 Poster: A snowHead
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Stuck between Avoriaz or Les Gets for our next ski trip with kids aged 7,9,10 and 11
We have stayed in Morzine at the top of the Pleney for the last two years and had a brilliant time, but we feel we need to give somewhere else a go. It will be hard to beat the ski in ski out, ski down to lessons in seconds ease of Morzine and our decent half board hotel.
For January 2020 we have found a property in Les Gets which comes in at under 4k for a family of 4 with lessons, passes, skis, flights etc and a similar apartment complex in Avoriaz.
I don't know much about Avoriaz - it seems much bigger and the recent reviews on trip advisor don't paint a pretty picture (or are from serial complainers) so I'd like genuine advice from someone who has enjoyed both but may be able to help?
Avoriaz may have more to offer the kids in the afternoons once lessons are over. We've skied in Les Gets but no experience of the place and the accommodation (les fermes emiguy) is 7 minutes walk from the kids lessons so would involve possibly leaving skis at the ski hire shop or carrying them more than the kids have been used to.
Any advice?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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enjoyed both areas. In terms of skiing I would opt for Les Gets but that may because it is fresher in my memory. Les Gets is by far the prettier which I am sure you are aware off. Avoriaz is great for ski in, ski out accommodation so there would be very little need to carry ski equipment any distance. There is also the swimming pool Aquariaz which would occupy the kids for an hour or two. Both are great in terms of skiing so I am sure you will have a great time.
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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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Personally I think Avoriaz is a dream place for kids of that age. All ski in, ski out, beautifully perched on the mountain top, not a car in sight, but lots of horses and carriages.
Lots of good skiing, with the stash, and lil stash fun pistes depending on ability.
Lots of space and slopes for sledging.
Aquariaz water park with slides to amuse the kids for a few hours of a break from skiing is needed.
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I've been to both with our children. Les Gets has a lovely feel to it and we really enjoyed the village. However, we prefer Avoriaz, as it's so much easier with kids. I suspect you'll get slightly better accommodation for your money in Les Gets, pound for pound, but we really like where we stay in Avoriaz, so it's perfect for us.
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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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My kids are long past the stage of yours, but my thought would be to go for les Gets, primarily because Avoriaz is entirely above the tree line.
If you are away in January, as I usually am, and end up skiing while it's snowing, you can find your way around much easier on tree-lined slopes than in a white snowfall under a white sky over white snow. That's not to say that Les Gets doesn't have areas above the tree-line, but Avoriaz is entirely so and therefore has no respite from white-out.
As for your issue about the lessons being a bit of a walk, les Gets has a free "petit-train" that runs around the village centre, linking the main ski area with Mont Chery on the opposite side of the valley. It may not reach your accommodation, but it's worth checking out to see if it might shorten your walk.
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4 kids ? Avoriaz despite me loving Les Gets. It’s bad enough carting one around never mind 4 !
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@JenRR, I’d say the convenience of Avoriaz plus the water park would win out.
Avoriaz and tree line is a red herring. It is not entirely above the tree line if the kids are up for blue runs, c.f. Lindarets, Prodains, Super Morzine. In fact, arguably most of the skiing is through trees.
Anyway, I learned as a kid in Scotland which has nothing below the tree lined and it was never a problem. You don’t expect visibility in Scotland.
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We have stayed in both and have also stayed in Residence Emiguy. For a January stay (perhaps late January) I would opt for Les Gets and residence Emiguy. We loved Avoriaz at Christmas as it ticked all the boxes and our kid is a bit smaller than yours and would definitely go for there at Christmas again but Les Gets is hard to beat. We have done Les Gets in January about 5 times. Residence Emiguy is in a great location, it has a pool although its not very big it will keep the kids entertained, it is close to the slopes but I agree I would either leave the skis at the shop or rent a locker also the rooms are a very decent size which is unusual for reasonably priced self catering accommodation. It is very close to restaurants and bars and I believe the ten pin bowling though we have never done this. We will definitely go back to it. I also like the skiing on both sides but I guess I prefer the slopes on the Les Gets side (less steep drops which is always good for my nerves when skiing with kids!)
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I think a lot depends on how much of the piste map you're going to be using. As you have at least 2 years skiing behind you I'd guess you'll want more miles than the Morzine-Les Gets area has to offer, at which point between dropping the children at/collecting them from ski school you might find yourself spending all your time traversing from Les Gets up to Avoriaz/the main PdS area than actually skiing it.
Personally I prefer the feel of a real village like Les Gets, so my heart would say Les Gets but if I wanted more mountain my head would say Avoriaz.
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@Mjit, +1
From Avoriaz you can get to the rest of PdS much easier than Les Gets, and the children get better you can explore further afield.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thank you so much for this really helpful advice everyone. I think avoriaz may be the right thing for our next step as two families looking for something different. Would love to go to Les gets but it’s first wk in January and the last two visits have been very sparse with snow when we passed through the village. we’ll plan les gets another time as it’s such a quick transfer and we loved the slopes there.
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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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Mrs Eeyore and I have taken our 3 kids (foals?) skiing in the PdS, 3 valleys and Paradiski since they were 3 months old. We've done independent apartments / chalets through to the all-inclusive offerings of Ski Famille and Family Ski via Grandparents helping and Private Nanny for the week.
With Teenagers - Avoriaz. Hands down. The whole place is ski in/out, ski school is either a short walk or a quick ski away and the whole area is so better organised for beginners and low intermediates than it used to be.
Babies and small kids - Spend the money and get all the help you can, nothing could have come close to Family Ski when they were on form (and the last 2 years we used them, the service had declined A LOT)
But your lot are the mid range, and I could argue it both ways. You might look at the SF/FS offerings, they will often heavily discount in January, and having stayed in Ardent with FS on several occasions, it is pretty convenient, once you've got your kids to the ski school (50-300m walk, a gondola, 50m walk across a piste; and the skis are let up there after Sunday am) the day is yours.
I think on balance I'd go for convenience, and the simplest and smallest possible morning commute.
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