On the verge of booking Les Deux Alpes for a family of 5 for March 2016 however are there any better options? Never been to L2A but have heard they have a decent amount of green runs at low level, and a good 'green' area (Cretes?) up the mountain for early beginners / young children - this is the full extent of my knowledge other than snippets through searches on this site . . .
Concerns are -
Will the snow be melted at the bottom by mid march and therefore remove the benefit of easy greens on your doorstep?
Access to Cretes area difficult for early beginners and limited full stop if lifts are closed in bad weather etc?
Are the ski schools any good?
Ideally need a resort where -
High enough for late season with good snow record
Lots of 'accessible' green runs (not blues that are actually red in places) Kids are all under 10years an beginners - wife is nervy 'improver'
Good ski school where I can leave kids in confidence for a few hours. (My son got his leg smashed on day 2 of his first ever ski hol in Feb - he will need confidence building etc)
Some fairly decent (but not expansive) skiing for myself (fast blues, technical reds, the odd steep black without monster moguls)
Doesn't have to be France - would quite fancy Italy as I've never skied there . . .or is L2A actually the resort that ticks all the boxes . . .?
Your help and vast experience is appreciated! Thanks, Chris
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
There are some Snowheads very knowledgeable about L2A who will answer your detailed questions. When in March are you going? Mid March is good (after the end of the 4 week French holidays) and is definitely not "late season".
Are you looking at self-catering, hotel or catered chalet, and how will you be travelling? Those details will help if people are looking at other options (of which there are loads, by the way).
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?
L2A is a bit of marmite resort. I spent a day there when I was in ADH and I didn't feel any attraction for it.
ADH or La Plagne sounds much more suitable IMO. And you won't have any problems with snow in March.
We stayed in he Mark Warner place mid April in 2014. That was a bad end of season year for them. Our hotel should of been ski in ski out but that run had just a thin strip of snow left. So the kids lessons were higher up. We just walked across the run to the bottom of the chair lift to get up higher.
The girls had lessons with Evolution 2 both girls thoroughly enjoyed them and learnt a lot despite the very hard snow (they hadn't had fresh snow for ages).
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Want an all in half board chalet / chalet hotel and have been looking at Neilson as I use them for Summer Hols and they are generally excellent - don't want long hikes to lifts and ski in ski out on a green run absolutely ideal. Neilson has a chalet on the green run near Diablo lifts . . . . .Weekend of 19th March
Have considered Alpe D'Heuz round the corner (have also skied there) with its wide rolling blue runs . . .had a bad personal experience though pre kids and some of the easier runs can get busy with out of control wannabe freeski intermediates so not sure about this. . .
Went to La Plagne in April on a lads holiday - not enough greens for my kids, and slopes from Belle Plagne to Arpette lift etc is too steep for their current ability. . .would be ideal when they get more confident in a few years though . . .
@Belch, try Risoul. Lots of ski-in/ski-out places. Plenty of lovely green runs. Some nice blues and reds. Don't know about black rus. And an absolute ball-breaker of a drag lift (with some great runs down from the top of it...). Don't know about half board/chalet though - mainly self catering, I think.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
We went to LDA this season (Feb) and I can honestly say the greens at the base are the greenest greens I've ever seen. If you are complete novices then they might be OK however a few sessions at a snow dome and you will be way above that level.
There is a gondola up to the mid nursery slopes which would IMO would be much better plus its a bit cooler up there meaning a) you wont be hot and sweaty and b) you'll get more of a "mountain" experience.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Greenest green sounds great . . .my kids are 10, 8 & 6 (or will be by then) . . .all first time skiers based on our first attempt in Feb which was a disaster. (Broken bones, stress and not much slope time) so all three have not had a particularly great experience (especially middle child who broke bones)
Really need a confidence boosting area where they can all wiz around at their hearts content until THEY are ready to push to the next level . . .as for the wife and myself not bothered - this is about them not us really . . .if I get 2hrs blasting about when they are in ski school great, I intend to teach them pm and the nearer the hotel/chalet the better . . .
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@Belch, the bottom bit of LDA would be great for what you need - if the snow cover is OK which I don't know about!
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@Belch, I think the key element in your holiday choice will be the ski school, given your kids' poor experiences first time round.
For under-confident beginners and nervous skiers the Austrian formula of all day ski school can be quite helpful - because it's often difficult to find appropriate level spots for them in the afternoon, and easy to take them somewhere which is easy enough to an experienced skier, but intimidating for others, nonetheless.
If you are going out of school holidays and are keen to go to France you could do a lot worse than Les Gets, and book the kids into one of the ski schools with small groups (there are a number of Snowheads who are Les Gets regulars and could recommend suitable schools).
I've skied a bit in Les Deux Alpes - and from observation I'd say a lot of beginner lessons are up the gondola, in a beginners area with a covered magic carpet lift. Once up the mountain anyone but a confident skier would probably want to come down in a lift - there's no easy way down.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
There SHOULD be an easier way down by next season, if the long-awaited blue home run is completed.
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.
@Belch, if you go to LDA DO NOT take the beginners down the green track from Cretes to the resort. It's a hideous pig.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Yes, that was on display whilst we were there.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
NickyJ wrote:
We stayed in he Mark Warner place mid April in 2014. That was a bad end of season year for them. Our hotel should of been ski in ski out but that run had just a thin strip of snow left. So the kids lessons were higher up. We just walked across the run to the bottom of the chair lift to get up higher.
The girls had lessons with Evolution 2 both girls thoroughly enjoyed them and learnt a lot despite the very hard snow (they hadn't had fresh snow for ages).
You can come down the same chair lift we went up - my girls were 7 & 4 when we were there. Also the Berangere which we stayed in had a number of interconnecting rooms which is nice for when you have younger kids.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
We went to Montgenevre in the first week of April this year and would highly recommend the resort to beginners, as well as A Peak ski school who were fantastic with the children. Small groups, very good teachers.
Cretes is a good next step beginners/improvers area but can be very busy. The runs at the very top on the glacier are great though, very gentle and wide. Should be in great shape even if it is warm. No problem with getting the lift down. It does take quite a while to get from the bottom to the very top though. Jnr was happy with ESF lessons when we were there, we had a couple of hours with Easiski (Charlotte).
Here's a very boring vid on a deserted glacier run first thing on Boxing Day a good few years ago that I took (think this was my 3rd or 4th week skiing, normal camera in hand -14C no glove on , no action cam!) which should give you an idea what it is like up there.
@pam w, -15C plus wind chill last time I was up there. Bit chilly on those T bars!
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@SkiPenguin & @thecramps
Thanks - like the look of Montgenevre and would never have considered it - what are the snow conditions like Mid March?
Also still toying with Half board vs Self Catering - other than bfast there's no way either of us are going to cook every day - what can I expect to pay for an evening meal (family of 5) . . ?
Montgenevre is nice, we skied away for a day when we stayed in Sestriere last year but bear in mind it's France and is therefore expensive.
My other reccomendation would be to stay in either Sauze'Doulx or Sestriere both of which have very good nursery slopes and are good for beginners and as it's Italy it'll be cheaper.
Think 5e for a french coffee and 3e for an italian one.
Not so sure about the March snow though, it'll be a gamble in the lower resorts depending on when in March you are going.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@homers double, 3euro for a coffee in Italy! Scandalous! 1.5euro for a coffee in Santa Caterina Valfurva and 2.50 for a Bombardino!
After all it is free
After all it is free
Quote:
Think 5e for a french coffee and 3e for an italian one
coffee in Italy is both far better and cheaper than coffee in most places. In yer average caff it's often 1 euro. More, though still a good buy, in ski areas. But I generally pay around 3 euros for a passable (if not Italian quality) coffee in my area of France (cheaper than Costa). Hot chocolate is the Italian killer drink - at least in the Dolomites. Cheap (a lot cheaper than beer) and fantastic quality. The beer seemed comparable in price to France and more expensive than Austria. I also found Italian beer quite expensive away from ski resorts. Anyone for whom the imbibing of large quantities of beer in bars is an essential holiday ingredient is well advised to avoid both Italy and France.
How much is an evening meal? Piece of string, really. If you avoid the big rip off French resorts (which are worth avoiding for many other reasons) a pleasant meal, with two courses, plenty of vino and a coffee (with very often a digestif "on the house"), in a local French restaurant could be had for £20 - 25. Kids menu less, obviously. But the range of prices in France and Italy is huge - do you want a plate of pasta and a jug of the house red or something really special?
Even small French resorts are likely to have traiteurs selling very acceptable ready made dishes for reasonable prices if you don't want to cook for yourself but want to avoid the hassle and expense of taking kids out to a restaurant.
Personally I dislike hotels (I was a bit tired of the food at the Birthday Bash by half way through the week) and would always prefer either to potter around sampling a range of restaurants or sometimes buying top quality steaks, a baguette, a bag of salad and an excellent bottle of red and tackling the not-too-onerous chore of cooking the steak exactly as I want it! I also like being able to have beers, or gin and tonics etc, at supermarket, not hotel-bar prices. And for kids who want to pour the really expensive drinks, like Coke, down their throats in copious quantities buying it at hotel prices (or buying cups of tea, for that matter) can be ruinous.
I enjoyed catered chalets but it always rankled a bit that adults could knock back the "free" wine but drinks for kids, even squash, or supermarket Colas, had to be paid for. But maybe I should have gone to more upmarket chalets!
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AthersT wrote:
@homers double, 3euro for a coffee in Italy! Scandalous! 1.5euro for a coffee in Santa Caterina Valfurva and 2.50 for a Bombardino!
Depends where you are and how tainted your memory is.
On "our" lake if you stand up at the bar it's 1e, sit and ask for it in english and it's 4e.
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@homers double, Do they allow you to drink coffee sitting down in Italy? I always found it was drunk standing up at the bar.
At Easter went across to La Rosiere from Les Arcs for the day (a brilliant day) and found coffee in Italy at 1.5 euro and in France 3 euro. Beer was the same price in both areas, as was wine (about the same price as beer as well)
A few years ago I stayed in a self catered apartment in the Chalet Planton in Tignes and they offered a demi pension service. Basically we went down to the bar for breakfast in the morning and they served an evening meal in the evening in the restaurant. It was the best of both worlds the space and luxury of an apartment plus no need to cook or worry about food. IIRC the demi pension was 25 euro per person per day. It is always worth enquiring if any other restaurant is offering such a service in the resort.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@homers double, @johnE, to be fair the prices I stated were whilst sitting in a Bar/Paninoteca with table service and ordered in English/broken Italian. But yes, increase the Bombardino intake and prices seem to diminish by the minute
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.
Quote:
ask for it in english
not much excuse for ordering coffee in English, especially if it puts the price up. I'm learning a few words of Norwegian prior to a holiday in June - "en kopp kaffe, takk" shouldn't be beyond the powers...... and maybe it'll be cheaper and served with more of a smile than if I launch straight into English.
It's always funny ordering a caffe lungo in Italy - and you get something half the size of a French espresso.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@Belch - we self-catered in Montgenevre and found it worked it out really well.
Bought basics from supermarket (we weren't cooking either).
Went to the bakery each morning for baguettes/croissants, and kids had cereal as well.
Then we either ate out for lunch and at apartment for dinner, or vice versa.
Eating at the apartment was either a hot roast chicken from the deli with baguette and salad, baguette with ham/cheese, pasta with pesto, v easy. There was also an Italian restaurant that did takeaway pizzas.
A good range of places to eat out in Montgenevre (and the place is small so easy to get to from the apartment). Yes, there are some more expensive restaurants but also some very reasonable ones, so I'd think you would be able to eat to suit your budget.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
The greens at resort level at L2A should be OK in mid March, even this year which was pretty poor they kept going well past then. There's one green on Cretes which runs from top to bottom of Crete chair and a shortened version can be accessed via a magic carpet. Plenty of fairly gentle blues can be accessed from Crete right up to the top of the glacier. As already mentioned the new blue run back to resort from Cretes opens in December. The Demoiselles green back isnt that bad at quieter times. There are plenty of more difficult slopes and off piste too. There's always decent snow at L2A at some level even when some other resorts are finished.
There are about 7 English ski instructors there now with European Ski School, BASS and independents. Plenty of French and Italian instructors speak excellent English too.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@pam w, don't reckon you'll get a discount in Norway. They play it with a very straight bat. In most NO ski resorts, you'd be better speaking Danish or Swedish.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@pam w, At least coffee is coffee or cafe or Kaffe, almost everywhere. Tea can vary a lot (it appears to be called "chi" in most places) and beer even more so - pivo, cerveza and for your summer holiday öl. It has been a long time since I was in Norway, but the language issue appeared quite important then with 3 official languages and a range of dialects more varied than glaswegian and cockney not everyone in the country understood everyone else.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Claude B & SkiPenguin. . .brilliant answers and on point (much as I like coffee!)
Do like the look of L2A / Montgenevre . . .decisions!
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?
I ski in Livigno in March every year - always still great snow and great ski schools and amazing coffee (bombardino's not bad either) ...
@Belch, looking at your location, I'd recommend you have a trip to either Tamworth or MK and book kids into a lesson or two. Couple of hours here can really build confidence and help prior to getting out to the slopes.
Mid-March is generally fine for snow conditions, but of course they are not guaranteed.
We have three kids (teenagers now) and a meal out for 5 on the slopes is pushing 80euros, similar price for a nice meal in the evening. Depends on what you're after but we always self-cater - brekkie is easy, you can return to apartment for lunch (soup, bread, cold meats etc) which also gives the kids a good rest. Evening we would cook simple but filling stuff, pasta etc and probably have one meal out.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
just to chuck a curve ball, how about La Tania, with this company, I've recommended them a few times and I think other snowheads have had good family holidays with them.
The good thing is, if for example, your 6 and 8 year old only want to ski half days then they will look after them in the afternoon, or I've had them give the kids lunch after ski school and have met us at the top of the gondola for a family ski in the afternoon.
There is a free drag lift in La Tania for arrival day warm ups etc. There is a green back down to La Tania, and some very, very wide greens over in Courchevel.
I'm going to suggest looking at the EspritSki website. They do great childcare: take them to lessons, bring them back, do things with them the rest of the time. So you get to ski without them and they get to be in a group with bunch of other kids and fun "snow rangers". And the group thing will take care of the stress from last year. Your oldest may not get the most from it unless there are other kids her/his age, but you could check with Esprit about age ranges. They do L2A I think. Courchevel is ski in/out. Val d'Isere is probably their cheapest. They do a good half board, including wine, but they've become a bit stingier with the wine recently!
I just reread this, and no, I don't work for them. But I have had some great holidays with them.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Boris, . . .did the Tamworth Kinder sessions pre my last attempt . . .to be honest I didn't think they were that great and it was a bunfight for 4 weekends in succession prior to the holiday accident fest. The kids are generally physically confident . . .they just need a safe environment and an instructor who's aware of what's going on . . .
@henzerani, Hadn't considered Esprit . . they have some nice locations that are def worth considering (Obergurgl specifically!) . . .thanks. As for MK - no comment - I'm giving it a wide berth until they sort their snow out . . shame cos I've got a brand new set of Head Rev 75's (stupid low price on Glisshop) waiting to be ruined on there . . .their virginity is probably going to be lost on Tamworth this weekend!
After all it is free
After all it is free
@Belch,
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.
@Belch, if you search for Esprit on here you will find a good number of Us Have used them and been quite happy with them. We have been with them 3 times (Courchevel, Belle Plagne and St Anton) and have booked Gressoney for next season with them.
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@NickyJ, Couldn't do a total price check on there . . .probably being stoopid . . is this function available . . ?
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
, no action cam!) which should give you an idea what it is like up there.
not much excuse for ordering coffee in English, especially if it puts the price up. I'm learning a few words of Norwegian prior to a holiday in June - "
