 Poster: A snowHead
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So, this Christmas, the family are planning the first ski trip together. 5 adults and 4 kids - mixed bag of adult skiing age, experience and enthusiasm. Kids will be 5-9 years old and none have them have skied before.
Mother-in-law really likes Morzine, and having been several times before, I see its charm. However, pricing for what she wants is high so looking at viable alternatives.
Looking for that somewhat similar chocolate box vibe, as high as possible but ultimately, somewhere that’s more inclined to suit families where most aren’t into skiing? Flexible on country.
Looking to head out Boxing Day for a week and go for a non-catered chalet.
Any recommendations would be most welcome as my experience of booking ski trips has always been for groups of 40-somethings who’ve done a load of previous trips.
Many thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Chocolate box and high are rare. Also personally I wouldn't have said Morzine is chocolate box..... I'd be heading to Austria for that, however that will compromise convenience. Kitzbuhl is a stunning village and has relatively good ski convenience with the lift being in the village.... height might be an issue though.
They say Valloire is a nice village but never been
Have you thought about Arc 1950, manufactured Choclate Box but works really well and obvs it's high. Sunweb do great deals there
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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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Chocolate box you say - look no further than Murren … but not sure how easy it’d be to find a chalet for your party size.
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Arc 1950 probably as good as any but limited for non-skiers. Others worth a look are:
Les Gets (not quite Morzine)
Alta Badia
Alpbach
Morgins
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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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Morzine, chocolate box 
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Morzine, chocolate-box? I think not. And what sort of price are you talking about?
I'm in Morgins, the other side of the PdS, which is genuinely attractive.
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This was a nice place - probably bigger than you need. It's a "semi-detached" chalet, with two mirror image apartments, and ours was the half in the foreground. Excellent cooking facilities. Les Saisies. We rented this for an extended family bash last Christmas.
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| Reezo wrote: |
Looking for that somewhat similar chocolate box vibe, as high as possible but ultimately, somewhere that’s more inclined to suit families where most aren’t into skiing? Flexible on country.
Looking to head out Boxing Day for a week and go for a non-catered chalet.
Any recommendations would be most welcome as my experience of booking ski trips has always been for groups of 40-somethings who’ve done a load of previous trips.
Many thanks |
So the usual question; which are you willing to drop? 
Simply, high and for non skiers don’t really go together. After Boxing Day is the busiest time of the year, but with less snow these days.
Chocolate box is usually Austria or Switzerland, not France. They need less height for snow than the French equivalents, someone suggested 300m less.
I don’t know who still does chalets, they are more rare after Brexit I hear.
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In Ported Du Soleil, Chatel might be worth a look and has access to Avoriaz if snow is bad (though Avoriaz gets busy in that situation).
I havent been but I nearly booked Samoens which is a pretty old town apparently, with a lift that can take you up towards Flaine (which I have been to and is high enough and holds its snow well). Only thing with Samoens is that the lift is a little walk (or bus) from town. There were lots of nice accom options - price probably similarish to Morzine.
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Samoens village is lovely but right down in the valley - so "resort level snow" at New Year is very far from guaranteed, even when the skiing uptop is fine. I wouldn't describe many ski resorts as "chocolate box" - the closest, in my experience, is probably Alpbach. Many Austrian resorts, like many French ones, are too big and urban to be described in those terms. Les Saisies isn't bad. But yes, the OP is going to have to rank his criteria. For the busiest and most expensive week of the year, and needing a roomy apartment, you need to book months in advance and then take your chance with the snow.
What might "non-ski" family members want to do?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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For my money with kids you want to be right but the ski lift if you can, with a travelator style lift for the learners. Swimming pool a big advantage, and somewhere close to sled.
Getting the kids ready takes forever, by which time someone needs the toilet. The days are quiet short and mine were happy sledging for an hour or or so then were knackered and needed to go in and relax for a bit.
How about alpe du heuz, they've got free beginner lifts for kids I think?
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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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| Quote: |
Samoens village is lovely but right down in the valley - so "resort level snow" at New Year is very far from guaranteed
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At any time of year, never mind NY week. Also, Samoens itself is nowhere near any of the skiing so buses, cars, etc.
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| llywelyn1984 wrote: |
For my money with kids you want to be right but the ski lift if you can, with a travelator style lift for the learners. Swimming pool a big advantage, and somewhere close to sled.
Getting the kids ready takes forever, by which time someone needs the toilet. The days are quiet short and mine were happy sledging for an hour or or so then were knackered and needed to go in and relax for a bit.
How about Alpe d’Huez they've got free beginner lifts for kids I think? |
Needs to have a “chocolate box vibe”.
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You know it makes sense.
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Do you have non-skiers with you, or are the ones that aren't bothered just looking for shorter ski days and other things to do when not skiing?
Would you consider an aparthotel? We stayed at the Carpe Solum in Rauris, Austria. Literally next to the gondola, two ski schools, and the nursery slope for your beginner skiers.
Spacious apartments with full cooking facilities, but with full access to the hotel facilities including a beautiful spa, pool, kids room, bar, and restaurant. The village of Rauris is literally across the road and is the chocolate box you're looking for.
All of the on-mountain restaurants are accessible on foot, meaning that anyone not skiing could still meet skiers for lunch.
The village sits at 900m, but historically has excellent snow cover. The nursery slope (at village level) will likely be cannon made snow, but there should be decent natural cover further up, perhaps topped up by the cannons. You can look through historic dates on their webcam using the Rauristal website.
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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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Thanks for the recommendations and for the ribbing about what is ‘chololate box’. Maybe I’ve done too many ugly ski ins and ski outs so will need to recalibrate. It’s a relief I’ve been put right.
Anyway, got super lucky with a chalet that came up in central Morzine, so have booked that from the 19-26th. Seems to tick all the boxes.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Personally, I can't stand Morzine. Pig ugly and much too low to have a decent likelihood of there being snow down to village level so it forever looks grey, wet and depressing accessed by miserable little strips of manmade snow in a desperate attempt to keep the return runs open. Especially if you are considering going at the beginning or end of the season I wouldn't dream of going to Morzine. Have a look back at the webcam archives for most of last season and you'll see that snow down to Morzine was occasional at best. As you can probably tell, I loathe the place. I've stayed at Avoriaz a few times and only once been able to ski (unpleasantly) all the way down to Morzine.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Le Grand Bornand (not Le Chinaillon) is definitely chocolate-box and good for beginners/lower intermediates with some challenges for the others. Super close to Geneva.
Main downside: not high - skiing between 1,300-2,000 metres, with a resort run down to 950 metres. Nearby La Clusaz is less pretty IMO, and less convenient for your party of skiiers.
Le Monêtier-les-Bains (Serre Chevalier) could also work, but it is a bit remote, and while it is pretty, there is a major road through the village (I don't mind it, but it's there).
And I agree that Valloire is very cute! Never been in winter, though.
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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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| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
| Personally, I can't stand Morzine. Pig ugly and much too low to have a decent likelihood of there being snow down to village level so it forever looks grey, wet and depressing accessed by miserable little strips of manmade snow in a desperate attempt to keep the return runs open. Especially if you are considering going at the beginning or end of the season I wouldn't dream of going to Morzine. Have a look back at the webcam archives for most of last season and you'll see that snow down to Morzine was occasional at best. As you can probably tell, I loathe the place. I've stayed at Avoriaz a few times and only once been able to ski (unpleasantly) all the way down to Morzine. |
How on earth did you manage to ski "all the way" down to Morzine from Avoriaz? It must have been one of those grey and depressing days ...
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| franga wrote: |
| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
| Personally, I can't stand Morzine. Pig ugly and much too low to have a decent likelihood of there being snow down to village level so it forever looks grey, wet and depressing accessed by miserable little strips of manmade snow in a desperate attempt to keep the return runs open. Especially if you are considering going at the beginning or end of the season I wouldn't dream of going to Morzine. Have a look back at the webcam archives for most of last season and you'll see that snow down to Morzine was occasional at best. As you can probably tell, I loathe the place. I've stayed at Avoriaz a few times and only once been able to ski (unpleasantly) all the way down to Morzine. |
How on earth did you manage to ski "all the way" down to Morzine from Avoriaz? It must have been one of those grey and depressing days ... |
lol I was going to ask the same thing
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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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Morzine does do Christmas events very well but it is usually nerve wracking on how good the snow cover is, which if you have beginners in lessons, is particularly important. Schlepping to Avoriaz with 4 kids for lessons would be hell.
Don’t write off Avoriaz - snowsure, Aquariaz for non-skiing days, a nice carless village vibe (better than Morz IMHO), and lots of events too.
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@foxtrotzulu, you are of course absolutely entitled to your own opinion, but it does seem to me that very, very many people do like Morzine.
@Roscoe, @franga, I assumed @FTZ meant down Pleney(/Nyon)?
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| under a new name wrote: |
@foxtrotzulu, you are of course absolutely entitled to your own opinion, but it does seem to me that very, very many people do like Morzine.
@Roscoe, @franga, I assumed @FTZ meant down Pleney(/Nyon)? |
Not from Avoriaz
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| under a new name wrote: |
@foxtrotzulu, you are of course absolutely entitled to your own opinion, but it does seem to me that very, very many people do like Morzine.
@Roscoe, @franga, I assumed @FTZ meant down Pleney(/Nyon)? |
Nope mate ... you can't get to grey and smock-riddled Morzine with its Soviet-era concrete apartment blocks and chemical plants from Avoriaz without taking the navette from Prodains or downloading on the Super M  . I must visit West Berkshire soon though ...
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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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@franga, @Roscoe, @under a new name,
Apologies, it's a long time ago and I'm muddling two separate issues:
Only once could we ski from Avoriaz down low enough to the point where you take the Super Morzine down to the village. The other issue was trying to ski 'all the way' back down to Morzine from the other side.
@under a new name,
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@foxtrotzulu, you are of course absolutely entitled to your own opinion, but it does seem to me that very, very many people do like Morzine.
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Yes, it does seem popular and I appreciate I've been unlucky with the snow but I do wonder why people like it so much. Personal opinion.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
| Only once could we ski from Avoriaz down low enough to the point where you take the Super Morzine down to the village. The other issue was trying to ski 'all the way' back down to Morzine from the other side. |
Really? I usually do at least one week/season in Morzine, everything from opening week through closing week and think the only time I've not been able to ski back to either the S-M or bottom of the Pleney would be opening week in 2016 (when the Pleney was green and only the Avoriaz bowl was open). Now that's not to say those runs have always been 'fun' or 'enjoyable' - but they have been open.
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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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@foxtrotzulu,
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Personally, I can't stand Morzine. Pig ugly and much too low to have a decent likelihood of there being snow down to village level so it forever looks grey, wet and depressing accessed by miserable little strips of manmade snow in a desperate attempt to keep the return runs open. Especially if you are considering going at the beginning or end of the season I wouldn't dream of going to Morzine.
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Phew. I wouldn't have dared to write what you wrote, knowing that there are fans of Morzine - who probably have greater experience of the resort than I do - on the forum. But I hated it too. And have never got so wet, short of falling into a swimming pool, in my life!
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You know it makes sense.
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1. Zermatt
2. Wengen
3. Gstaad
4. Lech
5. Chamonix
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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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| under a new name wrote: |
@foxtrotzulu, you are of course absolutely entitled to your own opinion, but it does seem to me that very, very many people do like Morzine.
@Roscoe, @franga, I assumed @FTZ meant down Pleney(/Nyon)? |
I like the area, sure. There is some great skiing here and its a relatively easy drive from the south of the UK. We chose Morzine as a place to base ourselves whem in France for various reasons, chiefly easy/fast, cost-effective and plentiful transfers from Geneva, and a load of friends who live here who make owning a place here far less tricky when something goes wrong. It also gives me folks to ski with when here alone, as I am now.
However, I take the points above. It is low, and the town is nice enough, and nicer than concrete purpose built resorts, but it is hardly chocolate box pretty, and rarely covered in snow. In the area, I would have picked Chatel as a place to base ourselves, but for the above. And the 3V offers better piste skiing, for example. Also, the apres ski in Morz is pretty limited, IMHO - its not my thing, so I don't care, but I have had far better in other areas before I had a family and drove to the slopes.
Not sure I would pick the Portes du Soleil for a week if I had the choice if any resort in Europe, and if I did, i'd probably stay in Chatel (but then I don't really go out until the evenings).
But as for hating it? Nah. Its a nice town, and accesses a nice ski area. And also, right now, the slopes seem empty.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Harry Flashman wrote: |
| Also, the apres ski in Morz is pretty limited, IMHO - its not my thing, so I don't care, but I have had far better in other areas before I had a family and drove to the slopes. |
Really, because the variety of apres ski is one of the reasons I keep going back to Morzine. In fact it's the best I've found (in France - still doesn't come close to Austrian apres obviously). But then I'm not generally family skiing so apres is something I'm looking for.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Fair! Also, Tremplin has been redone and is great this season. Popped in with kids last week and had booze free fun.
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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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If I take my second-home ownership blinkers off I can fully understand why a lot of folk wouldn't choose Morzine or the PdS for their only week or weekend on snow - particularly, when these are booked well in advance. Fair point - the uncertainty / worry would drive me nuts too ...
But across an average season there would be a good deal of lovely fresh snow and bluebird days.
We're in Montriond because a) we prefer heading up on the Ardent bubble and b) we love the proximity to both Morzine and Lac Montriond (find me a nicer place than the Hotel du Lac terrace for a cold beer in the summer). So I fully concur with Mr Flashman's point about Chatel - an equally lovely town.
But our teenage lads love heading to Morzine for a few drinks and a wander - they've recently discovered Dixies, Cafe Chaud and Bec Jaune ... the refurbished Le Tremplin looks ace too. So there are many places to suit all tastes inc the aforementioned terrace, the Happy Hours bar (Ardent) etc.
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Sadly, Morzine is more chocolate teapot than chocolate box in my opinion with its low altitude.
Have been absolutely soaked in the rain there more than once and having to get the bubble lift up to the ski school meeting point is a pain in the morning rush.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Tue 6-01-26 11:16; edited 1 time in total
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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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Morzine is very easy. You can get skis delivered, so many great ski schoolw & instructors, great choice of food spots and restaurants and cafes, plenty of Nanny/ childcare services, Wine delivery, Massage and beauty therapists, yoga classes, easy bookable taxi services abound, chefs and meal delivery- all sorts and 99% in English. You can go full service whilst staying in a self catering apartment.
The downside for me isn’t the snow, there is always something to ski or to do, it is too many people who can’t ski hurtling down the slopes.
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Apologies everyone. I was having a grumpy moment about Morzine. I'm sure it's great of you have good conditions. As I said, my experience of Morzine is when visiting from Avoriaz and that in itself was part of the issue. The runs down towards Morzine seemed to struggle for snow, then you have to take the Super Morzine down (never good taking lifts downhill) before getting across the village to take lifts back up to the other skiing area.
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Haven’t been for about 5 or 6 years and maybe I’m looking through rose-tinted as it was the place I learned to ski but I always found Morzine quite lively, certainly not ugly and well equipped as a place that offers options to skiers and non-skiers alike.
Might not be the greatest resort in the alps and take the point about height and snow, but it’s certainly an easy place to get on with and offers excellent connecting options to its bigger cousin in Avoriaz.
Wouldn’t go there every year, but looking forward to returning this Christmas.
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I’m sure you will have a lovely time. I’m quite fond of the place having been quite a few times over the years and I would go back. Lots to do and some great value restaurants ( L’étale I think? A full pierrade with all trimmings for €28pp last time I went which is not what I’m used to in Switzerland or 3V!!) i do absolutely agree with @Nadenoodlee though, on the slopes of Morzine/les gets in particular you do have to be very mindful of a very low average standard of skiing and adult groups who should be in lessons and are not. So take care out there!
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FAQ
they arrived a bit late for dinner having missed après-ski drinkies ... 
