Advice Needed - Reluctant Partner

A snowHead

@Old Fartbag, snowHead

I'm getting a whiff of a thinly disguised advertisement.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Old Fartbag,

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I think we may be at cross porpoises.

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Plus 1 for Champoluc, though maybe not ideal for complete beginners.

A slightly off-beat suggestion: Cauterets, in the Pyrenees. Stunning little Belle Epoque town with two spas, an excellent indoor market and lots of very reasonable self-catering and hotel accommodation. There's a gondola from the town up to a small ski area in a north-facing bowl (which gets lots of snow) and a beautiful snow-shoeing/nordic/walking area nearby at Pont d'Espagne.

Within 40 minutes' drive you have several other ski resorts, including the excellent Grand Tourmalet which has the Pyrenees' answer to the Aiguille du Midi, the Pic du Midi. Ryanair fly Stansted to Lourdes, also about 40 minutes' drive away.

https://www.n-py.com/en/cauterets

After all it is free

UCPA is very good value - but "family weeks" are few and far between.

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@bezthespaniard,

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I entirely understand the OP's response to the "budget" question. Last time I was in the market for a second hand car I would walk into a showroom, or telephone, tell them what I wanted (a car which would seat an occasional 7, with capacity to carry a full size spare wheel, a year or so old). They kept asking me what my budget was, and I kept refusing to tell them - I said I didn't have a budget, which was true. In terms of "money in the bank" I could perfectly well have bought a car in that category brand new, for cash, but I think new cars are generally a waste of money and would generally buy one after the first year or so of heavy depreciation.

As previously noted, smaller scale may offer particularly good insight.

We've introduced families to skiing with variation of reluctance for disparate reasons, cold, unfamiliar, trepidation, risk averse, all certainly valid. But entirely converted usually by enjoying it once immersed.

I illustrate with a particular place, in that it's small in most senses, friendly relaxed and courteously descreet in mood and atmosphere. Very very child enjoyable, a hugely important element for any parent contemplating a first visit.
Accommodation literally on the snow with lift 50th mtrs from that, with great freedom to just enjoy the whole day from ski lessons and subsequently playing on the snow afterwards, either ski or toboggan etc with two magic carpets. The children we've taken have usually spent the whole day really active and don't last much toward 21.00hr as if someone just switched them off.
There's no other real "attractions" so not much in the way of planning, but they just don't seem to need much. But with an environment in which they thrive. There's a short first lift with both blue and green options down to village, with most of the children feeling hugely accomplished after the lessons showing their parents newly aquired skills. Watching them build autonomy doing this is just one of the highlights.
We've used self catering, but there are some very good places to eat.
Has one of the best and most accessible very long blue runs available, and with low people numbers too. Absolutely ideal from a pure beginner perspective with the whole family able to spend time skiing together.
Usually, if it's convenient, 2nd or 3rd week in March provides beautiful conditions and weather.
There are pools and other facilities, but it's not a major focus. But all of the people we've been with seem to deplete their energy throughout the day with not much taste for chasing something else to do.
I feel the children get so much out of going here that parents, both, can really relax and enjoy showing them how good the mountains are.
If you set out to convert someone, that may be the wrong direction in my view.
But if you collectively have a great adventure, then most want to go again.

We've stayed here https://www.peakretreats.co.uk/winter/ski-resorts/tarentaise/sainte-foy/les-fermes-de-sainte-foy?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuMjUtJGP7wIVh7TtCh1KkQBmEAAYASAAEgISVPD_BwE but all of the accommodation is with the same real distance as the village is small.

You know it makes sense.

@pam w, yes but it’s one thing saying you don’t have a budget (or specifically don’t want to reveal it to a salesperson in a car showroom).

It’s another quite different thing to state ‘the cost isn’t a factor, any budget is fine’ on a web forum.

Or am I the only one who perceives a difference and ambiguity here?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I don't see the difference. It wasn't just that i didn't disclose my "budget". I didn't have a budget. I have no car at the moment - gave mine to one of my kids, who needed it more than I did, early in lockdown last year. I will need to acquire a car in the next months or so and, once again, I will have no budget. I could afford to buy myself a nice little convertible sports car with posh wheels. My family and friends would be astonished - whereas they won't turn a hair when I go for a two-year old Hyndai i10. In holiday terms, I would pay a premium for the right resort, or for well-located accommodation (near the lifts, ski school meeting places etc) but not for a "luxury" hotel or a smartly-appointed apartment. I've paid premium prices for really small group ski lessons for grand-children - and felt they were exceptionally good value. But they're all in hand-me-down ski clothes. I will buy an expensive wine in Waitrose but baulk at paying the same price for a bottle of plonk in a restaurant. As @bezthespaniard says, it's about value.

I suppose we all have our own priorities and our own view of what is "pointless extravagance". I feel like that about poor quality take-away food. I'd prefer to have a cheese sandwich. The money I've saved by not buying take-aways, over many years, means I have enough savings to buy myself quite a fancy car, if that was what I valued. But I don't. It's not inconsistent for someone who has enough money to pay in a fancy hotel to decide to go to UCPA.

A snowHead

A snowHead

VFM isn't straightforward though. Some people think a luxury hotel with great "wellness" (yuk) facilities is good value. I wouldn't because I don't like hotels and I specially dislike "luxury" hotels. The most expensive place I ever stayed was a tented game camp with buckets with holes in for showers. Smokey mugs of early morning tea, round an open fire, in the very chilly dawn prior to private game drives - just the five of us, in an open Land Rover with an expert guide. Was brilliant VFM.

Just writing about it I can almost smell it......... woodsmoke and dry grass. And the extraordinary smell of earth after a short sharp afternoon downpour.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@pam w, all true. But in the context of a person asking for advice about where to go to meet quite tricky requirements, a brief description of what they think of as VFM helps.

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Yes - I agree! People need to give us as much to go on as possible. It particularly irks me when someone asks for advice for a "non skier". rolling eyes

I have had a number of "non skiers" on holidays I've arranged, and none has needed "entertainment" or "shopping".

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So for clarity, I wouldn’t consider anything above £6k for a week of skiing to be good value.

Ski Famille is about £5k for the 4 of us but UCPA Family Week, including Yoga and Spa trips and a similar experience is £3k for the week.

In bigger news, my wife and I are postponing the 2022 trip until 2023 when we are going to go Ski Famille in Reberty.

I’m going on a lads trip this year and sending her and her friends to somewhere hot!

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if budget is not an issue, zermatt unplugged would keep everyone happy in the 2nd week of April !

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After all it is free

@pam w,

IMO The choice is go high in April - moonscape with not much in the way of non-skiing activities,
or,
Go low in February - beautiful villages and towns with plenty of other activities.
Somewhere like Kitzbuhel is unlikely to be that cold even in mid-winter.

I'd choose February every time.

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@PeakyB,

totally.

I was finally thinking as a late female convert to skiing I’d have something to add but my contribution was pointless as ever Razz

You know it makes sense.

@pam w,

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Skimum1,

A snowHead

And perhaps our concerted advice dissuaded the OP from a holiday which might have been a bit of a disaster!

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@pam w,

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I was reluctant partner 10 years ago. Couldn’t cope with the rest of the family holidaying without me so decided to take the plunge.
I am now more likely to go skiing with my pals than my very experienced husband is.
Let your partner go at their own pace. Invest in a couple of private lessons and then book more if it goes well so there’s no pressure.
My kids loved it straight away and I took a lot longer to pick it up (I was 40 when we first went).
It makes sense to go somewhere with other activities that the family will enjoy, just in case ....but I’d say most resorts have some other things to do so pick the best resort for beginners and good accommodation close to the beginners area or lifts.
If you’re able to, avoid the crowds of the school holidays..although that may be difficult if your kids are school age.
I hope you have as much fun as we do! There’s nowhere we’d all rather be now and our kids are 19 and 21 both fabulous skiers. I still like the blue runs and I don’t go fast but I love it!

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Notwithstanding the decision to go in 2023 to Reberty, one could do a lot worse than look at the Dachstein König https://www.dachsteinkoenig.at/en/salzkammergut/ given ages of kids plus wife being a newbie. Spa Hotel, only for families and possibly, ever so slightly, at the higher end of the market.

200m max from ski lifts, but they do have a golf buggy type ‘train’ to whisk guests from door to door, so to speak. They also provide complimentary Minis for guests who wish to take in alternative sights. They will also organise private transfers to/fro airports etc etc

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@bezthespaniard,

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Advice Needed - Reluctant Partner

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