http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20936 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20936 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20838
It was a massive departure from the acres of pistes and vibrant night life of our previous choices but we were met with a very picturesque vehicle-free town, just perfect for our group of mixed ability skiers and boarders and babies.

We rented an apartment in the sports centre which was a rather brutal concrete structure on the edge of the village and quite a counterpoint from the timber shingled charm of the rest of the resort. But it was an enormous balconied apartment with views over the village and with access to the centre's facilities of swimming pool and crèche where little ones over two can be left for a 2.5 hour morning session.

The mixture of runs caters to all abilities and the off-piste run down from the Schilthorn restaurant is an experience to be savoured, again and again. Most of the runs end up back at the ski school which sits in the centre of the village and is a great focus point for absolute beginners.

Anyone looking for a change or a slow down from the piste and bar hammering days of their youth should give Murren some serious consideration.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20838 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20686
Recommended is the vin chaud, Pete's chicken caesar salad, the house burger, sitting in the sun with a view of Mont Blanc from the upstairs terrace (residents only). Happy hour is a two-minute clomp from the slopes in ski boots.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20686 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20676 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20676 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20523
Instead of pool tables, there's a tree trunk, a box full of nails and a hammer - all that you need to play nageln. The purpose of the game is to hammer four nails into the trunk with the fewest blows - the loser buys a round of shots. I ended up buying a lot of shots. Other bars, slightly quieter but with similar clientele are the small and cosy Rotliechtli and the Bolgenplaza where you can drink and watch the crazier snowboarders trying to kill themselves on the floodlit halfpipe.

The Bolgenschanze is situated at the base of the Jakobshorn ski area which is the most popular with boarders as it's all chairlifts (apart from one, long drag that is worth the pain for the off-piste it opens up). With a little bit of hiking, it also has one of the best off-piste rides - an awesome, steep off-piste descent from the top of the Jatzhorn down to Teufi where you can get a bus back into Davos.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20523 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20429 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20429 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20213 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20213 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20172 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20172 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20051
Catered or self-catering, its covered. I went catered and everything was awesome. The guys will come out riding with you if they have time, so you get to ride some sweet spots you'd probably never find, they'll have everything sorted for you for when you arrive (lift pass, equipment etc) you get picked up and dropped off at the airport and to and from the slopes each day...

I honestly can't say anything bad about my time with them!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20051 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19484 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19484 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18385 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18385 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17975
Get your ski/skiboarding gear from La Tania (where it's cheaper) and take the free bus to Courchevel 1500 or 1850 from La Tania.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17975 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17954 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17954 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17710
What I particularly liked were the little touches you don't always get with a bigger company: heated boot warmers, iPod docks and guiding by their sponsored riders to name but a few.

Top food, top location, top people -look them up!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17710 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17283
Prices are also very reasonable; passes and ski/boot hire are both about £12 a day. The resorts have just invested in four new lifts, artificial snow canons and a new trattoria.

The town of Sarnano is a top base for a white week in the Sibillini mountains, it has over 20 restaurants, a late music bar and even has a funky nightclub.

There's plenty to see and do locally, the area is full of wonderful medieval villages and fantastic for walking below the snowline.

There are many hotels locally or maybe you would prefer a cosy apartment with woodburning stove and free wood, in the old Sarnano Farm Villa San Raffaello.

The resort is easily reached on cheap flights into Ancona, Pescara, Perugia and even Rome and Bologna.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17283 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16829
So it's cheap to get to and onward travel to the ski resorts of the east Pyrenees - Font Romeu, Ax, Les Angles and Andorra - is relatively simple - a 90 minute drive. Rather than fight with the crowds in the big ski airports of Geneva, Lyon or Grenoble here is a charming and cheap alternative.

We've been doing this for three years now and wouldn't go back to the Alps.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16829 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14510 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14510 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13778
The only place I have stayed with PS2s in all bedrooms, a hot tub, a 42" plasma screen and a ride snowboard test centre!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13778 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13694 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13694 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13290 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13290