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Archive for the ‘Pierre Vacances News’ Category
Spa and ski holidays to France
Ski breaks are hard work! A full day whizzing up and down the French pistes can result in tired and aching limbs… So what better way to prepare yourself for some après-ski drinks and delicious alpine ski cuisine than with a relaxing swim and sauna, a light warm-down in a state of the art fitness suite, or a soothing massage for those weary muscles.
‘Deep Nature Spas’ by French marine brand Algotherm are offered at seven of the Pierre & Vacances’ Premium residences in French ski resorts including Aime la Plagne, Arc 1800, Chamonix, Les Carroz D’Arâches, Les Menuires, Méribel Village and there is also a brand new spa for this winter in Arc 1950 alongside Le Village district.
Facilities offered include indoor and outdoor swimming pools, saunas, steam rooms, cardio fitness suites and relaxation studios. And spa packages are pre-bookable, so you can plan your post-piste pampering before you leave home.
Here are some examples of the facilities on offer at the Pierre & Vacances Premium ski and spa residences, whether it’s a short weekend break or a two week holiday:
Les Arcs 1950, Pierre & Vacances Premium Residence Le Village
Le Village is a Savoyard-style district offering eight Premium residences. The spacious, comfortable apartments all have a balcony or terrace overlooking the Arc 1950 village or the mountain. The newly launched ‘Deep Nature Spa’ is located in the lower part of the resort and is designed in the style of a cave with walls made up of rock and timber. There are seven treatment rooms, heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, fitness suite, sensory shower and nail bar.
Aime-La-Plagne, Pierre & Vacances Premium Residence Les Hauts Bois
The ski in ski out residence lies in the heart of the vast Paradiski area and is just a stone’s throw away from the resort’s shopping centre. The apartments are decorated in the traditional Savoyard style and all guests have access to WiFi and the underground car park. The residences’ ‘Deep Nature Spa’ has a cardio-training room, indoor heated swimming pool, saunas, steam rooms and treatment rooms.
Enjoy the Paradiski area with a stay at Les Hauts Bois starting from £23 per person per night.
Méribel, Pierre & Vacances Premium Residence Les Fermes de Méribel
The recently renovated Les Fermes de Méribel is set in the heart of Méribel Village, just 50 metres from the shops. Its six chalets made of wood and stone have ski in ski out facilities, a balcony or terrace, a bakery ordering service and a covered car park. The Algotherm Spa has a well being area with a steam room and sauna, a heated indoor pool, fitness room and lounge with fireplace.
For more details and to book a spa and ski break to France visit the Pierre & Vacances website or ring 0870 0267 145.
Pierre & Vacances at World Travel Market 2011
World Travel Market – where the whole world converges [literally] under one roof in November. Where months of planning comes down to just four days of meetings, networking, parties and sore feet.
The Pierre & Vacances team on our stand at WTM
Want to know what Pierre & Vacances got up to this year? Well read on…
A spot of Après Ski
What better way to get into the winter spirit than with an après ski party? And it wasn’t hard to persuade people not to ‘slope’ off on the first day of WTM with drinks, hearty nibbles and some fantastique live music courtesy of the 101s who will be playing the Little World Festival in Meribel in 2012.
The 101s rock our après ski party!
But it wasn’t just a great excuse for a party; we also held a raffle for the excellent winter sports charity Disability Snowsport UK, here’s a short video about the fantastic work they do:
Disability Snowsport UK – Accept No Limits from John Currie on Vimeo.
And with prizes such as a ski holiday to France, Meribel Little World Festival tickets, lift passes to the 3 Valleys ski area, lift passes to the Alpe d’Huez ski area, ski hire, a limited edition Petanque set and a magazine subscription up for grabs, it’s not surprising that we raised a great amount for such a fantastic charity.
A limited edition Petanque set
A glass of wine and a chunk of cheese
To celebrate WTM’s Responsible Tourism Day on Wednesday, we held a Green Wine and Cheese event on our stand – although it should be pointed out the cheese and wine weren’t actually green…
Delicious French wine and cheese
We plied people with delicious and authentic French wine and cheese from different regions in France, while our UK & Ireland Sales and Marketing Director, Cathy Rankin, presented the key elements of our sustainable approach, and the green initiatives being worked on for next year – and beyond! Interested? You can view Cathy’s presentation here!
Cathy presents Pierre & Vacances' sustainable approach
Here comes the cheese!
Plenty of cheese to go around guys...
Pierre & Vacances' Elodie dishes out French saucisson
And some green ideas
Going paper-free – To further support a sustainable message, the Pierre & Vacances’ press pack went paper-free this year! Instead of paper packs we handed out these nifty and specially designed USB sticks made from renewable materials.
A bag for [a ski] life – As French ski resorts are plastic bag free, we’ve designed an eco bag for life which can be used to lug back French delicacies from the supermarché, and is also designed to be big enough to hold a pair of ski boots as well as fit as carry-on luggage for the plane!
Educating the Brits – Plus front and centre of our stand this year was our Recycling in France infographic, to help UK and Irish tourists to clean up their recycling act while on holiday. There’s more about this initiative here.
Our recycling infographic taking pride of place
The winner of our Ski & Snowboard Show petanque competition is…
Our Petanque Piste at the Ski & Snowboard Show 2011
After 227 games over five days, with more than 2,000 boules thrown each day, the winner of the Ski & Snowboard Show Pentanque competition is…. Jason Khan!
Jason beat Bruce, our ski instructor and Petanque expert, by 7-1 – not an easy feat we can promise you! Jason wins a ski holiday to France with Pierre & Vacances and SeaFrance.
A limited edition Petanque set for each of our runners up!
Runner up Joe Stamutol points to his place on the leaderboard
A big thank you to every one who came along and played, we had a really tight competition! And a massive merci to the fantastique Bruce who played all of the 227 games and was very tired by the end of the show!
Our Petanque expert Bruce playing against an eager contestant
If you fancy playing a spot of Petanque yourself, you can play individually or versus your friends with our online Petanque3D game, where there is also a chance to win a holiday!
But if you think you can do as well as Jason, we’ll next be pitching our boules down the Petanque Piste at the France Show – 13 – 15th January.
October half term offers with Pierre & Vacances
This October we’re making family half term affordable for those after some last minute rays, with up to 20 per cent off self catering Pierre & Vacances accommodation in the south of France and Spain. Our family friendly accommodation along the Mediterranean coastline all have access to swimming pools and a range of activities, with prices starting from just £7 per person per night!
Pierre & Vacances Village Cap Esterel
This half term families can take advantage of the free kids clubs offered at Pierre & Vacances’ Resorts, the clubs are available for three to 18 year olds and provide a range of activities for all ages, such as sports tournaments and handicrafts. Our resorts also organise day excursions to local towns and markets, plus activities such as whale and dolphin watching boat trips in Spain.
Children at Pierre & Vacances’ Resorts kids club
Below are a number of discounted Pierre & Vacances family accommodation. All the examples are for week long stays from 22- 29 October. Enquiries and bookings can be made here or by ringing 0870 0267 145.
Pierre & Vacances Village Cap Esterel, South of France
A two bedroom sea view apartment sleeping up to seven people for a week’s holiday is reduced by 20 per cent to £695- that’s £14 per person per night.
The 210-hectare resort overlooks the Mediterranean and is perched on a red rock hillside. The resort is surrounded by a golf course and gardens and is just 30 minutes away from the white sandy beaches of Cannes. Facilities include three large swimming pools with wave machines, two children’s pools, a small farm, tennis courts and bicycle hire. Kid’s clubs are available.
And for a taste of what Cap Esterel has to offer, see a real family’s holiday diary here.
View of Ardèche
Pierre & Vacances’ Residence Bonavista de Bonmont, Catalonia
A two bedroom apartment sleeping up to seven people for a week’s holiday is reduced by 20 per cent to £346- that’s £7 per person per night.
Bonmont lies on Catalonia’s coastline and backs onto the prestigious Bonmont golf course and the famous vineyards of Priorat. Guests can enjoy the aquatic centre which has a heated swimming pool, relaxing jets, a hydro-massage mattress and Jacuzzi. There are special rates for all guests at the nearby golf course and those with adventure in mind can go quad biking or go carting. And for a cultural day drip, Barcelona is an hour and a half away.
Or for a holiday in the countryside …
Pierre & Vacances Village Le Rouret, Ardèche
A one bedroom apartment sleeping up to four people for a week’s holiday is reduced by 20 per cent to £364- that’s £13 per person per night.
Village Le Rouret is a 100-acre multi-activity resort, ideal for family holidays. Set in the Ardèche region with views over the valleys, the village has an aqua area with fountains, water rapids, a rubber ring river and a swimming pool, tennis courts, multi-sports courts, a mountain bike path, sauna and Jacuzzi. Offered nearby is canoeing, canyonning, paragliding, quad biking and go karting. Kid’s clubs are available.
Find out more about family activities to try in the Ardèche region here.
A French themed evening of Petanque with Pierre & Vacances
To celebrate all things French and take the opportunity to unwind with their travel industry colleagues and comrades, the Pierre & Vacances UK team set about hosting a Petanque Tournament on Brighton seafront last week, courtesy of the official Brighton & Hove Petanque Club. With refreshments provided, a beautiful backdrop of Brighton Pier and prizes on offer, how could anyone resist?
With expectations of 90 or so guests, Elodie, the newest member to the Pierre & Vacances UK team (and our now resident Petanque party organising expert!), set about getting ready to feed the masses. After much investigation of Brighton’s supermarkets Elodie sourced some of the best and most delicious French delights for our guests to enjoy while playing a spot of Petanque.
The Pierre & Vacances UK team in their French themed outfits!
For once the English weather did not let us down and with the sun high in the sky and not a cloud in sight, the Pierre & Vacances UK team served up quite a treat. From popular French cheese, bread and wine to the pièce de résistance – fresh “saucisson” direct from France, and close to the region where Elodie herself is from, the stunning Ardeche (special thanks goes to Elodie’s very kind Father for sending over the sausage).
After some practice rounds to hone petanque skills and eye up the competition the games began. And what a great turn out, soon enough 16 teams of 2 players were busy swinging their Petanque balls.
And with representatives from French Radio London, The Association of British Travel Organisers to France, Atout France, On Holiday Group, Take the Family, Student Travel Group, Erna Low and TUI Travel, hopes for an English vs French final were high.
With one knock out after another (and many wines later) the finalists, father and son duo Ossian and Fulvio from the Student Travel Group contingency, came tête-à-tête with Nick and Dave, from local web agency RedBedlam. And please note the lack of the French contingency in the final….
The final match saw Fulvio and Ossian storming out miles ahead with what looked to be an easy win, but not ones to give up without a fight Nick and Dave were hot on their tail. The pairs battled it out while the rest of the party watched on in anticipation. Another 20 minutes later a beaming Ossian and Fulvio won the game 7-2, the prize: a Pierre & Vacances self-catering holiday of their choosing.
Our winners Fulvio and son Ossian!
Not ones to disappoint excellent competitors, Pierre & Vacances had a little treat in store for the runners up, and soon Nick and Dave were the proud owners of a delicately carved Pierre & Vacances branded Petanque set to practice with ready for next year’s re-match.
The winners then went on to take on the professionals from the Petanque Club but were not quite so successful – better luck next time boys!
A great night was had by all and we at Pierre & Vacances would like to thank everyone who came along and who took part in the Petanque tournament, we look forward to welcoming you back again next year! We’d also like to say an extra special thank you to SeaFrance for offering a return ferry crossing as part of the winner’s prize.
If you’d like to try the French game of Petanque yourself, have a go at our online 3D Petanque game!
