SnowDome Holiday Highlights
The SnowDome teamed up with Crystal this March, to deliver the first of many SnowDome ski & snowboard holidays. The SnowDome’s 38 strong party travelled to Andorra for some of the sunniest skiing & snowboarding imaginable.
The group stayed in the 3* St Gothard Hotel in the village of Arinsal giving us access to the ski area of Vallnord… which offers the three ski areas of Arinsal, Pal and Arcalis. The previous week of snow set the scene for fantastic conditions out on the slopes.
With 3 hours of complimentary SnowDome coaching available each morning, everyone got together and enjoyed a morning of exploring the ski areas and improving their skills. Long lunches ensued, with tales of the mornings adventures… and the afternoons followed with more explorations out on the slopes… and the odd few bowing out to catch some early après-ski!
Late afternoons were enjoyed at the Quo Vadis bar where we were able to watch our days skiing and snowboarding on the big screens (all the groups were videoed each day by the Quo Vadis staff)… and of course, a light helping of après-ski carried on into the evenings.
Evening meals were fantastic at the hotel… the quality of the food and service was undeniably fabulous and everyone enjoyed their meal together in our private dining room.
It is fair to say the trip was a huge success… with everyone enjoying the tuition provided by the SnowDome team and improving their skiing & snowboarding ability over the week. We capped the week off with a ski & snowboard presentation, complete with medals all round! Well done everyone!
The SnowDome will be offering a trip again next year, with the addition of extra places so we can accommodate as many of our regular customers as possible. Keep an eye on the website for details of the SnowDome holiday 2012… we hope you can join us! You can see the photo gallery here
Oh, and don’t take our word for it, here’s what some of the gang had to say…
Testimonials – SnowDome Trip 2011:
From Ann
“Congratulations, Tim, on the success of the Arinsal holiday. The smiles on everyone’s faces at the end of each day bore testimony to their enjoyment of the day’s activities. It was such a valuable experience to have had the benefit of the team’s instruction on the slopes. I was amazed at the progress made and the confidence gained by your group between my skiing with you briefly on the Monday and then again on the Friday, and I greatly appreciated your tips and encouragement.
The format of the holiday was excellent. The 10am to 1pm coaching format was good, allowing the fit and strong to practice all they had learnt in the afternoon, while those with less stamina (like me!) could ski a little more or enjoy a more prolonged après-ski, as they wished. It also afforded time for those in the Over-50s class to get to know one another better and it was good to meet Andy and the snowboarders, too, thank you – Ann Aston”
From Charles
“Hi Tim, well a week has passed and time to reflect on the trip to Andorra and hopefully pick out all the positives that may justify organising the trip and setting the tone for all future visits. No doubt you have been inundated with accolades from all the reports from the various members of the 50’s Club. At the outset, may I add my absolute approval for all your efforts that resulted in a very professional agenda that produced a superb weeks skiing that included the selection of the Crystal tour operator, the airline company, the transfer from the airport to the resort, the choice of the hotel and the resort itself, add on the ski equipment hire company and each contribution ticked every box with aplomb.
The final honor goes to the SnowDome instructors team who executed their duties with distinguish, at every juncture, at every level of skiing ability and at all times, constant attention to detail was in evidence and those ingredients lay the corner stone of a unique format for the SnowDome.
It did not pass my notice that skiers from the U.K. and Ireland and also the local indigenous personal were very impressed with the concept of the SnowDome providing the facilities for skiing that attracts people from within a say 50 mile radios, having a club meeting every fortnight [50’s club], providing the teaching instructors to enhance the skiing abilities of each member and then to cap it all, organising a skiing trip with the full weight of the SnowDome concept… class! Best wishes, Charles”
From Clive
“Hi Tim, thank you to you and your team for organising a fantastic week in Arinsal, and helping ‘carve’ out such a memorable holiday with a special thanks to you all, enabling a big leap forward in my development in skiing, and was truly a magical and self-satisfying experience, and couldn’t have wished for better weather.
Hotel St Gothard was an excellent choice and felt it accommodated us as a group very well, and the resort of Arinsal offered something for everybody. It was nice that you organised a Quiz for us all and the addition of the little extra from Charlie rounded it off nicely, also the award ceremony, and to which I’m most grateful for my “gold” medal that I can now put with the bronze and silver I already had!!!!
I really enjoyed everybody’s company and it was nice to see everybody got on and to have made so many nice friends. I haven’t stopped talking about the holiday and you all to Maureen my wife, and I’m still buzzing at the nice time we all had and already looking forward to the next one. Maureen’s done all my washing, dried it and packed it all back in my bag ready for the next time! Look forward to meeting you all again, Kind Regards, Clive”
From Charlotte
“I would like to say how much I enjoyed the holiday and how much I appreciated some guidance and top tips from instructors I know. Not everyone wants instruction, but this works in our favor for such a large intermediate group, and by day three the instructor groups and the independents were comprised of manageable numbers.
The afternoons also worked well with even smaller bands choosing to ski together, roam the mountains, stop for refreshments etc. and there was no need for anyone to ski on their own. The benefit of a smaller resort was that anyone who had done enough skiing for the day could dip out at some point close to home without inconveniencing anyone else. It was quite fun to have so many familiar faces on the mountain, whether you were skiing with them or not.
We all appreciated the effort made to give us a day out on the Grandvalira circuit which we thoroughly enjoyed, and the Quiz Night gave a good focal point to the middle of the week, so thank you for dreaming up all those questions and also for organising medals and trophies – it all added to the enjoyment. I look forward to hearing what the possibilities are for next year, and to signing up for whatever you choose. Best wishes, Charlotte”
