Chalet Tai Pan, Verbier, Switzerland
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Chalet Tai Pan Reviews
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First, the tour operator, Skiworld. I booked through www.catered-ski-chalets.co.uk who were excellent, and leave you to fill in your own details online rather than spend hours on the phone. This is a good system. The reps at the airport were efficient and visible, and the transfer was pleasant and informative. The resort rep, Jack, was only a young lad, but he was a keen skier and took a huge interest in where you had been, what sort of skiing you liked, and recommended some runs too. He even met us for a morning as a small group to show us around some specific runs.
The chalet host, Steve, was also just a young lad, but an excellent cook. It was towards the end of the season, so he was quite relaxed about what you could and couldnt have. We had cooked breakfasts each morning, porridge for those who wanted it, as well as a choice of cereals and bread and jam. Tea and coffee was help yourself, which was perfect. We ate like kings at dinner, and Steve also made some fabulous cakes for consumption late afternoon. His cleanliness left a little to be desired, as the floor in the dining area was constantly dirty, and the kitchen was enough to give any housewife a heart attack, but the quality of the food was first class.
The chalet itself is in the Le Hameau area of the resort, at the top, and a 10 minute bus journey from the main Medran lifts. However, it is 50 metres from the edge of Le Rouge Piste, which you could ski down to off the mountain, just. The piste was officially shut that week, but we managed to ski all the way to the end of the road most days. However, the lift was shut, so you had to take the bus into Verbier in the mornings. Its a small chalet, catering for 10 people with a family room for 4 downstairs, with a bathroom, and upstaris were 2 twins and a double. There was a toilet and seperate bathroom, although not enough water for everyone to shower one after the other. It has a balcony offering spectacular views across the valley, and its a lovely quiet area too. Its not new, but its not falling apart either. There is a log fire, and games for adults and kids alike. Steve did not mind how much wine was drunk, and let everyone help themselves whenever they wanted.
The resort is huge. Its main central area is like a small UK town, and has tons of shops, bars and restaurants. Switzerland is not as expensive as France generally, but it certainly isnt cheap. Verbier offers good apres ski, and there are plenty of bars to choose from. Bar Mont Fort just behind the Medran lifts was perfect in the late afternoon sun on the terrace, but there are plenty of indoor bars too. Shops sell so much quality branded ski wear, but you will need a good limit on your credit card. You couyld buy almost any style in any colour from manufacturers such as Eider, Arc'Terryx, North Face and Killy - stuff I have never seen before in other resorts and certainly not in the UK.
Unfortunately, Verbier is full of Brits who look down their nose and everyone and everything. I get the impression that everyone there had been to Eton or was linked to the Royal (is a bottle of Kristall with dinner really necessary?). And these people seem to go up the slopes about 10.30, spend 3 hours having lunch and then ski off again.
Lift passes arent cheap, £175 for the 4 valleys, but that offers 400k of runs, and the lift system is as good as anywhere I have been. 2 high speed gondolas take you up from Medran to the middle station at Ruinettes, where you can carry on up to Attelas, or go across to La Chauz, a more relaxed area with a fun park too. From La Chaux you can take the Jumbo cable car up to Mont Fort, where there are stunning views, and a lovely long red back down to La Chaux. The main run from Attelas to Ruinettes is also a nice long red, but it can get quite busy. It doesnt take long to get across to the next valley, via Tortin and Siviez. You can take the gondola across or the cable car down from Mont Fort, but if you are a good skier, and I really do mean GOOD, you can try the itinery routes. These are graded harder than a black, and initially I was dubious about trying them, but when the weather was clear, I gave them a go. Yes, they were challenging, yes they were hard, but they were also something I had never tried as a skier before, and gave me a massive sense of satisfaction having completed them. They are basically runs straight off the mountain, not pisted. Massive mogul fields, meadows to glide through, sheer drops, and tons of off piste to make fresh tracks in. Having lots of new snow and many sunny days made this particularly good fun, but on the foggy mornings this was not so much fun. I wouldnt want to try these when its particularly cold, or without fresh snow.
Siviez is a tiny village, and you can link to Nendaz and also over to Thyon from here. Across the other side of Siviez, at Combatzeline, is a lovely mountain restaurant, and behind it a gorgeous wide black and a superb cruising red, Greppon. Thats about as far as we managed to get in a day, what with meeting up with other people etc.
We also managed a morning in Les Savoyelleres and La Tsoumaz, but the conditions there were nowhere near as good, it was thick fog, and there was ice and stones at the bottom end so we steered away from here pretty quickly.
But all in all, the variety of skiing is fantastic, and I would definitely return.
In terms of the chalet, if you want a basic place to eat and sleep, in a quiet place away from the main resort and concentrate on a full days skiing from first lift to way after the last lift has shut, this is ideal, and it comes fairly cheap too. Skiworld were excellent, and the only let down was the 4 hour delay of the incoming flight from Gatwick on the way home.