Any skiier's out there?

Thinking of heading skiing this year but have never been before! Hoping some of you will be able to guide me in the right way.. Just wondering which country/resort is best to go to? Where has a good après ski? Would prefer somewhere with a good spa etc as it would be a group holiday and I couldnt see myself skiing every day any tips would be great

been to Bansko, Bulgaria depends what airport you fly in and out of can be a bit of a trek. ok slopes great apres ski Hopfgarten, Austria- fly in and out of Munich, we had savage crack here and great Apres Ski as there was 30 of us in our group we were guaranteed great sessions! its near other major places like Sol, so you might get a bus for a spa day there. also an hour or two from Munich for some sightseeing. beware when using sauna in Austria you are considered very rude if you put on swim wear they all go naked! Best slopes for me were in Vermont, USA, there was v few bars and apres ski there it was all about the skiing, if the Americans are goin to use their valuable annual leave days for skiing, skiing is what they will do! when i enquired as to how many bars were on the slopes for the snow road home, i was looked at as if i had two heads, there was one at the top of the mountain and a handfull at the bottom. where as in Austria we found bars every few hundred meters.

I've been to loads of places skiing - we always went skiing growing up - my first real sun holiday was my honeymoon!! Most of the bigger towns will have a decent hotel with a spa somewhat nearby, but its definitely worth asking the travel agent in advance. I've been to some doozys where the hotel i was staying in was miles away from anywhere, really regretted not checking in advance! My favourite spot so far has been Mayrhofen, Austria and its high up so you're guaranteed the snow. There's a train there directly aswell so the bus ride there isnt scary, and its very quick - just 45mins. The apres ski there was unreal - the 'ice bar' at the bottom of the mountain was just hoppin - and you had to go in there in your ski boots.. mad laugh! I've heard Ischgl in Austria is unreal - the height of skiing and pampering with heated seats and conveyor belts under the town and a good night life. Plan to try there myself this season if I can afford it :D Borovets or Pamporovo in Bulgaria had great all day ski schools, but they're a fair trek from the airport by bus. Great for beginners as theres really gentle slopes, but not sure about night life - ive not been there in a few years (wasnt great when i was there). Livigno in Italy might be another option - its a duty free town so its good for a spot of shopping, but again, itsa long transfer form the airport. Book as early as you can to get the best deals - you've usually got to book before august to get the 'pre-brochure' cheap deals but you'd probably still do well around now, ask for deals with the ski-passes or with equipment rental - you can usually get a bit of a discount of you go with a group.

Ischgl is great, the skiing is brilliant and the town is very lively, but its expensive and if its your first ski trip you wont need somewhere so vast as you wont be able to ski it. Mayrhofen is good too, but again same issue. I have heard Soll is good for beginners and good craic but I have never been there. In general Austria is amazing, skiing is more or less their national sport so its very good, but for a beginner I would really recommend Livigno in Italy, that's where I learned and the great thing is that by the end of a week there you can try all the ski areas - you wont be able for all the slopes, but there are plenty of options. Its duty free so food and wine is great value and there are loads of duty free shops to spend any spare money. I can remember at least one spa hotel you can go for treatments and I am sure there are more. The transfer from the airport is long, but its worth it.

Thanks for the tips girls, will start my research on those now hope I like skiing.. wouldn't usually be my choice but I'm willing to give it a try

You could try snowboarding first. Supposedly the snowboarding is easier to pick up from scratch if you've never done either. Supposed to be way harder to learn if you're coming from a skiing background.

I was going to suggest livigino aso and I loved Andorra, went to arinsal and had the best time was in pamporovo another time in bulgaria and hated the hotel but loved the slopes and the nightlife was fab too

I would recommend Austria, we went to Zell Am See and it was brilliant. Great snow and great apres ski. And the hunky ski instructor was a bonus Wouldnt recommend Andorra, its not as high as the Alps and we went one year and got very little snow. They did have snow cannons but some days the slopes were like ice. I thought the resorts in the alps were far better with a higher chance of there being good snow. Enjoy we had so much fun when we went! Its on the list of things to do again! The first year I skied 6 out of the 7 days and the second we skied every day! Its great fun, gets you up in the morning and clears the head!

I second Mayrhofen in Austria, skiing and apres-ski brillant, and I thought Soldeu in Andorra was excellent for beginners, apres ski isn't great but depends who you're going with and if there's a big group or not.