Snow place like home… Selling ski apartments in Arc 1950

Bethan Stacey, our newest recruit, is lucky enough to be running the Erna Low Property office in one of our favourite resorts: Arc 1950.

Time for a word from the Erna Low property office in Arc 1950…  Alice (the boss!) and I had a beautiful afternoon’s skiing yesterday with her parents, who have just arrived for a short stay in the Village, very much in time for the beautiful weather – the last few days have been gorgeous with cold temperatures keeping the snow in a good condition and blue skies all day (how skiing should be really!).   The other good thing to note is how few people there are on the slopes right now!  If anyone has the choice to come when it’s lower season, not being restricted by school timetables, then I think that there is no better time than now for a ski holiday to Arc 1950 - the snow is guaranteed to be great and queues for ski-lifts non-existent.

Alice and Charles on the slopes of Les Arcs

So yesterday was just a quick jaunt as we needed to be back in the office for the end of the afternoon.  To keep the sun with us we popped over to Arc 1800 side of the resort to do a quick run down to the brand new Arpette chairlift.  Anyone having skied around Les Arcs in previous years will appreciate how this much speeded-up, larger chairlift can make a huge difference to your skiing day; it having been one of the ‘lifts to avoid’ despite being quite an important liaison lifts between Arc 1800 and Arc 2000.  But, hurrah! – one lift further away from a bum-numbing, wind whipped 20 mins being an obligatory part of the day! 
We then decided to head to the Peisey Vallandry ski area : a favourite part of the Paradiski domain thanks to its fantastically large, beautiful, tree-lined slopes .  Amazingly, to get all the way to the village of Vallandry from Arc 1950, it takes only one lift and then you’re skiing non-stop for several pistes, taking in blues, reds or forest runs, as you fancy.  Quick ‘shot’ of coffee at the bottom of the slopes and then it was back over to Arc 1950 to do some work, this time taking one chairlift and then the Transarc from Arc 1800 all the way to the top of the Arc 2000 slopes.
Bit less skiing involved in the office today (!) but tomorrow should be interesting as Alice and I are heading off to the Southern Alps to see property for sale in Serre Chevalier, where we have a property project, and Les Deux Alpes, another ski property spot.
So far so good then in my new role as Property Sales Assistant with Erna Low Property– getting to see plenty of the Alps, finding out more about ski property for sale,  and getting plenty of skiing in (of course!).
Until next time,
Bethan

Arc 1950 before Mont Blanc

The Alps catch up… with massive snowfalls in the past couple of days!

First day of December and already plenty to get excited about!!  Not only did I bag the first choccy in the advent calendar but a quick look at the resort webcams and we’re jumping for joy. Perhaps all the early predictions of snowiest season ever could be spot on… here’s hoping anyway!
Falling hard since Sunday night, take a peek at our favourite alpine resorts from the webcams this morning.

Serre Che this morning

Serre Chevalier – 1st December 2009
Staying true to its reputation of sunniest alpine resort, Serre Chevalier got over 20cm of snow in the last couple of days and the sun is making it look lovelier. This picture is taken from Monetiers side of the mountain on the Bachas piste. Where are my skis!?

Arc 1950 – 1st December 2009
The village is opening this weekend in time for the first European Film Festival which is taking place in  Les Arcs all next week. The producers and directors are all staying in Arc 1950. We’re hoping all the celebs won’t be wrapped up too warmly… could hinder our star spotting activities!

Val d'Isere this morning

Val d’Isere – 1st December 2009
I’m heading out there next week so of course am keeping a close eye on the snow levels… the skis will definitively be coming out for this one!

Now…. stay put please!

There’s something about Serre Che…

THE ERNA LOW TEAM HIT SERRE CHEVALIER – January 2009

Bags were packed, excitement was high and an escape from the office was imminent. The Erna Low team were heading off to explore Serre Chevalier for the weekend in order to find out the answer to the question ‘Why send our clients to Serre Chevalier?’ 

Ten volunteers had signed up to test out the brand new 4* Best Western Premier Chantemerle before its official opening (1st February 2009) and to explore the Serre Che ski area all in the name of research and high level commitment to customer service. And to have fun of course!

Flying from Gatwick to Lyon, the team transferred to resort (3 hours) by mini bus shuttle organised by Peace of Mind Holidays, an agency who offer help with travel and activities during your stay in Serre Che.  Having arrived at the Best Western Premier Chantemerle, we found our accommodation to be excellent – the residence offers 51 apartments in total, ranging from 1-3 bedrooms, decorated in a contemporary style and fully equipped for those wanting to self-cater with kitchenettes and offering spacious and comfortable living areas. All apartments offer balconies with views across to the ski area. We were soon ensconced in extremely comfortable beds and looking forward to the weekend ahead.

Before heading to breakfast, we were accompanied by Claire Lacassagne, Sales and Marketing Director for SPACE Group(the company that developed the Best Western Premier Chantemerle) for a tour of the additional facilities offered at the residence – a gourmet restaurant and bar and a ‘spa’ centre including indoor/outdoor heated pool. Guests are able to book on a B&B basis or eat in the innovative restaurant and/or indeed take away dishes should they not wish to self-cater. Being so centrally located, it was then only a 5 minute walk from the residence to the foot of the slopes and chair lifts.

The team enjoying lunch on the mountain

After kitting ourselves out at the local Skiset shop, we joined our guides from Peace of Mind Holidays (aka POM) and on slightly wobbly legs headed off in the sunshine up the first chair lift. The ski area looked vast and we were informed that there were 4 different areas, all of which we would be covering. Having split into two groups – one for the more adventurous who were off to find fast runs and off piste and one group for those who preferred to cruise the blue and red runs – the answer to our principal question was soon becoming apparent. The ski area in Serre Chevalier is vast and varied. With over 250km of piste and skiing up to 2800m, there is something for everyone and more than enough to keep you going for a week’s holiday. With tree-lined pistes, great panoramas, board parks and boarder cross, the ski area also provides plenty of entertainment – try the Smurf Village (a short off-piste run of huge ‘blobs’ of snow) for a giggle! Mountains restaurants were also excellent providing a good choice of food for a pretty reasonable price.

In the evening we headed to the UNESCO heritage town of Briancon and visited the medieval cité where Spirit bar provided welcome refreshment. Being made up of a series of historical French towns, Serre Chevalier also caters well for those with non-skiers in their group. An excellent dinner was had back in Chantemerle and then, although nightlife is limited, we found a small cosy bar offering great mojitos and wiled a few hours away!

After another excellent fun-packed day on the slopes, this time will fresh snow falling, we headed back to the UK from Grenoble airport, just 2 hrs from Serre Che.  Overall, the weekend was a resounding success and certainly proved to our team that Serre Che is a great destination for UK clients offering excellent skiing for all levels, a wide range of accommodation including the latest in Alpine luxury such as the Best Western Premier Chantemerle.

Visit www.ernalow.co.uk for a full range of fantastic ski holidays available to Serre Chevalier!