Vosges Ski Weekend (multiple dates)

Overview

PRE-RESERVE NOW FOR OUR NEXT SEASON
The exact price is not yet known, but last year’s price was
about €319 if you book early. And if you pre-reserve
you will get a special discount code 🙂

Do you love skiing? The fresh mountain air? Going for a long walk between the snowy trees? Or putting on a set of Nordic skis or snow shoes? But you don’t have the time to travel all the way to the Alps, or you don’t have the energy to drive on your own. Expat Club has a perfect solution for you, your friends and your family. In the winter of 2020-2021 we travel again by luxury coach to the beautiful Vosges mountains in Eastern France. With an afterwork departure on Friday afternoon from Brussels & Luxembourg, and a return on Sunday evening, and two days of skiing in between, our Vosges ski trips are a perfect weekend getaway with a lovely group of international people.

Ski Resort

Coach

We will be travelling with a 4* luxury coach with extra leg space, an on-board toilet, DVD-system with 3 flat screens, air-conditioning and reclining comfort seats with footrests. Of course it is possible to take your own ski or snowboard set with you. During the trip we provide you with some drinks and snacks (waffles, chocolate bars etc). The trip to Épinal will take about 5,5 to 6 hours, including a 45 minutes dinner stop in Belgium around 19h00 and picking up a few extra guests in Luxembourg (around 20h45). Our arrival time on Friday evening will be around 23h30. On Saturday and Sunday we use the same bus to travel from Épinal to La Bresse (about 55 minutes).

Hotel

We will be staying in 2 different hotels in Épinal on the edge of the Vosges mountains. There are no available hotels closer to the resort, especially not for groups, whereas it would be too risky to drive into the mountain region when we arrive because roads won’t be cleaned anymore after 20h00. Also, hotels closer to the resort require still a shuttle bus, and that’s problematic in La Bresse since they are oftentimes full before they arrive at your stop (so you may have to wait an hour or so).

Best Western Plus La Fayette****
The Best Western is conveniently located close to the highway, and is the best hotel in town. This way we won’t lose time going into town and can spend more time on the slopes. You will have free access to a heated swimming pool and spa (only on Saturday evening because it is closed in the morning). The rooms are air-conditioned and spacious.  All rooms feature a flat-screen TV with satellite channels and a private bathroom. Free WiFi is available throughout the hotel. In the mornings you can enjoy a good buffet breakfast, which is already included in the basic trip fee. You can choose between a single, double or twin room (only for 2 friends!).

Campanile Épinal***
The Campanile hotel is just 2 minutes walking from the Best Western Hotel. It’s a standard 3* new style Campanile hotel. The rooms have a standard bath room. Note that we have only a few rooms here. Here we can offer a family room with 2 single beds + a smaller junior bed (until 10 years). We can also offer 2 shared twin rooms here (1 male and 1 female).

Are you travelling alone?
We got a perfect solution! For solo travellers who would like to avoid the single room surcharge, Expat Club offers a service to pair you up with a room mate so you can share a room. You do not pay a single-room supplement and we will find you a room partner (no worries about that!). We do not assign you one, but you can choose who you would like to share the room with during the outbound journey to France. This solution worked very well during our last trips. Note that all room types are limited, so the earlier you book, the better we can help you get the room you want.

Rentals

For your convenience Expat Club offers to book everything you need in advance: ski pass, ski equipment rental, clothing, helmets and skiing lessons. Weekends are always (very) busy here, reservation is therefore essential. So don’t spend your time waiting, have fun on the slopes!

 Minimum waiting time upon arrival
 Exclusive group check-in (regular lines are very long)
 Get your ski pass immediately
 Choose between various sets: basic, medium, advanced, pro
 Your personal ski set is prepared (boots, skis/board, poles)
 No risk your set is rented out
 Optional renting of high quality ski clothing, safety helmet, ski insurance
 Nordic skis & snow shoes rental possible
 No waiting for payment and unnecessary administration
 Get ski lessons by a professional ski instructor
 Ski lessons for the youngest expats (3-5 and 6-12 years)

Prices are indicated on the page after you click the “Book now” button. We only offer 2-day packages in the standard reservation system, otherwise it will be too complicated. All rentals will be fully refundable until 3 days before departure. During the checkout process you can indicate your preferences. Please note we need the following date for every traveller. This is important because the rental agency wants to prepare your set. If you travel with a friend and you don’t know his/her data, just let us know what you need and send all details of your friend(s) or family asap afterwards.**

 The full name of each traveller
 Age (in years)
 Height (in cm)
 Weight (in kg)
 Shoe size (European size, e.g. 36 or 44)
 Level of skiing (beginner, medium, advanced)

Also no-rental is an option of course, for instance if you take your own equipment or don’t want to go skiing. Please contact at info@expatclub.org if:

 You want to go skiing only for 1 day
 You want to combine skiing with Nordic skiing or snow shoeing
 You only want to rent skis, or only want to rent boots
 You travel with children
 You have specific requests or concerns

ASSUR’GLISSE
Hit the slopes with peace of mind, thanks to ASSUR’GLISSE. With this cover, should an amateur have an accident or serious illness in the ski resort or during a sporting activity included in the issued pass, ASSUR’GLISSE assumes various costs (see trip information page for overview). Note this insurance is not a regular travel insurance (we strongly suggest to get one too!), and that this particular insurance is not offered by Expat Club itself, and you must confirm again it is included in your ski pass upon arrival in the resort. Expat Club does not assume any responsibility if it is not included for whatever reason. For a speedy “check-in” at the ski resort we do recommend to order it in advance (€1,50 service fee applies). The below information is from ASSUR’GLISSE itself.

Clothing
For several participants in our group this will be the first time to go “to the snow”. And for others it may have been some time ago on the slopes. You should expect temperatures sub-zero temperatures to around zero. With some wind it may become a bit more chilly. Dressing up appropriately is therefore essential. For skiing you must have special ski clothes. If you don’t have this, we suggest to borrow this from someone. At La Bresse-Hohneck you can also rent a full set of high-quality clothes for less than €60 (order during the reservation process). Finally, you can buy it (online) at Decathlon where you may get a full set for about €100-150. Get/buy the following items (the sport shops can help you):

• • Skiing / snowboarding pants and jacket (from €60 to €1000). Jeans are NOT appropriate! We suggest to just get something cheap and decent for the weekend.
  • Maybe a winter jacket, unless your regular jacket is warm enough and can be used for skiing.
  • It may also be advisable to buy ski/thermal underwear. These are highly elastic garments that cover your entire body and keep you considerably warmer than without. This costs about €10 in Decathlon, but more expensive sets go from €40 to €100.
  • On top of that you need one or two pairs of ski socks, which are very thick long socks that reach almost to your knees. You need them to stay comfortably warm in your boots.
  • You also need good sports/ski sunglasses (from €5 to €25 in Decathlon). These cover a larger area over your eyes than the smaller shades that you would use in the summer. Under (very) snowy conditions you need snow goggles.

Comments

• The trip will be carried out by one of our trusted coach partners.
• This trip is carefully planned. Still, all timings are indicative and may change if required by circumstances (e.g. weather).
• The trip is sold as a package. You cannot go with your own transportation or arrange your own accommodation. If there are specific things that you do not want in the package, please let us know.
• You are personally responsible for getting a good cancellation and/or travel insurance that covers you for unforeseen emergencies and medical expenses before or during the trip. 
• You are personally responsible for using the hotel room in an appropriate way. Any missing or broken items will be billed after the trip.
• Expat Club cannot be held liable for long delays that influence the program, such as traffic jams). Neither can Expat Club be held liable for weather-related cancellations or any other unforeseen events that influence the course of the trip, including, but not limited to technical problems with the coach, strikes, weather etc.
• Expat Club follows the weather and snow forecasts extremely closely, and we confirm a skip trip to the Vosges when (most of) the resort is expected to be fully open. We base this on current conditions and current forecasts, as well as the information receive directly from the resort itself. However, when a trip is confirmed and the weather pattern changes dramatically, Expat Club cannot be held liable for bad weather, limited opening of lifts and slopes and the complete closure of the Nordic skiing area.
• Expat Club cannot be held liable for personal injuries during the trip, such as, but not limited to, things that happen on the slopes or other places (e.g. an icy parking lot).
• If you do not find a room partner on your own, we will find one for you (male/male, female/female). During the outbound trip we will connect you with others in the same position. You will never have to pay for a single surcharge if there is no room partner for you! If you decide to take a single room during the trip, then you will have to fully pay for it yourself.
• If you book a double / twin room and your travel partner cancels, you will have to pay the single room supplement or share a room with another person (if available).
• The cancellation with a refund, as described in the terms & conditions, does not apply to this trip since you can only book maximum 2 weeks in advance anyway. And within this period you cannot cancel the trip and get a refund. You can always find a friend or colleague who will join instead of you. We do offer you a refund of the ski pass and rentals if you cancel before Wednesday before departure.
• Expat Club will charge a reservation and service fee of €5 per day for the equipment and lift passes packs, and up to €2,50 per day for other services.
• Note about the hotel location. As much as we would like to stay next to the slopes, we purposefully choose hotels in Épinal for various reasons: a) hotels in La Bresse or Gerardmer are not available for groups who book last-minute (or they are simply fully booked well in advance) and are generally much more expensive, b) shuttle buses from La Bresse and Gerardmer to the actual resorts are badly organised because they are most of the times completely full so you may have to wait 60-90 minutes, c) roads in the Vosges are not cleaned after 20h00 so we would risk getting stuck at night in case of heavy snowfall so we stay outside of this area, d) we want to limit the driving time on Friday evening so our bus is available to drive again 9 hours later (EU regulations). Having studied the entire area well, this is our only option. Downside is that it requires a 50 minute transfer in the morning and evening, but with a ski bus that would also be 20 minutes + waiting time, so all in all our option is just great.

Insurance
You are advised to get a good travel insurance. If you travel regularly you are probably already well insured for winter activities. Most European-wide insurances from Belgium cover theft and healthcare expenses in the unfortunate case something happens (e.g. if you get into an accident on the slopes… knock on wood). However, we advise you to check this with your insurance company, especially for rescue operations on the slopes. A family of four can already be insured for about €65-70 per year, and daily insurances are already available for a few euro. At the same time we recommend you to check whether you have a cancellation insurance, just in case you fall ill or something else happens that prevents you from going.