Live Music Sunday BBQ’s

Every Sunday starting this weekend from 7pm we will be holding a BBQ at The Lodge with live music from Johnny Guitar

On the BBQ we will have:

• BBQ Menu (3 meats plus salads) €12
• Hotdog/ Hamburger with salads €6
• Hotdog/Hamburger €3 each

Demi €3
Glass of House wine €2.50

Website: www.thelodgemorzine.com

Tartiflette in Morzine

A local dish from the Savoie region, Tartiflette is a delicious potato, onion, bacon, cream and melted cheese delight usually served with a green salad and a plate of cured meats. Perfect if you are stopping for a leisurely lunch, washed down with a nice glass of wine.  Although don’t expect to get much skiing done afterwards as it is very filling!   As an evening meal it offers a great end to a hard day on the slopes. Definitely a favourite winter warmer and easy to cook at home for the self caterers.

Raclette in Morzine

Another cheese lovers dream – the raclette cheese is heated by a special machine brought to your table. As it melts you simply scrape large slices of creamy, melted cheese onto your plate and mop up with potatoes, bread, meats and pickles. A fantastic, warming local dish to share with friends over a long evening meal.

Fondue in Morzine

Perhaps the better known staple diet of the Alps, fondue is a local dish typically shared between two or more people. Your waiter or waitress will bring a large pot to your table with a small burner underneath. You can choose between a cheese fondue or a meat fondue and each person has their own fork to dip bits of food into the pot. If you are all cheesed out a meet fondue such as a Bourgignon or Chinese Fondue can offer a great alternative.  Some restaurants also offer a chocolate fondue as a local dessert dish – a selection of fruit to dip in a bowl of warm, melted chocolate – yum!

Pierre Chaud in Morzine

If all of the above is a bit of a cheese overload for you, a fun local dish for the carnivores amongst us is the Pierre Chaud.  A mini, table-top BBQ or “hot-stone” which allows you to cook your meat and veggies to your liking. You will be given a huge platter of meat – duck, chicken, beef and bacon with onions, mushrooms & peppers all washed down with a large bowl of chips and a salad. Most restaurants keep the food coming until you can eat no more!

Fish Dishes in Morzine

Although a long way from the sea, restaurants in Morzine offer a few local fish dishes which are definitely worth a try while you are here. Morzine has its very own trout farm and Truite Meuniere (trout fried in flour, butter & parsley) is a popular local dish in Morzine.  The local lakes, including Lake Geneva, provide a variety of fresh fish and Fillet de Perch is offered in most of the restaurants in Morzine, usually served whole and deep fried, similar to whitebait.

Reasons to choose a Sunday to Sunday chalet in Morzine

There are many great reasons to choose a catered ski chalet holiday from Sunday to Sunday in Morzine. Flights to and from the UK are often cheaper on a Sunday. Geneva airport is much, much quieter meaning less time waiting for bags and finding your transfer to Morzine. The roads to Morzine are also a lot less busy so you can be in resort and on the slopes in record time!

Another less obvious advantage is that skiing Sunday to Sunday in Morzine will give you a full Saturday on the slopes, often the quietest day of the week as everyone else is busy travelling!

So, in a nutshell choosing a catered ski chalet holiday from Sunday to Sunday in Morzine is the best way to minimise travel time and maximise slope time, whilst hopefully saving a few quid in the process!

Morzine Accommodation with Sunday to Sunday options …

During the busier weeks in February and other holiday periods, a great Morzine top tip for avoiding the crowds both on the slopes and in the restaurants is simply to take an early lunch.  The majority of restaurants tend to fill up between 1pm and 2pm whilst many skiers opt for a leisurely lunch washed down with a glass of wine or two.

If you start your day nice and early and make sure you’re sitting down in your favourite restaurant by 12:00, not only will you beat any potential mad rush in the restaurant, but when you return to the slopes, they’ll be quieter as the crowds then head inside for their lunch.

Simple.

Bottle water, teas/coffees and fizzy drinks are expensive in mountain restaurants in and around Morzine – €3.00 or more for can of coke for example.

Don’t try and avoid buying drinks on the mountain at all costs as it is worth splashing out once or twice if you want a warming cup of frothy hot chocolate or simply need to escape icy cold winds by going inside a nice warm restaurant for a local vin chaud.

Here are some quick and easy top tips to save some money :

1. Take some drinks on the mountain with you in one or two small rucksacks shared between the group.   Bottled water is fairly inexpensive if you buy in a local Morzine supermarket and you can buy a pack of 6 of small bottles and just refill them each day to take on the mountain.
2. A longer term investment is to buy a rucksack with integrated water reservoir so you can drink whilst on the go.
3. Replace a café au lait with an expresso!  Smaller but typically less than half the price of ‘English’ café au lait.
4. Order une carafe d’eau – a jug of water  (loosely pronounced oon caraffe doh) if you are sitting down for a meal in a mountain restaurant.  This will be free water from the tap that is perfectly safe to drink.
5. Fancy something a bit stronger? Bring a hip-flask on holiday with you and fill it up with your preferred tipple at the start of each day.
6. Find a restaurant that is a little further away from the side of the pistes as these restaurants sometimes have cheaper prices to encourage you to take a short walk to their door.

If you have any more tips on saving money on drinks, please let us know by posting a comment below.

Positioned alongside the outdoor morzine swimming pool, this new covered pool will be a fantastic addition to Morzine especially during the winter months.  Currently, the nearest village with a decent sized indoor public pool is around a 40 minute drive away.  Locals and holiday makers alike have long been wishing for an indoor pool in Morzine as an alternative to heading up the moutain during the winter.

Fortunately, work on the new indoor swimming pool will stop during the summer months whilst the summer season is in full swing so as not to disrupt the use of the outdoor pool.

In autumn 2010, the current changing room area will be demolished and soon after construction of the new buildings will start.  All of the existing outdoor pool areas will remain, including the main large pool and the two smaller childrens pools.

The new indoor morzine swimming pool will be 25m long and 15m wide.  Also planned is a well-being centre with 3 saunas and 2 hammams (turkish baths) as well as a small relaxing area.  A new restaurant will also be built about the same size as the existing restaurant (200 sq. metres) with seating for up to 100 diners.

The opening of the new centre (indoor pool, changing rooms and restaurant) is planned for the winter of 2011.

(The left side of the below artist impression shows the building that will house the new indoor pool.)

Indoor Morzine Swimming Pool

The temperature warmed up quickly and gave us an early taste of spring conditions on the mountain turning the pistes into a soft slush wherever the snow shone.  Northerly facing pistes and shaded areas remained solid however.  Temperatures look set to stay spring like for the next few days with the freezing level hovering around 1400m with snow forecast on the upper slopes.

Friday was a fantastic day on the mountain.  Plenty of sunshine throughout the day and all the pistes throughout Morzine and Avoriaz were in great condition after the 6 inches (15cm) of new snow that arrived on Tuesday.

All the easy to reach off piste was mostly tracked out but there were still pockets of untouched powder here and there.  The hard to reach spots were hardly touched at all thanks to a couple of days of less than perfect visibility with low cloud.

Temperatures still very low and falling down to -15 deg C overnight keeping the north facing off-piste areas in amazing condition.  South facing off-piste has a layer of crusty snow on top now but still great underneath.

20cm at least has fallen in Morzine village and the freezing level is at around 500m (or perhaps even lower) giving us very dry and light powder even down at the village level.

Temperatures are forecast to stay very low for the next few days with hopefully more new snow to come !!!

According to a press release direct from the Portes du Soleil tourist office and thanks to heavy new snow since the beginning of the week, 3 stations will be open for the weekend of the 5th and 6th December 2009.

With 60cm of new snow at the summit of the Portes du Soleil domain (2460m) and 40cm at a level of 1800m, 3 stations will open for this weekend – Avoriaz, Champery and Chatel.

In Avoriaz, the Arare and Lindarets sectors will be open for Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th December.

• 5 lifts : The Prodains cable car, the chairlifts, Tour, Lac Intrets, Prolays and the drag Teleskis des Ecoles.
• 11 pistes : Bleue d’Arare, Bleue du Lac, Stade d’Arare, Vaineuve, Prolays, Stade des Lindarets, Combe à Floret, Champ de ski Plateau, Boulevard des skieurs, Mossettes et Crête des Lindarets.
• 1 day ski pass : 15 euros.

In Chatel, Pré-la-Joux will be open for Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th December.

• 2 Lifts : The chairlifts Pierre-Longue and Rochassons.
• 2 pistes : Rochassons and La Belette.
• 1 day ski pass : 15 euros.

In Champery, The Champéry– Planachaux cable car (le téléphérique de Champéry – Planachaux) and the Crosets chairlift accessing 3 pistes will be open for Saturday 5th December.

1 day ski pass : 25 CHF for an adult / 17 CHF for a child.

The opening of other lits/pistes will be weather dependant.

The official opening of the Portes du Soleil domain is set for Saturday 19th December.