My new edition arrived today. Great!
 
It looks really good this year. Especially like the item on short breaks and the addition of Germany is a really good idea.
 
Well done to the team!
 
JJ

Allthough I’m in printing business, I’m always impressed the way you handle all that information. I got my copy 3 days ago and my first impression is very positive as always.
I liked the resort price index, it gives more accuracey to that field, although it’s missing in many resorts. Is it missing cause of lack of information, or it is a printing mistake?
I don’t understand why the top10 ratings replaced the full ratings in many resorts. I guess it was done to save some space…
Looking forward to find the time for a thorough examination. It’s like early Christmass!!!

Hi Koritis and JohnJ
 
Glad you’re enjoying your copies of the new book.
 
Yes, we’re hoping we get lots of positive feedback on our new chapters - and with improved flights to Munich and nearby regional airports, we think the German resorts could prove quite popular. Similarly, the Vorarlberg has lots of smaller places worth a day trip or two, perhaps from a larger resort base or as a short break. And our Swiss chapter, Meiringen, is very close to the Jungfrau, Engelberg and Andermatt.
 
Koritis: The RPI was a great success; we’re delighted with the results and it’s the most comprehensive resort price survey ever. Where resorts are missing it is because we received fewer or no prices for those areas to achieve a sensible and comparative result -  and so haven’t included them just yet.
 
With the top 10 ratings, you’ll notice that these are for the short chapters. The main reason for this is that overall we now have 18 ratings - six new ones this year - so, space was the factor in these chapters.
 
Our plan is to have all of these on the new website in full - plus create a more comprehensive shortlist builder (including a wider range of categories). Coming soon ...
 
More feedback on the new book welcomed as copies become available - official launch is on Monday!  Roll on winter!
 
Wendy
 

Hi all
 
So, the book is here   - more feedback welcome.
 
If you’re all puzzled as to why we haven’t changed the Home page pics, it is because of the site revamp. We’ll update you all on its progress very shortly. Stay tuned ...
 
W

I buy WTSS every year and I am a great fan. The 2011 edition appears to have lost 50 pages of Resort Information, and I note that there is no longer a Valmorel or La Clusaz report, these being relegated to the index, which is by no means comprehensive enough to plan ones holiday, which is why I buy the guide. 

I am off to Valmorel in a months time, and I know plenty of fans of La Clusaz, whilst I appreciate that these are not mega-resorts, they do have soul and offer better value, if size is all that matters you will be doing your readers a disservice. 

Come on WTSS don’t be stingy with the size of the guide, it is the amount of detail and the resorts that you cover that sells the guide.  If you don’t print the full info how about making it available on the website (as opposed to the abbreviated version).

Hi davidyacht

Thanks for giving us your view on the 2011 edition.

As you have detected, we cut 64 pages from the 2011 edition - part of our response to the decline in advertising that the recession has brought. We have to balance the books. That’s how we have managed to stay in business, unlike several of our rivals. (None of them, incidentally, ever came close to delivering the 704 pages of the 2011 edition.)

We tried to make the cuts by focusing on resorts that we reckoned have the weakest appeal to our readers - taking account, for example, of the numbers of reports we get from readers on those resorts, as well as our own views. Size is certainly not the issue - we have lots of resorts in the book that are smaller than Valmorel and La Clusaz, and in fact we have improved our coverage of small resorts noticeably in recent years. And we have in the past cut much bigger resorts if we think they are of limited interest - Gstaad is probably the most conspicuous example.

I hope you have a great time in Valmorel, but I could suggest plenty of other places where the odds would be more favourable. You obviously have the 2010 edition, so this shouldn’t come as news to you.  La Clusaz is a lovely spot, but I would be very hesitant about booking a holiday in advance at that altitude in France.

cheers

Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the response and I fully understand the advertising issues, I hope that you might consider expanding again when the advertising becomes available, or perhaps you could find a way to archive the dropped full reports on the website.  I will hold onto my 2010 edition and copy the relevant pages for my trip.  I rely on WTSS for ideas of where to ski and eat, which don’t appear in the website summaries.

I am staying in a mates apartment in Valmorel, so that is where I am going!  Whilst I appreciate the height issue and also its abundance of drag lifts, I would suggest that this is an excellent resort for families with beginners, access to the nursery slopes is much easier, schools and instructors are cheaper and the “village” great for families when compared with the 3 valleys up the road.

I commented on La Cluzaz, not from experience, but because I hear very positive reports from skiers who say that this place has much more soul than the 3V’s.

Keep up the good work.

David

P.S.  I would love to see the “resort finder” make it to the Website

Hi all,

This is very great news that new version coming to read. I am very happy to read this. We should thanks to the Author.