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Going downhill fast in the AlpsHow a week of snow fun became no funBy Barry Neild for CNN  Snow clouds close in on the slopes of Val d'Isere. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSVAL D'ISERE, France (CNN) -- A ski trip to the French Alps: The mere thought conjures up dreamy images of pristine snowy slopes, charming wooden chalets and celebrities in chunky knitwear feeding each other lumps of hot cheese. But, like thousands of other skiers faced with the reality of trying to enjoy a budget vacation package on Europe's popular pistes, I discovered these dreams can melt faster than fromage in a fondue. Hopes were high when, with a gang of friends, I booked a week-long holiday to Val d'Isere, one of France's leading ski resorts, where stunning mountain scenery promises adrenaline-packed days of winter sport followed by enjoyable evenings of fine wines and fancy food. The excitement didn't evaporate in the huge queues waiting to check-in at London's Gatwick airport, it stayed firm through a particularly bumpy landing in strong winds at the French city of Grenoble and it even lasted the course while we waited for two hours in the arrivals lounge as the package holiday company struggled to arrange a bus. But it finally ran out when, as midnight approached, the coach driver deposited us not in the winter wonderland of Val d'Isere, but in a rainy railway station, miles from the action. "Basically," said the holiday company representative who had been sent to bring us from the airport armed only with rudimentary French language skills and a mantra of confusion that would become depressingly familiar, "I have no idea what's going on." He could be forgiven for some confusion. The French Alps were experiencing their heaviest snowfalls in 35 years, according to experts, the more serious consequences of which have been dozens of deaths in avalanches. (Full story) Malfunctioning toiletsIt transpired that at Val d'Isere and other resorts, police had closed access to the mountain, leaving thousands of stranded skiers to seek emergency shelter in the nearby town of Bourg St. Maurice. Contractual small print exempted our holiday company, Britain-based Ski France, from liability in case of adverse weather, but local officials laid on rudimentary accommodation in a parked train carriage, replete with a malfunctioning toilet and a door that would not close. We pumped the holiday company representative for information. Would we reach Val d'Isere in the morning? Would we be given any food? Was this really the best place available to spend the night? "Basically," he said. "I have no idea what's going on." Thankfully, the night passed with a few hours of fitful sleep in a luggage rack and a box of sandwiches sent by the town's mayor. As gray dawn arrived, so did rumors that the road to the resort had been opened. We hunted down a bleary-eyed Ski France representative, who got as far as "Basically..." before we bullied him into organizing taxis to take us to Val d'Isere. Which was where our problems continued. Web site reviews describe the Vieux Village hotel as having "bags of character" -- a bit of stretch since there was barely space in the rooms for our bags of clothing between peeling and stained walls thin enough to hear the complaints of the people in the next room. Ski thievesThis is the point at which the fantasy image of skiing in Europe and the reality finally diverge. While movies give the impression that an Alpine ski pass also guarantees access to a luxury lifestyle of roaring fires and Jacuzzis, in real life it's a creaking radiator and a diminutive hip bath. Undeterred, we donned boots, skis and jackets and headed for the slopes where we did finally get to enjoy some world-class winter sports -- a whole two and a half days' worth, before someone stole my skis outside a mountaintop restaurant. It was a long and lonely trudge back down the slopes to the police station, where officers took down details of the crime with friendly efficiency, if not enthusiasm -- the heavy snowfalls evidently having left Val d'Isere's finest with more pressing problems. Another lonely trudge across town and I was soon kitted out with a new pair of skis, but I needn't have bothered. Within minutes the weather closed in, blanketing the resort in an extra layer of snow, then another layer, and another. As drifts piled up against the hotel doors and ski lifts ground to a halt, we tried to find out how long the bad weather would last. The forecast was bleak, but our holiday representative, was bleaker. "Basically," he said. "No one has any idea." Faced with another two days of watching the snow flakes fall outside the window or the paint flakes fall from the bedroom ceiling, we weighed up our options. By nightfall we were back in Bourg St. Maurice and back on a train -- this time heading home at high speed. From the safety of a warm office in London, I contacted Ski France managing director Cathy Rankin for a post-mortem of the experience to see if she could thaw my view of package ski holidays. Snow-boredShe explained how our particular trip was beset by logistical nightmares that were, given the extreme weather circumstances, often beyond the holiday company's control. "I appreciate this is not much comfort to you when you did not know what was going on," she said. Rankin, who kindly offered to advise me on how to get the best out of future ski holidays, also defended the weary condition of the hotel, which she said helped it remain a bargain among over-inflated peak season prices in France's top resort, and therefore a draw for many winter sports enthusiasts. "We have no plans to refurbish this property to a level that would increase our prices significantly. We have a large number of budget conscious customers that would be disappointed if they could no longer afford their Val d'Isere holiday." Says Rankin, there is a solution for budget skiers who get easily snow-bored and cherish pleasant hotels and evenings of cheese-based luxuries: aim for the lesser-known resorts. "There are several smaller, less prestigious resorts that still have amazingly good skiing and offer a selection of excellent hotels at far more reasonable prices." 
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