Skiing travel by Sandra's Designs

DAILY STAR, Saturday, March 16, 2013

GO FOR IT

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G N I V E I L E B S I G N I SKI Edited by ELLA BUCHAN

BON APPETIT! Dining at La Bouitte in St Menuires, and the winter wonderland of St Martin de Belleville

TROPICAL TEMPTATION: Head to Jamaica

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SCOTLAND: Spend Easter at Loch Lomond Lodge, sleeping six, at the foot of Ben Lomond, paying £625 for seven nights from March 30. See unique-cottages.co.uk or call 01835 822 277.

JAMAICA: Spend a fortnight at five-Sun Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort & Spa from £1,519pp allinclusive, with flights from Gatwick on April 6. See firstchoice.co.uk or call 0871 200 7799.

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ORLANDO: Enjoy a fortnight at threestar Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club, from £759pp self-catering including flights from Gatwick on April 9 or 10. See travelcitydirect.com or call 0844 557 6965.

GOING TO THE DOGS: Husky sledging is a great way to get around if you haven’t mastered skiing

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INCLUDES FREE BOTTLE OF WINE PER ROOM FOR ALL BOOKINGS!* The four-star Mareblue Beach Resort is perfectly positioned in a stunning location overlooking a sandy beach, on the north coast of Corfu between Acharavi and Kassiopi. The hotel has a large lagoon style swimming pool, landscaped gardens leading through to the beach, restaurant, pool bar and snack bar. All rooms have a satellite TV, air-conditioning, fridge, tea and coffee making facilities and a balcony or terrace to relax on.

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Departures April May June September October

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Terms & Conditions: Prices from act as an indication only and are per person based on 2 sharing a room, subject to availability. Offers do not include transfers, travel insurance or in-flight meals. * Offer applies to bookings travelling April to June and September to October. The image used is for illustration purposes only and does not reflect your actual holiday experience. Where local country hotel taxes are charged, these are payable locally and not included in the price advertised. Luggage allowance may vary, please check at the time of booking The above package holidays are fulfilled by agent number S6886 and ATOL number 3973 (Global Travel Group Ltd), whose booking conditions apply. Hotel rating is that of the supplier and may not be the official rating. We reserve the right to withdraw offers at any time. Travel restrictions, conditions and credit/debit card surcharges apply. Please ask at the time of booking for full details. When it s gone, it s gone. Full balance is due 14 weeks prior to departure.

QUEENSLAND: To mark the release of Finding Nemo 3D, families can see Nemo and friends for real on the Great Barrier Reef. A Cairns to Brisbane road trip costs from £1,099pp, including flights from Heathrow between April 1 and June 30, a fortnight’s campervan hire and two nights’ accommodation in Brisbane. Book by April 15 at thomascook.com or call 0844 692 6763.

Even beginners enjoy the Alps DESCENDING the final slope into the picturepostcard ski resort, all eyes were on me.

Not because I was going so fast I was in danger of plummeting into the tables outside the cafés below, or because my skills were so polished everyone was mesmerised.

n by SANDRA SHENNAN snug restaurant Le Corbeleys, I stepped out onto the slope. I took a deep breath, pushed off… and continued to snow plough at the slowest pace possible for the entire descent. Even so, it was such fun to slide through the stunning scenery and the afternoon whizzed past as we repeated the run. We had arrived in Geneva the night before and, after a two-hour drive, checked into the gorgeous chocolate box Hotel Saint-Martin in the centre of the village. With two restaurants – the informal La Salle à Manger and classy Le Grenier – its spa is ideal for soothing tired muscles. My room was stylish and spacious, with a balcony overlooking the village. The huge buffet breakfast set us up well for a day on the slopes. If you have a non-skier in your group, there are lots of other things to do. The village offers many small shops, dark bars and a museum that traces the history of the tiny town. And you

I was going so slow, a child was skiing in circles around me and laughing. We were on a two-night visit to the traditional alpine village of Saint Martin de Belleville in France’s Three Valleys and this was my first time on a mountain. And, while others whizzed past with flair, I was far too nervous to go any faster. Before my trip I had learned the basics of staying upright, slowing down and stopping on a full-day lesson from my patient instructor Dan at the Chill Factore indoor snow centre in Manchester. But the taster trip to France was perfect for a non-skier like me to try the real deal and see if I could improve. Three Valleys is the biggest skiing area in the world, catering for all levels of skill – with runs from easy green to scary black. My first morning there was spent on the nursery slopes under the expert eye of instructor Muriel, who, by lunchtime, had decreed us ready to take the gondola up the snowy slopes. So after a lovely cheese tart halfway up the mountain in the CHILLED: Sandra

FACT FILE

01244 529277

Mon - Fri 9am-9pm / Sat 9am-5.30pm / Sunday 10am-6pm

Hotel costs from £1,099pp room only, with flights from Gatwick between May 1 and June 19. See vhiphotels.co.uk or call 0844 573 2460.

MALLORCA: Pay from £242pp for a fortnight’s self-catering at grade-four Aparthotel Coma Gran in Sa Coma, including flights from Gatwick on May 3. See latedeals.co.uk or call 0800 916 5173.

SRI LANKA: Spend a week at three-V Ranweli Holiday Village, paying from £779pp half-board with flights from Heathrow on May 15. See virgin holidays.co.uk or call 0834 557 3870.

THAILAND: Spend eight nights in Phuket from £999pp, staying at the four-star Centara Karon Resort on B&B with Emirates flights from Glasgow on May 20. See thomascook signature.com or call 0844 871 6650.

can have fun in the snow without skis – husky sledging and snowshoeing trips can be booked from the hotel. In nearby St Menuires, a cable car takes you to the top of the Roc ’n’ Bob run so you can toboggan all the way down the mountain. No skill required! St Menuires may not be as pretty as St Martin De Belleville but its bustling centre has enough bars and clubs to keep the most dedicated party animal happy. Foodies will love the choice of restaurants, from cafés on the slopes to the fab farm restaurant La Ferme de la Choumette where the cattle are kept downstairs and

Sandra stayed at the three-star Hotel Saint Martin. Prices start at £122 per person per night, half board. There is an offer of £972 pp for a seven-night stay half-board with buffet breakfast and dinner, plus a six-day ski pass, and free access to the Wellness Area, valid until April 6. See hotel-stmartin.com for more details.

Fly with easyJet to Geneva from Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Birmingham, Bristol, Belfast, London and Bournemouth airports from £26.99 one way. See easyjet. com.

See en.st-martinbelleville.com/winter/ for information on the Three

meals served upstairs. We headed to the nearby two Michelinstarred La Bouitte for a mindblowing six-course extravaganza. It was kicked off by a three-dish starter of shredded mushrooms, béarnaise onion soup and melted Savoie air, which had to be eaten from right to left. All this was followed by a fabulous black Angus rib steak and a chocolate mousse to die for. On the third day, we crammed in one last morning of skiing and I began to pick up my pace. Despite the slow start, I’ve been bitten by the skiing bug. Next time I might even go faster than a 10-year-old. Valleys ski area, lesson costs, ski hire and lift passes, and for more details on the Roc ’n’ Bob toboggan run.

Sandra tried the “Learn To Ski In A Day” package at Chill Factore in Manchester. See chillfactore. com for more information and a special £40 “Ski For A Week” offer this April.

Wales has a lot to Offa n

ON TOP OF THE WORLD: A view of the Clwydian Range. Below, Pentre Mawr

n by MIKE WOODS WE were standing on top of the world, surveying the lush green valleys below. So where were all the tourists? Up on Offa’s Dyke with sweeping views of the Vale of Clywd, we should have been surrounded by people snapping away on cameras. But our tour guide Bob said many just drive through the North Wales Borderlands en route to the beaches of the Lleyn Peninsula and Anglesey. But Bob, who runs Cly-

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wdian Walking Holidays, is trying to change that. He led us to the Jubilee Tower above Ruthin, which opened in 1810 to mark the 50th jubilee of mad King George III. From 554 metres up, we could see Snowdonia, Rhyl, Llandudno and even Liverpool’s two cathedrals. Offa’s Dyke runs for 177 miles from Prestatyn in north Wales to Chepstow on the Seven Estuary. It was built by Offa, the king of Mercia, in the 8th Century

Rooms at Pentre Mawr Country House in Llandyrnog cost from £130 per night in the main house, and from £160 in a canvas lodge, including breakfast. See pentremawrcountryhouse. co.uk or call 01824 790732. A three-course dinner at Tyddyn Llan in Llandrillo costs around £50. See tyddynllan.co.uk or call 01490 440264. For walking tours contact Bob Eckersall on 01745 890453 or see clwydian-walking-holidays.com. Individual walks start at £10. See northwalesborderlands.co.uk for more information.

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to keep the Welsh from invading his kingdom. Edward I built a castle at Ruthin, which is now a hotel, but we stayed at Pentre Mawr country house near the village of Llandyrnog. It also offers spacious canvas lodges, each with a luxury bathroom, underfloor heating and a hot tub. On our first night, we feasted on delicious Welsh rack of lamb in the hotel restaurant. The following night we ventured to the Michelinstarred Tyddyn Llan in Llandrillo, run by award-winning chef Bryan Webb. The nearby Greenfield Valley Heritage Park is well worth a visit. At its museum you can see a Victorian school and a kitchen where a farmer’s wife makes pressed tongue and brawn. From Offa to offal, the North Wales Borderlands have an awful lot to offer.

CORNWALL: Spend a week at Strand House, which sleeps six people and overlooks Padstow’s harbour from £813 during April. See bluechip holidays.co.uk or call 0844 704 4987.

HONG KONG: Five nights at the Mira

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