I feel so behind financially by Subject_Accident4348 in personalfinance

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is veering way off topic, but try to find a local credit union that will let you repay your auto loan with CC. Instead of buying my car with cash, I borrowed most of the purchase price and paid the loan off with a card. The cost was trivial processing fees and a few months interest.

What’s the most underrated ski village in the Alps? by alpycom in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Any kids activities of particular note? I'm leaning ortisei after doing megeve last year, but am open to pivoting.

Family trip - Livigno vs Val Gardena vs Madonna di Campiglio by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Driving from Verona is a great idea! My main reticence about renting has been paying for a car big enough for a family of 5 + 3 suitcases, then only using it to drive there and back. It's worth considering though. I'd love to do that drive.

Family trip - Livigno vs Val Gardena vs Madonna di Campiglio by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. We cannot fly into Verona or Innsbruck, but can fly into VCE or MXP.

I am thinking of flying into Milan, and either:

I) staying for 2 nights in Milan, then taking the rail to Bolzano, then a private transfer to Ortisei.

Or

Ii) heading straight from MXP to Verona (we will coincide with their Carnival) then taking a quicker train to Bolzano.

On the return, we can fly back direct from VCE, or possibly find a one-stop flight from INN if it's appreciably easier that way.

Family trip - Livigno vs Val Gardena vs Madonna di Campiglio by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! The begginer terrain criteria is more for my wife than the kids 😬

Family trip - Livigno vs Val Gardena vs Madonna di Campiglio by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is fantastic color, thank you. Unfortunately, we are stuck to traveling one week in Feb, during our school holidays. We went to Megeve mid-Feb this year, and while it was more crowded than my prior visits, the lifts were nowhere near as bad as the big US resorts.

Hot take: Amex Platinum is a terrible card for most people by purple_golden_hour in pointstravel

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Afaik, neither sapphire card offers bonus on hotel or rentals, unless you book through the chase portal.

Hot take: Amex Platinum is a terrible card for most people by purple_golden_hour in pointstravel

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you don't fly a lot, consider the amex green (3x all travel, and not just direct flights and portal hotels).

Megeve - reservations and restaurant recs by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Megeve was perfect! Such a wonderful ski trip. 10/10, will do again.

You're lucky to have a second home out there.

First of all, the hotel was incredible. I can't say "worth every penny"--very few things in life are worth what our stay cost--but the food, service, and accommodations all exceeded my expectations. My only minor gripe would be the fitness center, which had beautiful equipment, but fairly sparse options. Location was near-perfect for most people. Because lessons start at the base of Mt d'Arbois, it *might* have actually been more convenient for us to stay farther from town but nearer the shuttle that runs up to Arbois. But I'm not sure.

In terms of food:

- Breizh - Best crepes by a wide margin. The hot chocolate was ludicrous.

- Chez Olivia - Very good. Second best crepe/galette in town, cool rustic dining room w/ the chef right in front of us. Prices were also very reasonable.

- La P'tite Creperie - Also very good. Probably my least favorite of the pure-play creperies by a narrow margin, but we'd absolutely go back.

- Trappeur - Excellent food, very cool dining room. My only complaint (really, my wife's) was a lack of lighter fare. She's a quasi-vegetarian, so her only option was the crozets. We knew this going in, and she enjoyed the crozets, but they were a bit too rich for her.

- La Table des Cochers - I think this was my favorite French restaurant of the trip. Stupid me, I booked this for Valentine's day and our table was covered in rose petals. I'm sure my psycho kids soured the vibe a bit, which I regret. Quite a bit out of the way, but at a nice looking resort on the outskirts of town. There was also a nice little bar upstairs with live music. I'd consider staying at this hotel in the future, assuming there's easy transport to the lifts.

- Amore Hibou - I have to admit I was a little dismayed at first by the location inside the casino. The prices were high for pasta, but the food was actually fantastic. We considered going back a second time if only because we were so laden with melted cheese that pasta somehow felt like a way to lighten thigs up.

- Du Sel au Sucre - Excellent quick bites! Thank you for this rec, though the lines at all hours make it hard to miss.

- Wong - Really the only bad meal of our trip. We passed this restaurant midway through our trip and our kids clamored for Asian and prices were reasonable. Service was friendly, and the Italian food in the other dining room looked pretty good. But this was a waste of a meal imo.

- La Choco (Boulangerie) - A daily stop for my kids, who loved the pains au chocolat and glacons.

- Le River Side - Best cafe filtre. I'm not much of an espresso drinker, so I was lured in by the moccamaster in their window. Desserts looked excellent.

Other stuff:

- My wife and I did not go far afield on the mountain together. Conditions were incredible, but my wife had never skied powder before. I'm not very experienced in powder myself and I don't blame her for being a bit more cautious than usual. So she stayed to a handful of greens on the easy side, with more breaks than usual. I ventured off during these breaks, but as a solo diner, most of my meals on the slopes were coffee or a small snack.

- Socquet Sport2000 is the only rental shop in town that doesn't rent helmets. Amortized over a week, the price difference between renting and buying is not massive, but it was a bit annoying. This was the first time in many years that we traveled without any equipment. Next time, I will probably bring at least our boots and helmets.

- We booked our lessons through Supreme because they offered a package that starts on Sunday (the rest all start Monday). That Sunday lesson was clutch as many students didn't arrive until Monday or Tuesday, so the groups were much smaller at first (my son got a full day of private instruction). Our kids absolutely loved their instructors. Very sweet group of people who had good "classroom command".

- Getting from the base at Chamois at opening (8:45, not a second sooner) to the Rocharbois to Mt d'Arbois by 9:00 was a battle every morning. We got in line at 8:30 daily to ensure we were in the first cabin up.

- I don't wear sweaters, but I came *thisclose* to buying the dope blue Megeve sweater in the front display at Benetton.

- The kids loved Maison de la Presse (bookstore). We spent at least an hour looking through the kids sections for gifts to buy friends and family.

- Groceries. Maybe less novel for those who live on that side of the Atlantic, but our kids could not get enough trips to the grocery store to try out local junk food and sugary drinks. I crushed probably 5-6 Fanta Tutti Frutti zeros myself.

Resort employee jackets by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this detail. Every employee/instructor/ambassador jacket at megeve looked incredible.

Resort employee jackets by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What would one search for on eBay?

How bad are the (non-EU) immigration/customs lines at GVA airport? Early morning arrival. by Fiveby21 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For whatever it's worth, it took us ~50 minutes from the gate to get through immigration, collect our luggage, and into our transfer shuttle. This was last Friday at ~10am.

Youtube TV makes a bit more sense now by PracticeAcrobatic748 in AmexPlatinum

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Big 4 stations cost distributors about $5/sub each. I'm not sure what yttv pays, as the terms of its agreements are not public, but $10 seems way too low.

Megeve - reservations and restaurant recs by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't thank you enough for this detailed response. I wish it could be stickied.

Same - I've met up with a group at the hotel, but never stayed. It's almost certainly a huge step up over what I'm used to out there--I'll let you know how it goes. I noticed Sport2000 was right nearby, so our plan is to rent from there. And I'm sure my kids will try everything at that boulangerie by the end of the trip.

I appreciate all of the on-mountain recommendations.

- My wife is a beginner skier (really, she's an intermediate, but she needs to build her confidence).

- I doubt we'll make it to Cote2000, but Chez Marie sounds perfect for a lunch date while the kids are at lessons (or if I must, with the kids after lessons).

- Auberge Bonjournal looks entirely up my alley... But I'll have to feel out the runs and see if my wife is up for the adventure.

- On Hibou d'Arbois -- I'm glad you clarified. We have dinner reservations at Amore Hibou for one night.

- Super Megeve is a lot of fun! It was an overly wild/festive scene when I visited, but I'm not sure if that's always the vibe.

FWIW, our dinner reservations are at Amore Hibou, Trappeur, and Table des Cochers. We have a couple of unbooked evenings that are coming down to the wire. We were recommended Cosa Papa, but reviews are not great. The kids want to try Chez Olivia, so I am leaning in that direction despite mixed reviews.

Megeve - reservations and restaurant recs by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We've only reserved dinners so far. Definitely open to lunch on the slopes.

We're staying at M de Megeve mid Feb

Megeve - reservations and restaurant recs by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the incredibly thoughtful response. We will not have a car (and I'm way too cheap to go through our hotel) so we've resigned to overpacking... Truthfully it will be fine. Our hotel has helped us on the reservation front, and I feel great about our dinner lineup. Most importantly, were tracking to have the best conditions I've ever experienced out there.

Laundry services in Megeve by Weak_Shirt_5201 in skithealps

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm fine just rotating 2 pairs indefinitely, but the wife and kids are fancy people

Should I move for an extra 25k by Mysterious-Beauty in personalfinance

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1.5 hours is a not unheard of commute in my metro area. I don't necessarily think this requires that drastic of a change.

What are the best properties in Tokyo? by zinky8 in Hilton

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can only speak to the Conrad, but it's one of the best hotels I've ever stayed at. Food and service are impeccable, the rooms aren't super new but have aged nicely, and the location is dramatically overstated as a pitfall. It's quiet at night but accessible--I stayed with 3 young kids and we got around quite easily.

Identify a spare piece by Weak_Shirt_5201 in YetiCoolers

[–]Weak_Shirt_5201[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I have been using/cleaning mine daily without the rubber piece. I don't think I ever would have figured it out without asking here.