 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi there, first post, but hopefully the beginning of a long relationship...
Putting the cart before the horse, a couple of weeks ago I booked flights to Geneva for the family at half term, to introduce them to the joys of skiing.
I'm now looking for a suitable resort, and accommodation, for a family of 4. Apart from me (years of skiing, but only in New Zealand), none of them (wife, kids 8 & 10) will have any experience apart from a limited time on artificial slopes.
Does anybody have any suggestions for resorts to look at? I'm not too concerned about myself, if we get through this successfully there'll be plenty of time to move onto bigger and better, but it'd be great if we could find somewhere that could cater for a bit of downtime, as well as easy to access beginners slopes and school. We've spent a fair bit of time in Morzine and the greater PDS in the summers, and like it, but I've no idea how convenient it is for beginners - busses, long walks to lifts and so on at this stage are going to reduce the fun factor a bit for them, and above all I need it to be fun.
We're staying in Geneva Friday night before, and Saturday night after, and will have a car, so a wee bit of a journey there and back shouldn't be too difficult. I've been allocated a budget up to £2.5k for the week's accommodation, but that is a fair bit more than I'd ideally like to spend - the lovely 3 bed place we'd normally rent in summer in Morzine is this price at half term, but is booked. Probably hoping for a decent sized two bedroom apartment I guess, but I've really no idea whether this will be in
Does anyone feel up to offering some suggestions (happy to be pointed in the direction of specific accommodations as well, if it's within the board rules).
Thanks in advance
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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welcome to SHs, @Oobie38. You should be able to get a decent two bedroom apartment for less than that but the problem now is that most accommodation will be fully booked for half term already. I have a place in Les Saisies, a resort which would suit your requirements in general terms - but not at half term. I don't rent my apartment out - there may be others available but not a lot, at this stage. It's French holidays too so Les Saisies (like everywhere else around) will be very busy. From Geneva it's an easy drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel to the Aosta Valley. Pila might suit you well and should be quieter. La Thuile is another option on the Italian side (links up to La Rosiere in France - another good spot for beginners, but will be crowded).
Les Gets is easily accessible and fits the bill but v crowded at half term.
If you do a forum search you should be able to find a fair bit of information on Pila.
If you find accommodation in France, book ski school for the rest of the family as soon as possible. If you go to Les Gets there is a wide choice of ski schools - small groups are best, but cost more!
Les Saisies has two ski schools to choose from but it's a mostly French resort so most of the kids in the class are likely to be Francophone. Which means that even if the instructor speaks good English (they don't all) most of the chitter will be in French. Not so bad with two siblings in the same class. And ski schools get lift priority, which would be a great help. In fact booking yourself into ski school for the week mightn't be a bad idea - less time waiting in lifts, get to know the resort, brush up your skiing.
Having accommodation near the ski school meeting place is more important than being "ski in/out". 8 and 10 year olds will have no problem carrying skis a few hundred yards but buses are definitely to be avoided at half term, I agree.
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Good suggestions by@halfhand, . For somewhere a little prettier-Les Carroz is part of the Grand Massif and far more charming than Flaine.
Everywhere in France will be heaving. I would advise finding and booking your accommodation ASAP. Also lessons. If you are prepared to travel a little further from Geneva-about 2.5 hours- check out Courchevel 1650 (now known as Moriond) which has some lovely slopes, easily accessible and some at least one native english speaking ski school-New generation. Ski New Gen also operate out of my own fave part of the 3v,-St Martin and I've just had a hunt on a local agents website and found this available.http://www.agencedesalpes.com/en/winter/vacances-montagne/location/2-1053-1 Very nice! Perhaps not the most user friendly resort for absolute beginners, but charming all the same. We have used th agents ourselves and been completely happy. booking apartments through the local agents is definitely the way to go. In Les Carroz we have used Immo Renand.
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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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Try and find an apartment in Thollon, not very big, but good enough for beginners and its cheap as chips as you can get where you can ski.
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Would also recommend a look at Les Carroz that @Perty, mentioned. We went last year for a short half term break as it was an easier transfer from Geneva rather than our usual Val d'Isere/Tignes and 3V. Nice atmosphere in the village/ ice rink outside the apartment/weekly market/swimming pool/music in the square, so other activities other than ski-ing if somebody wants an afternoon off. We all mentioned that it seemed a good place for learners with wide pistes and treeline ski-ing if the weather/visibility was poor.
The tourist board also did a 1/2 day guiding trip for decent skiers to explore and get to know the area that was very useful, I think was only 10€ each.
One thing I would recommend looking into if you do go is the lockers at the cable car station for storing skis etc to save carting them on the village bus.
We did find food/beer/wine a bit cheaper than than our usual bigger French resorts and noticed a large supermarket on the valley floor just before we started on the road up to Les Carroz but others can maybe advise on this.
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In Les Carroz, Ski Fusion - www.skifusion.co.uk - are showing a 2 bed apartment that week for £995, with a Sunday changeover. It's the only availability they have that week. We stayed in it before we bought our own place, it's an MGM apartment 'up in the roof' with a lift to the floor below and then stairs up from there. Nicely maintained and furnished. Only downside is that it's not in the centre of town (although near the bus route) but at that price for half term it's a snip. And since you have a car it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
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I'd stay in Switzerland if you can bear the cost. Quieter at that time of year than France in my experience.
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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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Try cgh residences .you can do a broad search to see what's left. They have really nice accommodation in Les carrot( ski in and out), morillon,flaine ,Samoens and a few other resorts .most have pools ,steam room ,sauna etc plus nearly all of them have a spa.I got the last three bed in their St Martin apartments just a few days ago for half term.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'd vote for Samoens as the nicest town in the Grand Massif. The main gondola is a couple of minutes drive from the town centre but you can leave your skis/boots in lockers at the top. Beginner's area is at the top of the access gondola so very convenient. At your budget you could well get a catered chalet for the week so have a look at all the options.
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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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I'd suggest that Bettex/St Gervais (and its noticeably quieter there than over the hill in Megeve) and Les Contamines are both a good deal quieter then PDS and GM resorts at half-term. Both are pretty friendly for beginners too.
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@Oobie38, Have a look at Le Grand Bornand www.legrandbornand.com It's an easy journey from Geneva - about an hour. Although it will be busy at half term it will be nowhere near as busy as the more well known French resorts. We don't have to worry about term dates any more but when we did, the queues etc were always manageable. All the beginners we have had over the years have enjoyed the convenience and gentle nature of the beginners slopes. We have a place in the Village de Lessy which is a CGH Residence and as mentioned above has some nice options for any down time. Have a look at www.cgh-residences.com and then look up Le Chinaillon for the Village de Lessy or any other of their destinations. Our apartment is listed as a 3 pieces cabine for 6 persons and is about 40 sq meters - given your request for space it may be better to go for the 3 pieces Or which is bigger and would have an ensuite as well. 2793 euros for the half term week which I think is about £2k so within your budget. Would also recommend the Gidet family who are bi-lingual and operate www.aravisholidays.com for further rental options and general advice. As everybody else has said though, I think you need to be quick to make a decision before all accommodation gets snapped up. Good luck with your search.
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You know it makes sense.
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Had a quick look on cgh website. They have some properties available in le Grand Bornand , Samoens,Morillon and Chatel for under 2 k for half term week. Alternatively try Peak Retreats , they do accomodation in a lot of lower down french resorts near geneva.
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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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+1 for booking the CGH residences through Peak Retreats who will also sort out ski school, ski hire etc. If you make a special request, eg. top floor, nice view they will do their best to get it for you although not guaranteed in a busy week like half term. Should you book Les Chalets de Jouvence make sure you request the main building and not the one over the road as only the main building is ski to the door.
I'd recommend looking at the following places:
Les Carroz - Les Chalets de Jouvence - lovely place to stay with pool etc and in a perfect location for the slopes and village. Fantastic ski area but does get busy at half term according to friends who've skied there that week. Ski school very good - we went there with a family with four beginner kids last year and it worked well for them.
Samoens - La Reine des Pres is very nice and well managed by a very pleasant chap called Pascal if he is still there this winter. A walk to the gondola but Samoens is a beautiful village to stay in. There is also a new CGH place called Les Chalets de Layssia that is opening this year. It is in the centre of town and slightly further from the slopes than La Reine des Pres so you'd need to drive to the gondola or use the ski bus. I've heard it does get busy at the gondola there in peak weeks so you'd need to be up early to avoid the queues.
Le Grand Bornand - haven't actually been there (only to neighbouring La Clusaz) but sounds a good option in terms of location, ski area and might be less manic than PDS and Grand Massif at half term.
St Gervais - we have twice stayed in Hotel Monte Bianco with Peak Retreats which is all inclusive and excellent value for families. We have only stayed there in summer and the drawback in winter would be that it is a bit of a walk down to the gondola. However I've heard there are ski lockers you can use at the foot of the piste so you wouldn't need to carry your kit back every day. There is also a carpark by the gondola.
A couple of comments on posts above. I don't think there is a CGH residence in Morillon - there are some MGM ones but they are not managed by CGH and don't have pools. The new supermarket in the valley in the Les Carroz direction is Super U. There is also a Carrefour in Cluses.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Big thanks to all those that have replied, a pretty overwhelming response and a lot of stuff to take in, and look at. Very useful, I'd found it difficult to look beyond the one small area of the Alps I know a bit about, I'm sure I'm going to find something a bit more suitable.
Also thanks to all those that have hinted that I need to book quickly, I'd thought that I'd have a leisurely month or so to sort this out..
I think I need to look more closely at ski schools, rather naively I'd thought that booking tuition wouldn't be a problem.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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@Oobie38, our 3 apartments in Chamonix are typically booked by the April of the previous season.
I doubt you can do quite the same with ski schools ( as they won't maybe know they're exact staffing) but I wouldn't waste any time...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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@Oobie38, I was in a similar situation as you although both myself and wife have a great deal of skiing experience as we both worked seasons in the alps albeit in the 3valleys, although the OH is not to bothered about skiing I am chomping at the bits to get our girls (12 and 9) on the slopes this coming half term. After searching for ages I came across Combloux near Megeve, though I have not been there it seems to have plenty of area for both beginners and experienced alike, and both the lift passes and ski school is reasonable compared to the large areas, Esf ski school is 162 euros for 6x3hour lessons which I have now managed to book them in for as spaces will be limited, a lot of other schools seem to be 6x2.5hrs, I know it is a predominantly French speaking resort but we are going with another family with similar requirements.
check out Le floralp with booking.com, flexible dates and no upfront payment and free cancellation up to 10days before arrival, this is where we are staying.
I have been thinking about it recently and unless money is not a problem, why would you take beginners to a large area with inflated lift passes/lessons/ski hire
whilst they are standing around most mornings looking up at the nursery slope. I have recently taken my girls to hemel for intensive lessons, and will be going back again in a few weeks then hopefully a couple of times after xmas so they will be at a better standard when in resort, works out a bit pricey for lessons but they have caught the skiing bug as well and are desperate to go in feb.
we were also canny and bought lots of ski clothes in the summer (muddypuddles.com) and even ski helmets from amazon which worked out similar costs to hiring from the shops, though we are driving so there isn't really a baggage issue.
hope you find somewhere soon
cheers
terry
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Oobie38, sorry just checked both booking.com and le floralp direct seems fully booked!!!
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Re lessons...ESF tend to have HUGE groups of kids in tow in high season. If you can book areas with other ski schools, you may find they limit the total numbers.
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@Perty, have read write ups from tourist office/esf info 9 kids max, though am sure there would be a get out clause to add numbers!!!
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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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Last year one of the instructors we saw in Les Carroz had 14. I'm sure there was officially some sort of backup/additional instructor......but he or she was not physically present!
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@sj1608, Two years ago my kids were in an ESF group of 2 in Les Carroz  In school holidays but not Feb half term! It was definitely the best week of ski school they've ever had.
We really like the ESF instructors there. However there is also an ESI option so you could check the group sizes with both ski schools.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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For the level at which your wife and kids are, I'd follow @DrLawn's suggestion of Thollon-les-Memises. Being a small resort, it would be ideal skiing for them, though half term will be busy. You won't get better views from a ski resort either. Perhaps not so much to do in the downtime, though Evian is a short drive away. Have a look at http://thollonlesmemises.com/ and http://www.thollon.org/apartments-chalets-for-rent.html.
Our kids learnt there and there's always the option of driving to Chatel for the day (park at Pre la Joux) if you fancy somewhere a bit bigger and higher.
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is there much for beginnersnout of pre la joux? I'd have thought super chatel better?
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You know it makes sense.
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@under a new name, thats a very fair point. Its just that I have never found anywhere to park in Super Chatel at half term. At Pre la Joux there is the very long green from Plaine Dranse to the bottom of the Pierre Longue and the nursery slopes at the bottom but not a great deal more.
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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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could you park further along the valley and catch a bus if you must?
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Oobie38, I would also think about Les Carroz (though I am a long-time Carrozophile).
Flaine is much less attractive and you have to ski reds to get back down into the bowl - not tough reds, by any means, but there are a few little 50-100m-ish steepish bits at the end which, depending on their bravery levels, might put some beginners off a bit.
If you stay in Carroz you don't need a whole Grand Massif pass, you can just do the Carroz side. Just add Flaine later in the week if they're making good progress. Or you could nip over to Flaine where there's some reasonable off piste, if not skied out, and some toughish blacks if you feel like something a bit harder.
Plenty of lovely tree skiing in Carroz, and it's not hard at all. It's mostly blues, though there are enough places where you can do a red or the odd black and they a blue, and meet up at the same place. It will also be a lot quieter than Flaine.
You get up the hill on a gondola.
Thus you can obviously get back down that way in the afternoon if your wife and kids need it, tired legs and all that.
Alternatively, there's a gentle blue down to the village for early in the week, and Les Timolets (a nice, wide red) down at the end if they feel like it.
If they still have availability the Milk hotel at the bottom of Timolets is very decent half-board, way under 2.5k (around 130-140 euro per couple per double room per night in high season), and ski-in ski-out down to the gondola.
You ski out from the Milk on a green in the morning, but it does mean that Timolets red back (or a 200-300m walk back up the road).
That said, the Tim is as I say a very wide and very easy red.
Nice terrace to have an end of day beer on, too.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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| Oobie38 wrote: |
Well, done a bit more research, counted up the votes above for each resort, rolled the dice, and think we're going to make a choice between Samoens/Marillon/Les Carroz. Emailed a few supposedly unbooked apartments but nothing positive back yet- calendar updating doesn't seem to be a big priority for some people 
Had an unsolicited attempt to get me to pay a 'reduced rate since we've had a last minute cancellation'... 
What are the managed/leaseback places like? A few mentions of them by various people, what are the advantages of them? And their facilities -particularly for cooking.
Vacancies at les Fermes des Samoens, la Reine des Pres in Samoens, and in les Carroz, Chalets de Jouvence and Les Fermes des Soleils. |
Can't help with leaseback but I personally would avoid Morillon, only because it's reasonably rare that you can ski down to it (it's low, and even in good years the run down can be slushy and/or shut) so you're fairly likely to have to gondola it down even if you don't want to.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Don't forget Italy. It is only 2.5 hrs to Aosta valley with loads to choose from there and should be ok for our half term. We go to Pila every year and it is great for beginners. being small it is easy to get around and enough to do for up to intermediates. Not so good for advanced and you may want a day out at one of the other resorts which is included in your lift ticket.
Plenty of accommodation options to suit you. Interski use it for many british school ski trips so it must be a sensible option. Have a look at pilaski.co.uk they will sort you out for everything other than transport which you have done anyway.
Hope they all enjoy it and you get them hooked
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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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@Oobie38, Likely Jouvance will be just about fully booked for half term now, its not that big, there are only 40 odd apartments in the main bit and 19 in belle pistes. Unless you use an agent such as suggested by b]@snowymum[/b], who may have something. Jouvance is not ideal for complete beginners as you need to go up a short drag to get to the gondola, but the potato field free sking nursery slopes are opposite belle pistes.
It will be very very (and another very) busy at half term, we always go, (have our own places) but ski competition classes or off piste all week, piste is rather busy with very very large queues in places. The gondola is a 15 minute scrum first thing. If you want quietler then go to italy, la thuile or pila as suggested above.
Fermes de soleil is being refubished at the moment, so will be smart again. Cooking you get a four ring hob (it will be a fancy new one as they have ripped out the old ones) and a combination oven microwave etc
Buildings a b c mean you don't have to walk to get to the pool etc. Its in the middle of town so you will need to get the bus to the skiing, but its the first stop and right outside.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yes, go to Pila. Even those of us with our own places in France are advising you to go to Italy. There must be a moral there..... 
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if you're going to Pila, a place I've never been but would like to visit, it's not that much further ti Champoluc, which we like very much ... Sapin steaks woo hoo.
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I wouldn't exclude Switzerland, as Claude_B says. There's a certain advantage to being a group of novices - you don't need an extensive ski area: it's more a case of finding somewhere with good learner slopes. There are smaller resorts in the Valais that might suit, such as Ovronnaz, which is also a thermal spa, so there are good swimming pools there as well. See www.ovronnaz.ch/en or perhaps Thyon/Les Collons and Veysonnaz on the opposite side of the Rhone Valley (http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/les-collons-thyon-2000.html). All these places are about 90 minutes drive on the Autoroute around Lake Geneva an up the Rhone Valley, then a 30 minute drive up the mountain. I also am of the opinion that Swiss instruction is generally superior to French, especially for learners, as a general rule (I'll probably get some flak for this).
I have to declare a bias, as we have an apartment in La Tzoumaz, in the Verbier ski area. Typical price there for a 2-bed apartment would be about £1,000 for half-term. However, not only is it already booked your week but our section of the 4 valleys (Savoleyres) is not ideal for beginners, with only a small learner slope.
If this looks interesting as an option, the easiest thing to do next is just contact the local Tourist Office in a specific resort, and they can do all the hard work for you. Moreover, they often have contacts in the resort and can dig out rental places that aren't necessarily on the Web. (This is probably true also for any Alpine resort, whether Swiss, French, Austrian or Italian).
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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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@Oobie38, the upper area of Morillon - aka Les Esserts/Morillon 1100 - could be an option. It's basically a horseshoe shaped collection of apartment blocks at the foot of two lifts (one goes half way up, the other to the top of the Morillon slopes), with a few restaurants, some hire shops and a supermarket, but it is ski-in ski-out and has the added benefit of being at the bottom of the lovely, long green Marvel run, plus a blue whose name escapes me.
Morillon's slopes are great for learning and improving, as well as being home to the renowned l'Igloo restaurant, and taking Marvel home at the end of the day will not be in any way traumatic. Additionally, and further up the hill, are connections to Les Carroz, Samoens and Flaine (although these intersections can be very busy). It's very family friendly, and I seem to recall there being slopes open for tobogganing at least one evening per week.
Downsides? A very limited restaurant choice in the evenings (especially being peak season), it's a bit isolated from the other villages and it doesn't have the 'real' village atmosphere/facilities of Samoens or Les Carroz.
But, as it's a first trip and your main focus might be getting the kids up and running, something like this might fit the bill, although I'd suggest doing a decent food shop on the way up:
http://www.odalys-vacation-rental.com/mountain-holidays-france/northern-alps-haute-savoie/morillon/le-buet.html
And here's a link to the tourist office:
http://www.ot-morillon.co.uk/
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| nickle wrote: |
| @under a new name, thats a very fair point. Its just that I have never found anywhere to park in Super Chatel at half term. At Pre la Joux there is the very long green from Plaine Dranse to the bottom of the Pierre Longue and the nursery slopes at the bottom but not a great deal more. |
The green piste is Belette. It's 3km long and follows what is a winding road in the summer. It's very, very good for beginners* in that...
- It's long, so you get used to your skis running, which aids muscle memory, rather than skiing up and down short nursery pistes, where IMO the runs are often too short to get the feeling of what your skis are supposed to be doing.
- The gradient is very gradual. Even you shuss it, it's unlikely that you'll get enough speed to do yourself any damage, unless it's icy, which I've never seen.
- It's served by a chair lift, which means no intimidating draglifts or those awful rope tows. Going up on the chair actually feels like you're skiing for real. You can also buy a "pay-as-you-ski" pass. 3-5 runs of the Belette/Plaine Dranse chair is usually enough for most beginners and costs Eur5/run.
- There are numerous restaurants with terraces at the top of the chair at Plaine Dranse and one at the bottom. Again, it feels like real skiing and you can meet up with the more proficient skiers in your group there, as it's at one of the centres of the PdS.
I taught my then 3 year old son to ski on that piste. We did the same piste over and over again for several days. A bit repetitive maybe, but much better than nursery slopes.
*disclaimer - by beginner I mean someone doing snowplough turns and able to stand up on their skis. If you're an absolute beginner, first time on skis, it's a long walk down if you're not able to at least stand on your skis.
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