Easter with good ski instruction. Avoriaz? Obergurgl? Somewhere else?

A snowHead

Having just had 3 x 1 hour private lessons at a snowdome, our children have been convinced to go on their first skiing holiday next year. We have decided to go for Easter rather than New Year as much cheaper and warmer for the children (who will be 5 and 8 ).

Have read up on quite a few resorts online, and we are thinking of either Obergurgl or Avoriaz. Are these good choices or has anyone got any other recommendations, please?

What we want is:
- 7 days either week before or after Easter
- flights from Gatwick
- short transfer (up to 2 hours)
- as snow sure as we can try and make it for Easter (obviously aware there is no guarantee)
- accommodation close to where the ski lessons would meet
- excellent English-speaking ski instructor for the children (thinking around 4 x 2-hour private lessons)
- We do not need childcare but if there is an option of a kids club for a couple of afternoons so we could have a longer skiing session then that would be a bonus.
- catered accommodation, either in a hotel or chalet-hotel, for a family of 4
- swimming pool at hotel or in resort would be nice for an afternoon activity.
- My husband and I are intermediates and would like some blues and easy reds within easy access while the children are in their lessons, but doesn't need to be extensive as it will only be for 2-hour blocks.

We have done package holidays and DIY trips as a couple and in groups so are happy to organise things ourselves, but have never been so late in the season so all the resorts we have been to in the past aren't suitable.

We have found one hotel in Obergurgl which is quite expensive - we would much rather have a cheaper hotel and spend the money on the private tuition. We would consider apartments if that is the one thing we'd have to compromise on.

We desperately want to make sure we get the first skiing trip right so that the children get the skiing bug, hence the private lessons and being happy to ski less ourselves this first time, and happy to pay more than we normally would to get it right.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

A snowHead

May I recommend the Cachette hotel in Arc 1600. Good access to the ski school meeting point, and what certainly used to be a good kids club when my son went there. the resort swimming pool is a bit of a trek away in Bourg st Maurice - down the funicular and about a 20 minute walk along the river bank, remember men must where swimming trunks, not shorts, but no rules on female attire. Not sure about transfer times. It is 7 minutes from the railway station if you choose to go by train, about 1:30 from Chambery by car and about 2:30 from Geneva or Lyon.

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Thanks JohnE. Isn't that too low for April snow though? Transfer time is fine, Gatwick flights to Chambery so not a problem there. Would prefer swimming pool to be closer but not a big deal. Is there a ski school in particular that you recommend there?

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Instead of Gurgl why not in Sölden? Snowsure in April because of the Glacier , easy slopes for children, and you could visit Aqua Dome

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Les Arcs is not too low for Easter snow (though Avoriaz may be). 1600 is the resort height and the skiing goes to over 3000m with the majority of it over 2000m. Only once can I recall not being able to ski down to 1600 and that was on the last day of the season (and April) when they had pulled up all the piste markers and were closing the resort down. My son, had a private lesson with ESF when he was just turned 4 and the instructor was fine. Other people report that ESF is generally good, but there are other ski schools

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SkiPenguin, welcome to Snowheads! Have you seen somewhere you'd like to stay in Avoriaz? In my opinion Avoriaz is a really good bet for Easter and ticks a lot of your boxes. I've skied that area the past two Easters and not been disappointed. Transfer is short, all accommodation is really well placed and is ski-in/out. There is a huge range of choice of quality english speaking ski lessons there, as you are wanting private lessons for your kids I'd recommend BASS Morzine (they'll come up and meet you for private lessons) but there are other good options too. Most accomm is apartments so not sure about your catered request though there is a really nice friendly hotel just one lift down below Avoriaz (technically in Morzine but you'd go up to Avoriaz) called Hotel Les Prodains, not stayed there but lunched there a few times and it is convenient. Swimming pool - Aquariaz is the new pool complex in the resort, it's really nice for kids, slides, climbing wall, rope swing, water play area etc. Endless blues and reds on the doorstep. Good luck with your choice snowHead

After all it is free · Last edited by After all it is free on Tue 2-09-14 3:38; edited 1 time in total

Hi Skipenguin,

I don't know anything about Avoriaz or Les Arc but have skied about 15 weeks in Obergurgl. You won't have a problem with the snow at Easter, the village is at 1900m and having skied there at Easter for the last 10 years, have never had a problem with conditions.

Easyjet do Gatwick - Innsbruck as do BA. The transfer from Innsbruck airport is about 90 minutes. If you DIY you can book a transfer with Oetztal Shuttle at: http://www.oets.com/en/oetztal-shuttle-transport-service/?session=pklnmit3a776ghp7tpjajvpgq5.

The ski school has a couple of meeting areas - the one in the village centre at the Gaisberg, behind the Edelweiss hotel and a newer office and meeting point behind the Hochfirst hotel a short distance (one stop on the free bus) away. The Gaisberg area accesses the Rosskar and Hohe Mut lifts and the area from the Hochfirst, the Festkogl lift. I learnt to ski in Obergurgl a long time ago on the beginner slopes a short walk downhill from the Gaisberg area. I'm pretty sure that the main ski school now run beginner lessons from the office behind the Hochfirst but it would be best to confirm this by emailing the ski school directly. There is now a choice of ski schools in Obergurgl but I learnt when there was only one school: http://www.obergurgl.com/ski-snowboard-schools.

Most of the larger hotels with swimming pools are around the Gaisberg/village centre area but the Crystal/Sportiv nearer to the Festkogl lift also has a pool, as does the Hochfirst hotel. You can check the facilities provided by hotels at the tourist office website: www.obergurgl.com. There is a small public swimming pool in Obergurgl but I've never used it. The Aqua Dome referred to in a post above is in Langenfeld, a bus ride away from both Obergurgl and Solden. There are some chalet/chalethotel type places close to the Hochfirst hotel with the Festkogl being the nearest lift; these are all run by uk tour operators. I don't think these are DIY bookable using the Obergurgl website. The only apartments I'm aware of are at the Lohmann, again, you can check the detail at the Obergurgl website. I always stay in a b and b pension.

I'm not a parent but if i had kids I'd take them to Obergurgl.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into Arc 1600 and also Solden (the Aqua Dome looks great). Is there a particular ski school that is good in Solden?

Sarah - we hadn't found a hotel in Avoriaz but will definitely look at the one you mention to check how easy it is to get into Avoriaz from there (will children and all their equipment!). My husband had also spotted Aquariaz there so he is tempted. I have emailed BASS Morzine to enquire as I didn't realise they would come up to Avoriaz.

Kelskii - thanks for the Obergurgl info. I have emailed the main ski school there to ask where the meeting point would be for the children so that is a great help as I see the resort is quite spread out. They have recommended group lessons rather than private due to the age difference, so thinking on that now as not sure about my youngest having such a long day (he was tired after each 1 hour lesson).

I've also noticed the Ski Amade area is quite reasonable, but know nearly nothing about it. Has anyone had experience of the Wagrain/Flachau/Alpendorf region?

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SkiPenguin, the hotel is at the bottom of the new Prodains lift (big cable car) and so is just one lift up. That said with young children I might stay in an apartment in Avoriaz itself. Aquariaz is very good for kids and also has a very nice sunbathing terrace too Cool

We had private lessons from BASS Morzine one time and they came to meet us at Lindarets, now that wouldn't be convenient with beginner kids, but hopefully for a private they can meet anywhere. If not there's always Avoriaz Alpine (British) and the Village des enfants which is french but gets good reports. Good luck.

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sarah,

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I'd highly recommend Montgenevre. We've been there a couple of times in April, both times the snow was excellent.

They've a great small ski school called A-Peak (ask for Seb), lovely resort, great for intermediates, and all runs return to town so it's easy to get back for ski school closing etc.

There are a variety of catered chalet options, and a couple of nice hotels / apartments with access to swimming pool etc.

SkiPenguin, I ski in the Flachau/Wagrain/St Johann-Alpendorf region all the time with a few excursions elsewhere. I've never had a problem skiing Sportwelt Amadé at Easter, even last year it was good if not brilliant (lower slopes a bit slushy by midday). There are a whole load of us who are either based in the Ennstal (Schladming through to Altenmarkt) or Wagrain/St Johann-Alpendorf. It does actually give families fantastic value for money, especially with the free ski passes for children under 16.

You know it makes sense.

Sorry for delay in replying - bit hectic here with one child back at school and another starting next week. Am reading all replies though and will hopefully have time this weekend to look at it some more. Thanks for all replies.

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

As an instructor in Obergurgl I would highly recommend it for an Easter trip and as an awesome resort for children, whether they are beginners or experienced skiers.
It has a large choice of high quality hotels and cheaper options are available also.
The Skischule Obergurgl has a large number of native english speaking instructors but also a large range of other languages are covered by the international team. Run by a local, highly motivated young team who train some of the worlds up and coming young skistars, the instructors themselves are regularly extra/retrained to keep up the quality and team motivation. Great options for whether you want private (best to book early for Easter), or group lessons. My tip is go for group lessons if your children are beginners.
Snow in Easter can be challenging in any resort, but is usually top quality in Obergurgl due to it´s height and southerly position in the Tirolean Alps.
The other Obergurgl ski schools offer more private instruction than group lessons, but lack the facilities that the main ski school Obergurgl has to offer. Also mainly only local instructors.
Hope that helps.

A snowHead

I forgot to add that Sölden is a bigger resort but much more of an Apres Ski/Party resort. This results in more queues for lifts, ski busses and generally much busier pistes. Also a lot more skiers under the influence. With the town a lot lower down, the lower pistes are often closed at Easter (or just pure mogul fields) meaning you have to queue again for the gondolas to get back down the mountain.
Obergurgl is a lot more family friendly.

A snowHead

We have narrowed it down to the following: Montgenevre or Avoriaz, depending on ski school availability. Waiting for replies from both. Flights and accommodation available in both and have decided on apartments (I know, I know we wanted catered but realistically we realised the children will probably prefer to relax and eat something simple at the end of each day). Also decided on group lessons for our 8yo and will take advice on our 5yo but probably private.

If no ski school availability then Obergurgl is our next choice (due to price and not wanting 8yo in lessons in afternoons). So, just waiting to hear back and will look again from there. Priced up a few options and DIY is working out cheaper than package even with taxi transfers.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. If we need any more advice once we've settled on a resort I think I'll start a new thread but will report back here on what we book!

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

+1 for Obergurgl. We were at the Crystal hotel at the end of March this year and the was plenty of snow. The hotel was also excellent. Couldn't recommend it more.

I don't know Solden, but all I can say is that we drove through it on the way to Obergurgl and I was deeply unimpressed. It seemed to be an ugly sprawl along a busy road and had no apparent charm at all. I am quite happy to be corrected on this by those who know it better. What I can say is that while Obergurgl was surrounded by snow, Solden was surrounded by mud. I'm sure there was plenty of snow higher up but the village itself had zero snow in it apart from a brown trail of slush that they were desperately trying to keep open. I've seldom seen such a depressing sight.

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A quick update: we went for Montgenevre. Thanks to jellemr for the suggestion!

The ski schools I contacted in Avoriaz through recommendations had no availability or afternoon lessons only. I know there are others, but A Peak in Montgenevre got back quickly with availability and we did love the look of the resort so have gone for that.

However the trip has changed slightly in that, instead of a family of 4, we are now going in a group of 3 families, old skiing friends who we haven't skied with since pre-children, so it'll be great to get together and get our children all on the slopes at the same time! Very excited.

Thanks again to everyone who replied on this thread. I shall now go and start another one about Montgenevre....

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

SkiPenguin, fantastic news! Though I recommended Avoriaz (just from your initial 'either or' request) you will love Montgenevre, I have used A Peak and probably recommended them on here about 4 years ago! Seb is great and very accommodating and also Remi if he is still there was brilliant with my then 5 year old. Often wanted to go back to Montgenevre but then started to going to Chatel and that suits us better now and so we just keep going back! There are a good few threads on Montgenevre. Also snowymum has been there several times recently. Have a great time snowHead

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Thanks Sarah! Ok - how do you make names bold?! snowHead

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SkiPenguin, Either click on their name on the left hand side if they have contributed to the thread or else put brackets like this around the name ....... Very Happy

doh!!!! the brackets didn't show up!!! I am thick. Anyway you sorted it!

After all it is free

Thank you sarah!

SkiPenguin, bravo Laughing

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Hi SkiPenguin,
Have to say first that I am biased, having skied and returned to Obergurgl about 15 times. Very child safe - there is no through road - and totally snowsure - probably the most snowsure in the alps as even the village is at 1900 metres. We have skied at Easter and always found good snow - it is a great Spring skiing location.
If you don't want the main ski school for tuition, try Michael Zwischenbrugger or his team at www.skischule-exclusiv.at. All his team are locals, and he has the best English of any instructor in the valley!

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Easter with good ski instruction. Avoriaz? Obergurgl? Somewhere else?

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