When we were asked to plan a ski hen weekend this year we were incredibly excited, and couldn't believe this was only the first time we had been asked!
What could be better than a weekend with your best girlfriends in the mountains, with long lunches, cosy fireplaces, and then partying until the early hours.
The brief was simple, 4 days in a ski resort in Europe for a group of 9, oh and there had to be a Folie Douche. The Folie request narrowed our search down to a handful of resorts, and then taking into consideration transfer times for a weekend, we settled our search on the beautiful village of Megève.
The Resort
Megève is in the south-east of France, near the Italian and Swiss borders, and with a transfer time of a little over an hour from Geneva, it makes the perfect weekend getaway.
Flights and transfers
Flights to Geneva from the UK are readily available, and when booked in advance, they can be very reasonable. We used Alpybus, which was able to provide a private transfer for this size of group.
Accommodation
We chose the Hotel L'Arboisie, a recently renovated hotel on the outskirts of the village. The hotel has a number of large apartments, which have the use of the hotel's facilities, including bar, restaurant and spa, making it the perfect place for a girlie weekend. It also has as a shuttle service to take you to and from the slopes and the village centre.
Ski and boot hire
We chose to hire from the Mont d'Arbois Sport shop, conveniently located by the Mon't d'Arbois lift. When you are only skiing for a couple of days, we would recommend hiring from somewhere close to the slopes you will be using.
Restaurants
The group were a real foodie bunch so we knew we had to find some great restaurants. Megève has a huge variety so we had plenty to choose from.
We can highly recommend lunch on the terrace at Les Mandarines, which is easily accessible for all levels of skier, and dinner at Le Torrent, in central Megève.
Après ski
Megève isn't known for its après ski, so if you are looking for a wild weekend this probably isn't the place for you, however it does have a Folie Douche! The party kicks off at about 2pm, and closes at just before 5, giving you plenty of time to dance on tables, drink copious amounts of rosé and spray champagne off the balcony.
Personalisation
Poise was not only able to plan and arrange the logistics for the trip, but also add the finishing touches that you would expect of a hen party, including, invites, gifts bags, decorations, a personalised 'Bride' ski suit and 'Bride Tribe' woolly hats.
Top Tip: If you need to keep costs under control, consider going at a time that excludes a Saturday evening. For this trip we booked from Sunday to Wednesday, which meant accommodation was cheaper, and you avoid the weekend crowds from Geneva.
For more information on our hen and travel planning services, go to www.poiselife.co.uk
