes, it should be an excellent spring.

Whistler is beginning to return to normal now the Olympics have ended. However there are some preparations for the Paralympic Games which begin on 12th March. Elsewhere in western Canada it is still pretty warm but this should come to an end as colder and snowy weather is expected, finally.

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Snow Report, 25th February, 2010

INTRODUCTION
More snow in France earlier this week means the skiing is excellent once again. Lots of areas received up to 40cm of fresh snow on their upper slopes but lower down the snow is wetter.

The same is the case in Switzerland and Austria. Not as much snow has fallen in these countries as did in France and milder weather means the lower pistes are soft or even slushy in some parts. Good skiing can, however, be found up high at all the areas.

The end of this week sees one of the biggest dumps of snow in Scotland for a long time. All five main resorts are closed due to extremely heavy snow and high winds. The snowfall is also affecting access roads but when the weather clears the skiing will be comparable to top powder resorts in the world, especially considering how the snow drifts at the Scottish resorts.

It’s also snowed loads in America, particularly the east coast. Resorts like Sunday River and Sugarbush have been hit with around 75cm of fresh snow, which fell on Wednesday 24^th February. It also snowed 70cm down at Mammoth in California, continuing their excellent season.

Eyes are still on Whistler in Canada and the weather there. Fortunately it has been dry and sunny recently, allowing them to run most of the alpine skiing events without problems. However another storm is heading for the area, bringing with it up to 50cm of fresh snow. This is great news for recreational skiers but not such great news for event organisers. Fortunately, most of the skiing events have now taken place.

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Lovely Savoyard chalet with free childcare

The charming Savoyard Chalet Sabaudia (sleeps 6) in Meribel is available for the week commencing 7th March 2010. Not only will you receive a high level of service and cuisine and a comprehensive driving service, it also comes with free childcare for the little ones.

Dates: 7th – 14th March 2010.

Price: £799 per adult and £699 for children.

Still plenty of time to go skiing in 2010

At this half way point of the ski season there is still plenty of time to go skiing in 2010! With the February holiday behind us, the months of March and April offer great opportunities to enjoy the ski slopes. In fact some of our guests returned from such an enjoyable week at half term they have since called and booked again at Easter!

Please see below a snap shot of some great luxury chalets left this season at reduced rates (although do call us with your group requirements as there are many more properties we can offer)

28 Feb – 7 March 2010
Chalet Vallon, Meribel; £749 per person (2 rooms available). Fully catered. Includes travel.
Ferme de Moudon, Les Gets; £18,964 exclusive use (sleeps 10). Fully catered. Excludes travel.

7 – 14 March 2010
Chalet Mathilda, Val d’Isere; £1,595 per person (1 rooms available). Fully catered. Includes travel.
Chalet Des Drus, Chamonix; £20,000 exclusive use (sleeps 14). Self catered. Excludes travel.

14 – 21 March 2010
Le Ti Chalet, Verbier; CHF 20,000 exclusive use (sleeps 6+3). Fully catered. Excludes travel.
Chalet Chapelle, Alp d’Huez; £829 per person (5 rooms available). Fully catered. Includes travel.

21 –28 March 2010
Chalet Maria Schnee, St Anton; €18,250 exclusive use (sleeps 8 +7). Fully catered. Excludes travel
Chalet Le Chardon, Val d’Isere; £995 per person (6 rooms available). Fully catered. Excludes travel.

28 March – 4 April 2010
Chalet Louise, Zermatt; £22,950 exclusive use (sleeps 10). Fully catered. Includes travel.
Chalet de Pre, Morzine; £10,990 exclusive use (sleeps 10). Fully catered. Includes travel.

4 – 11 April 2010
Chalet Chopine, Meribel; £16,920 exclusive use (sleeps 10). Fully catered. Excludes travel.
Chalet Cybou, Verbier; £12,950 exclusive use (sleeps 8). Fully catered. Excludes travel.

11 – 18 April 2010
Haus Ulysse, Zermatt; CHF 30,700 exclusive use (sleeps 8 + 4). Fully catered. Excludes travel.
Darkoum A, Courchevel 1850; £1,160 per person (3 rooms available). Fully catered. Includes travel.

18 – 25 April 2010
Chalet Black Pearl, Val d’Isere; €15,000 sleeps 10 people. Catered. Excludes Travel25 April – 2 May 2010
Chalet Kilimandjaro, Val d’Isere; £7,960 sleeps 8 people. Catered. Excludes Travel

Looking for something else?
We work with around 100 tour operators and privately owned properties in 28 of the worlds best ski resorts. Please contact one of our sales consultants to discuss your requirements and let us do the hard work and find you the perfect property.

If you are looking for luxury hotel options, you can contact our hotel team on +44(0) 1865 398 133.

Click here for six good reasons to book with The Oxford Ski Company

A white Easter is always a good option

Much as we all like to have a white Christmas. If you are a skier then having a white Easter is also a very sensible option. With two months of the season still to go there is plenty of time to go skiing!

EASTER HOLIDAYS
28 March – 4 April 2010
Chalet Hermine in Courchevel 1850 – sleeps 10 people. £32,870
Chalet Montana in Val d’Isere – sleeps 12 + 3. £43,824
Chalet Chineur in Verbier – sleep 8. £13,950
Chalet de Drus in Chamonix – sleeps 14. €20,000 You know it makes sense! Book a skiing holiday!!

Olympic Gold for Britain in Vancouver 2010

Congratulations to Amy Williams who won gold in the Women’s Skeleton in Vancouver this weekend.

Take a look at the BBC Sport website for more….

Photograph: (c) Getty

British Airways strike ballot results imminent

British Airways is expected to face fresh threats of strikes by some cabin crew, when the results of a ballot on industrial action are revealed.

Staff have been voting for two weeks in the ballot whose result will be announced at 1400 GMT on Monday.

Read more on the BBC News website

Some Fantastic Chalets at Great Prices for Easter

As we pass the mid point of the 2009/10 season there is still the chance to book a chalet for the children’s Easter break.  Please see below for some excellent chalets still available over the Easter holidays.

COURCHEVEL 1850: CHALET  EGLANTIER (5 bedrooms, 10 people)

Dates: 3rd-10th April

Price: €41,600  (reduced from €51,600)

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Snow Report, 18th February, 2010

INTRODUCTION

Despite it being one of the busiest weeks of the year in the Alps, many resorts have minimal lift queues and excellent snow conditions to go with it.

Fresh snow fell in the western half of the Alps on Wednesday and in many resorts the snow continued on Thursday too. The southern areas of the French Alps received the greatest amount of this fresh snow. Serre Chevalier received around 30cm of snow over Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th February.

The snow hasn’t yet arrived in Austria but it is heading their way. Ski Club reps in Austrian resorts report excellent conditions, particularly at Obergurgl where the pistes are being well maintained.

Nevis Range in Scotland reported up to 40cm of fresh snow on Wednesday 17th February. This is excellent news for Scottish skiing, which is experiencing its best season in many years.

Snow continues to fall in Colorado. The good news is that it is due to get even heavier. Earlier in the week Breckenridge received 30cm of fresh powder which made for one of their best powder days of the season so far.

Skiing in Canada is also good at the moment. Despite reports of a lack of snow at the Winter Olympic areas, Whistler has over three metres of snow and with around 90cm falling since Thursday 11th February there is plenty of powder to be found.
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