 Poster: A snowHead
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Apologies if this has been covered but I have done a trawl of previous posts and haven't found the advice I need. Fairly new to this (maybe my third post) so may not be looking at best places using the Forum Search.
My son will be just shy of 4 next season and I want to get him on skis.
I'm looking for a European resort ideally with:
A nursery slope at village level - ideally with those magic carpet things
A good English speaking ski school with small group size and ideally a meeting point at village level
A big enough linked on-piste ski area for my husband (boarder) and I (skier) - improving intermediates managing most of the steeper reds in PDS this year
A choice of restaurants and bars (but it doesn't have to be loads)
Ideally with some nicer catered chalet options (don't shoot me down but I love a good hot tub).
Does this exists? The family-friendly resorts I've looked at seem to have limited skiing options for adults.
Any advice would be great.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Mountaindoc, Champoluc seems to fit the bill, with the sole exception that the magic carpets are at the top of the first bubble. http://www.monterosa-ski.com/?lang=en
If you travel with www.ski-2.co.uk (no affiliation) they have their own anglophone instructors (although the Italian ski school does as well).
Catered chalets are rare outside France however, but there are nice hotels in Italy. Could argue food is better and certainly better vfm.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Oz-en-Oisan has a conveyor belt and is very family friendly IMO and has plenty of skiing for you and your husband.
I don't know about ski schools though.
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Sainte Foy will tick most of those boxes.......
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Obergurgl had a magic carpet directly behind where we were staying I think. There was definitely a beginners slope right behind our chalet. We went with Ski Espirit and were 4 families with kids ranging from 3 up to 11. It worked well as they would take the kids to lessons and give them lunch. We used to steal our children back at lunch time to have a ski with them which they found very strange. Sadly no hot tub though
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Thanks All. I'll look into those options.
Stefoy4me - my impression was that StF was quite limited for adults skiers for a whole week unless you go off piste. It would be good to get a view on this as the other aspects of the resort seem to fit well for us. We do like "covering the mountains" when we ski.
Bagginsmum. What did you think of the ski area for Obergurgl? I've read that it may not be challenging enough. Would be good to get s Snowheads view.
Any other resorts?
Many thanks
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@Mountaindoc, we did this last year with our daughters - one was the same age as your son. We went to Saalbach but stayed in a hotel. The Snowacademy ski school was right outside the back of our hotel (Konig) with 3 magic carpets and a slightly longer slope above to progress to - all at village level. It was perfect for building confidence as the ski school had the area to themselves. The children loved it and were skiing with us on blue runs on the last day. It's also a great area for intermediates.
One thing I like about Saalbach is that logistically, it's relatively easy and quick to ski back to the town. My children were only 3 and 6, so I wanted that reassurance. It also meant we could pop back and meet them for lunch, although the ski school will take them to a nearby hotel for lunch for an extra charge.
The Alpin Resort is also right next to the Snowacademy ski area and has spa facilities etc.
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@Mountaindoc, I would agree that on-piste skiing at Ste Foy itself is limited.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Mountaindoc,
If you enjoy the PDS have a look at Les Gets.
Beginners area with a couple of magic carpets halfway up the Chavannes slope at the top of the bubble, several restaurants in that area also.
A few catered chalet options, mostly independents although there is at least one family specialist TO as well.
We went a couple of years back with our family including two 4 year old (just) grandsons who had morning lessons with Ski360 and by the end of the week were skiing from the top of the Chavannes chair back to the village
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Obergurgl was absolutely fine and we had a day over in Solden included in our lift pass so that extended the area considerably. It was enough to keep us busy for a week and we had some good skiers with us (I exclude myself as they are all ex seasonnaires), it's definitley a much smaller area than say 3V.
We've done Les Gets too with small kids (twice) and it was a great family friendly resort. We took our youngest there for his first proper go at ski school at 4 (ecole360) and then went back again the following year as they loved it so much (LGS for ski school that time). There's some great kid friendly skiing over that way too.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Mountaindoc, La Tania, ESF has a nursery area with magic carpets in the middle of the village, or other schools can use the free magic carpet at the top of the gondola. We used Magic and ESF for my daughter who was 4 at the time, both were good for her and she had lots of fun.
For the adults, you've got Courchevel on the La Tania ski pass, or for more money the whole of the 3 valleys, although Courchevel when fully open has plenty of skiing.
Plenty of catered chalets, Family friendly skiing do in house nanny's, so do ski-magic, but there are other operators in the village. There's a selection of pubs and restaurants in the centre too.
More info www.latania.co.uk
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Thanks@Timc, @bagginsmum, Yes will look into LG. I'm still quite keen on the small chalet style accommodation. It's a shame that the Austrian resorts focus on chalet hotesl/hotels as Obergurgl sounds great.
Thank you @Little Martin,
We went to La Tania with Le Ski when my little one was 11 months (so didn't really consider what the beginner area was like). Don't shoot me down but I have heard mixed thoughts about ESF ski school for tiny ones. I'm sure it's all dependent on resorts and the child and the parents but was a bit concerned that my little boy may not cope with the approach (or rather I as the parent won't cope)  Did you notice any difference between Magic and ESF in terms of teaching style?
Cheers again
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@Mountaindoc, when are you going? For little ones a big ESF group can be quite intimidating. I'd go for a ski school with small groups if at all possible (max 6). Will, of course, cost a lot more - ESF is generally the cheapest option, sometimes by a long way, but if he's happy....?
Les Gets is lovely but I'd not go near it at half term.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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What about Avoriaz. We have skied there since our oldest son started ski-ing 6 years ago and will probably continue to do so until our youngest gets to red run standard. Everything is really convenient for families with young children.
There is a nursery for children that are too young to ski. It is called P'tits loups and takes children from 3 months to 5 years. I wouldn't say that their English is the best but it is good enough and we never had any problems with them. Both of our boys stayed there 3 times each.
You have a choice of ski schools from small independants to the good old ESF. We decided to go with the Childrens Village as it is called on parts of the Avoriaz website or the "Village Des Enfants" to use its proper name. This ski school is aimed specifically at children, although they have started catering for mums and dads in the last few seasons. They will take children as young as 3. Our oldest started a week short of his 5th birthday and our youngest was two weeks shy of his 4th when he started last year. They have a large fenced off nursery slope right in the middle of the resort which is equipped with a magic carpet, cartoon characters, hoops to ski under, see-saw ramps and all manner of fun things for the little ones. Once they progress further they are taken out to the blue runs that lead into the village. All lesson groups meet in this area and if the weather turns bad they can take the youngest ones indoors and entertain them with games and videos. Kids can stay all day and have a meal onsite if required. No lift pass is required for 5 years and under. All of the instructors our boys have had have been very friendly and speak good English. Group sizes are generally 8 - 10 and the young kids have two groups ski-ing together so that they can have one instructor in front and the other bringing up the rear when they leave the fenced area. I would thoroughly recommend this ski school.
By the way the Evolution 2 ski school sounds good on the website but the set up looks a bit amatuerish if you see them on the slopes. I had to drag one of their young kids back up the nursery slope this year as he was drifting off and couldn't figure out how to stop. A small group size of 5 kids but the instructor still hadn't noticed this one sliding down the hill!!
You have the whole of the Porte du Soleil ski area for the adults so that's you two sorted.
Plenty of restaurants and bars from full on noisy apres ski to full laid back and family oriented. Also plenty of on piste pit stops.
There is a wide range of apartments to choose from, size and standard wise. Some new blocks have been built in the last few seasons and these are very nice but the cheaper stuff will probably still be old school Pierre Vacances low end stuff. There are chalets but I don't know if they have hot tubs however Avoriaz does have its own indoor spa/tropical swimming paradise - Aquariaz so you should be ok.
Avoriaz is a traffic free resort and all apartments are ski in ski out but don't stay in the bottom of the resort otherwise you will have have to walk the kids up to ski school and you won't be thanked for that. The Crozats area is a good place to stay. Easy to ski the kids down to ski school and away from the bars in the main street so not noisy at night. Don't stay in Fontaines Blanches apartments unless you like staying above all the bars.
If you want to ski with your son after his lessons you could try taking him down a nice long blue run called Proclou. It leaves the village and heads towards Morzine. It's nice and wide and not too steep apart from the first 100m or so which is noticeably steeper and narrower but this part can be missed out by using a winding green run. He should be able to do this once he can hold a snow plough and turn a bit unless he tires easily. Ask his instructor what they think and check it out yourselves first.
All in all I think Avoriaz is a brilliant place for families with young kids and remember they will take your son from 3 years old so you could sneak in a trip this year.  Go on, you know you want to....
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Mountaindoc, difficult to say really, both were equally good in different ways. First time was with magic, she learnt to snow plow at the top of the gondola, which she thought was great and loved to show us what she had done by the end of the week. 2nd time was with ESF, 2 months later, by this point she could turn on one side, we had a private for her, which by the end she could turn both sides, go under barriers, use the button lift, she then had a group lesson for a couple of days which they bumped her up groups rapidly (ESF has the advantage of this with most of the younger groups in the same location), as she was good enough to. By the end she was happily coming down the troika and end of the blue in the village. The morning we put her ski's on at the top of the end of the blue and she said, I'll see you at the bottom or words to that effect, she was off, my wife and I quickly rushing to put our ski's on to catch up after her 
She's since had a week group lesson with magic this season, and was flying down the greens in courchevel, we have a video and the children were looking to have a wonderful time all happy and smiling. She was 5 and a half then.
So from my experience, both are equal, but it all depends on the instructors you get. For a young 4 year old, I would be temped by ESF, mostly because they have the groups in the middle of the village, and if they progress they can be bumped up groups quickly, and then they move up to coming down the green by the end of the week if they are good enough.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Layne wrote: |
| Oz-en-Oisan has a conveyor belt and is very family friendly IMO and has plenty of skiing for you and your husband. |
I'd second that - very friendly village for kids (great floodlit sledging one night a week), magic carpet on the nursery slope and masses of skiing for adults. Traffic free village as well.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Zell has a beginner area with a covered magic carpet next the areitbahn lift. Like obergurgl not the biggest or most challenging area but kaprun is just down the road.
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Thanks @Linkguard,
We went over to Avoriaz and Chatel a few times last week and my husband and I really loved skiing there, especially the Reds off Foret. I noticed the Village Enfants which looked fantastic but then read a few negative reviews (as well as good ones) which left me a bit confused. There were some reviewers who claimed they weren't able to take their children out early for the afternoon as it would disrupt the schedule. Not sure how true that is. It's good to hear more positive views.
I have seen a chalet that may fit the bill so definitely on the short list now
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@rainman, do you have any views on the ski schools in Oz?
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How about Westendorf? The nursery slopes are right in the village with fun area, magic carpet etc and a beginners chairlift to progress to with magnets which actually clamps small ones in place so they can't fall off. It can get sketchy by Easter right down in the village but in Jan Feb it is fine. You have access to the whole skiwelt from there for a bit of exploring. I can recommend Clive at Pension Christoph for independent booking. It is B&B or self catering with a breakfast option. Has family rooms, guest lounge with Tv etc, small and very friendly not a massive hotel. Local ski Schools all speak good English and seem good with small kids. We don't have any, but families we have net have been positive.
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Thanks @Col the Yeti, Is Westendorf linked to the rest of skiwelt?
Cheers
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You can ski to Brixen from Westendorf and link into the rest of Skiwelt from there or it is a short skibus. There is also a link to Kitzbuhel
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Kappl is great. Nursery slopes mid mountain and the blue red and black runs all lead into that area so great for keeping an eye on your kid
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@Mountaindoc, our kids learned with the fantastic Monica ay VO Coaching in Oz/ Vaujany, but in private lessons so I can't speak from experience on ski school for kids. But if you want the private experience, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Monica. The missus and I have both had lessons with ESF in Oz, who have never been anything other than great. It's definitely a very family oriented village.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I've taken many school trips to different places over the years where you want it perfect for people to learn and also some good skiing so you can leave the kids in the ski school and go do some proper skiing too. I think the resort that I think probably fits your bill the best is Risoul. Perfect for beginners, high, snow sure, good ski school, very pretty and plenty of intermediate skiing linked to Vars. I took my own family there on their first ski trip when my children were small and it's probably the best resort choice I've ever made.
Risoul is basically a high altitude French resort with all the benefits, but without the downsides of those in the Northern French Alps (Busy, ugly, commercial)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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If you want lots of mileage for you, as well as good tuition for the junior, then I could recommend St Martin de Belleville. Our daughter did ESF there when she was 4.5, and loved it. There were three or four other children in her class and she just did 3 hours per day. There was a magic carpet and they could do the long run from the gondola for the rest of the week. There is a garderie-type place to take them in after their lesson. We didn't use this so I can't really comment.
Lots and lots of nice chalets there, including Ski Talini chalets and also Chalet Chardon Bleu outside St Martin (about 7 minutes in the car/ their transfer bus) but hot tub and good food.
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Having said St. Martin de B., there is one thing missing off your list and that St MArtin doesn't major on: off-slope activities. A three year old is going to be skiing for a maximum of 2 hours per day I would think, so you are going to need something else to do in the afternoons or some wrap-around care. Kids that age don't really see the point skiing all day unless they are really very unusual and robust.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thank you @cameronphillips2000 and @robertsnerys,
As well as my own (seemingly unrealistic wish list), I have my family friends' wish list to think of too. Both families definitely want to stay in a chalet for sole occupancy rather than apartment/hotel/chalet hotel. This seems to limit us to France or Switzerland.
We are now thinking self-catering as we just don't do the food and drink offered to us in a catered chalet much justice (it was so sad to see the beautiful cakes produced daily go untouched and we could never cope with the 4 course meals). Agree that whilst St Martin de B would be lovely (Jerusalem is my favourite run in the Alps), there is probably not enough for the little ones and possibly not as much variety for meals out.
I've been thinking of Chatel now that the new chair links up with Linga. I know that they have the new covered magic carpet in Pre La Joux. Does anyone know about whether there is one at the top of Super Chatel? I can't seem to find a resort page on here for Chatel. There is a new pool, a village land train, bowling and a carousel so looks like it may fit the bill.
Another option I was thinking of was La Clusaz. Been there only for a mid-weeker but it was so pretty and the runs really challenging, I think I could cope with the smaller ski area. Anyone have any experiences here with children? I passed the ESF snow-garden on the way to the bubbles which looked ok.
I'll try to post a separate thread about the Chatel magic carpet thing (is that the right thing to do?).
Thanks again.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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We took ours to La Clusaz. The indoor/outdoor pool is great. Some of the blues around the town are quite tough and we ended up taking the car out to flatter nursery areas. The family preferred Risoul to be fair.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Serfaus. Completely child friendly. Amazing nursery areas.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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The strap line is 'We are family'.
For adults - perfect intermediate area.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Val Thorens has magic carpets, gondola/bubble for when carpets get boring and plenty of adult skiing. Car-free resort (especially when they're all stuck the other side of a 50T rock  )
Leisure centre of sorts, but it does do swimming and soft play. Plenty of places to muck about with a sledge (down the side of one of the magic carpets back up to the village is great fun).
Took our boy at 2 1/2 - sledging only. Going next week to ski. He can only manage an hour at a time on plastic, maybe a touch more on snow (hopefully!). We plan on avoiding lessons this time (although a chunky 22kg, he's quite a scaredy-cat, so would likely not enjoy it just yet).
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks @pam w, I have thought about Les Saisies a lot but I haven't managed to convince the boarders amongst my group that the drag lifts aren't an issue (which was the advice you kindly have me in a previous post - their loss I guess.
@erica2004, Serfaus looks amazing but little in the way of small chalets. I'm not really a fan of hotels/chalet hotels. I'll keep looking though and have made an enquiry at the Sonnen just to see what they can do £-wise.
@chrisValTho, I've been looking at a great chalet option in Les Bruyeres. The transfer time may put some of the group off but I'd love to ski VT again.
So far I've short(!)-listed Oz, Les Gets, Morzine, Chatel, Les Carroz, Morillon, Courchevel Village, Courchevel Moriond, La Tania, Les Bruyeres, La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand. Still keen to hear more suggestions. If anyone knows of chalet-type accommodation in Serfaus I'd be grateful if you could PM me or post here (if allowed).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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La Tania is superb for beginners and the intermediates can't really get any better than the whole 3V pass.
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Just unearthing this thread again which I wrote 2 years ago! I am going on a family ski trip to Les Carroz this March with my not-so-mini skier (approaching 5 now) and a large group of friends in a beautiful self-catered chalet in the centre of town. I'm already thinking about next year though. The plan is to go with just one other family in 2018 (their daughter is my son's age). Last year we went to Morzine (again) in the end but self-catered. It was very good for the then 3 year olds as well as lots there for the adults. The children did an hour's skiing a day with ESI and had a nanny. The self-catered chalet was very nice indeed and Morzine ticked all the boxes. Trouble is we've been to PDS quite a lot now and want to go somewhere else. Also, our "boxes" for a family ski trip have changed slightly and we are now looking for:
A resort good for beginners with a magic carpet area, gondola/village access to nursery slopes and good English-speaking ski schools
Nannies easily available
Sizeable linked (ideally no buses) pisted ski area for good skiers (we want more than 200Km for one week) with good, fast lift systems
Busy reasonably compact village with lots of restaurants and bar choices (our children are now at an age where we can take them out for diner and enjoy it)
Availability of high-end 4 bedroom self-catered chalets (I don't really want to stay in an apartment if I can help it but this is not a deal-breaker if it's nice enough)
Yes I know my group is really that fussy.
I have looked at Westerndorf but can't find the type of accommodation we want.
Love La Clusaz but skied most of it and GB in 4 days last month on a girls trip.
Les Carroz (where I'm going next month) looks great but it was very hard to find a good nanny in this resort and not sure I can go through all the hassle for next year.
Am keen on VT but very little in the way of self-catered chalets (all seem to be in Bruyeres rather than VT).
So, does a resort like this exist or are we being unreasonable and I need tell my group to manage their expectations (think I know the answer already)?
Thought it would be good to ask the wise SHs to see if I've missed anything.
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How many in the group.
I saw a 5-bedroom chalet on snowtrex or sunweb in La Tania the other day.
Fits a lot of your criteria.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Layne, 5 bedrooms could work and I've seen lots of nice self-catered chalets in La Tania when I researched in 2015. I went to La Tania in 2013 when my son was one. I liked it a lot. My friends are real foodies (bless them) though so I wonder if the choice of places to eat has expanded as it was quite limited then. Cheers for your response.
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There are quite a lot of 5 or more bed apartments in VT if your group can manage that. I think the resort and ski area tick all your other boxes.
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