Web Reviews - Head for the slopes online.

www.skiclub.co.uk[QQ] The Ski Club of Great Britain proudly boasts that this is the leading internet resource for skiers and snowboarders. And it is – up to a point.

Unfortunately too many pages were still ‘under construction’, not good as the season is now well underway. Most of the site is accessible to non-members, but if you really want everything it is easy to sign up on line. The tour operator search engine neatly links up with a number of operators offering packages in particular areas but then you need to research through these sites to find the holiday. The site has an ‘establishment’ feel to it, and is more geared towards the skier rather than the snowboarding community. 7/10

www.skiingwebsites.co.uk

uk250 provides a comprehensive portal service for a wide range of subjects, including two ski sites, skiingwebsites and skiholidaywebsites. The skiing site lists a large number of carefully screened skiing equipment and information sites, and the skiingholiday site does exactly what it says in the title.

Used as a directory, the sites save having to wade through the avalanche of skiing-related websites thrown out by most search engines. A good starting point for some of the more unusual and independent skiing organisations. 7/10

www.iglu.com

Liked the name, look and feel of this site. Launched in 1998, the site offers skiing holidays around the world for all budgets. It is fast and easy to move around with a clean and clear design. There is an extensive selection of accommodation and travel packages listed on the site plus the usual snow reports and travel arrangement details. Plenty of special offers are on show, including deals on travel and car hire. The site claims to have a database of over 12,000 chalets, hotels and apartments in over 300 resorts throughout Europe and North America and everything can be booked online. The resort webcams and 3D maps add to the fun. Impressive. 8/10

www.skisolutions.com

Ski Solutions has been around for 15 years offering a wide range of holiday types on both sides of the Atlantic. This site is the company’s presence on the web and looked very promising. Unfortunately when we logged on the site was having a few technical difficulties, particularly its chalet finder facility. That said, it is a well presented site which makes researching a holiday very easy, albeit with a limited selection of resorts. It is a bit frustrating that it is not possible to book online directly through the site. Instead it is necessary to either submit an enquiry form or actually pick up the phone. The lack of prices on display is also disappointing. But it is still a smart site, aimed at skiers that have a reasonable budget. 6/10

www.skiingmail.com

Produced by the Daily Mail, this is a predominantly a news site but offers a holiday search facility as well. Powered by First Resort, it asks you for budget, dates etc and then matches you up with a wide range of options.

These can then be booked through an enquiry form or by phone; again it is a shame it cannot be done directly online, but in this case the search facility looks at a number of different operators. The news and features are taken from the newspaper so can be a bit dated but nonetheless are interesting and informative especially if you want to know what you should be wearing on the slopes this year. 7/10

Also worth checking out is the Daily Telegraph’s travel site, www.theplanet.co.uk, for resort comparisons and reviews.

More websites can be found on www.accountancyage.com.