Booking a Ski Trip with Sunweb: Our Experience

Planning a ski holiday can be daunting, but Sunweb aims to make the process as seamless as possible. We recently used Sunweb to book our ski trip to Avoriaz, and here’s a breakdown of our experience, from booking to arriving at the resort.

The Booking Process

Sunweb’s website is straightforward and user-friendly. You start by selecting your destination, travel dates, and the number of people in your group. The site then generates a list of accommodation options, sorted by price per person. Once you find a suitable option, you can choose your preferred room type (if available) and add extras.

However, we did notice a small drawback: the website doesn’t always provide accurate information about the distance of accommodations from the ski slopes. To avoid any surprises, we recommend double-checking the hotel’s location in relation to the resort before booking.

After confirming the accommodation, Sunweb allows you to select additional services to enhance your trip.

Lift Passes

Lift passes are generally included with the booking, but we found that their coverage varies. For our trip to Avoriaz, the pass provided by Sunweb only covered the Avoriaz area, rather than the entire Portes du Soleil region. To explore the full area, we had to visit the local tourist office and pay an additional 130 EUR per person for an upgrade.

It’s worth noting that some resorts on Sunweb do include lift passes that cover the entire ski area, so it’s important to check the details before booking. Additionally, the standard lift pass doesn’t cover the checkout day, but Sunweb provides options to extend it based on your skiing preferences.

Other Extras

Sunweb offers several additional services, including:

• Ski and Snowboard Hire: Discounted rates are available when booking through the website, but we found that similar discounts were offered directly at the rental stores when we mentioned our hotel.
• Transfers: We booked our transfer from Geneva to Avoriaz through Sunweb at a cost of 60 EUR each way per person.
• Ski and Snowboard Lessons: These can be arranged through Sunweb at most destinations.

Exchange Guarantee

For added flexibility, Sunweb offers an exchange guarantee at an additional cost. This allows you to rebook your holiday up to two weeks before departure, with the option to change your trip twice if needed. The standard exchange guarantee provides a one-time change up to six weeks before departure for holidays that don’t include flights.

Arrival at the Resort

Once we completed our payment, we received an email confirmation with all the necessary details. Upon arriving at Avoriaz, we simply presented our confirmation email at reception, and they provided us with our room keys.

One unusual aspect was the lift pass collection. Instead of receiving it at check-in, we had to collect it from a nearby restaurant. While this was unexpected, it wasn’t a major inconvenience.

The apartment itself was as it was described - it had two bedrooms, a large lounge, fully equipped kitchen and was right on the slopes. There was a ski rental shop below the accomodation and two restaurants close by. We went self catering and found everything we needed in the local Carrefour.

Conclusion

Overall, we had a great experience booking our ski trip with Sunweb. The process was simple and efficient, and everything went smoothly once we arrived at our destination.

That said, there are a few areas where Sunweb could improve:

• More Travel Options: Sunweb assumes travelers will either drive or arrange their own flights. Offering flights or train travel options would be a welcome addition.
• More Transparent Information: Providing more accurate details about hotel locations and lift pass coverage would help travelers plan better.

Despite these minor drawbacks, we enjoyed our trip to Avoriaz and had such a positive experience that we have already booked another ski holiday with Sunweb—this time to Andorra in February!