 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi two families coming to Samoens during Feb school holiday. I know it will be busy but looking forward to skiing and spending family time. We rented a chalet walkable to the grand massif express and town.
I have 3 boys (6,7, who ski well (ski team in oregon) who I would like to sign up for ski school… this way we can have a little kid free ski time. They speak English and French.
Any suggestions on ski schools, there seems to be quite a few. Places for ski rentals? Can you rent ski lockers at the gondola? Car or do a transfer from Geneva (my brother and fam will have a car). Lift tickets? Any suggestions at all really.
Thx!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Chums who live there suggest Ski Zag. Ski storage at top of gondola.
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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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Thx!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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Hi
Ive been there twice - easy drive from Geneva,
Stayed in Hotel Renardiere rooms have cooking facilities
and on ski bus route.
Used "ski hire to you" very good price for quality deliver to your door.
Rupt
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@ski3, that's the one.
@jujujuju, you want to get lessons booked as early as poss, as they will end up filled and will be restrictive on timings. But that said, no idea if bookings will be open yet. Phone call required ...
If accom really is walking distance, I'd probs look at transfers. But no idea on operators.
Lift passes? Might be some early bird offers on the GM site?
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With 3 kids, I'd probably rent a car. It's a really easy drive from Geneva, and if you plan on cooking, a car would get you to the big Carrefour supermarket on the outskirts of Samoens. That's the best grocery store in the area. And you can explore Sixt fer a Cheval if you want a day or afternoon off from skiing if the weather's nice.
A key tip is that you need to get to the Tiffanie bakery (by the main cable car) early for the good stuff.
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| Pasigal wrote: |
| A key tip is that you need to get to the Tiffanie bakery (by the main cable car) early for the good stuff. |
Hah. That's pretty much true for any bakery in France. You want breakfast pastries? Sorry Sir, they're all sold out by nine o'clock. Every day. Yes, we get lots of people wanting them later. No, we don't think it would be a good idea to simply make more of them in the first place.
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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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| Chaletbeauroc wrote: |
| Pasigal wrote: |
| A key tip is that you need to get to the Tiffanie bakery (by the main cable car) early for the good stuff. |
Hah. That's pretty much true for any bakery in France. You want breakfast pastries? Sorry Sir, they're all sold out by nine o'clock. Every day. Yes, we get lots of people wanting them later. No, we don't think it would be a good idea to simply make more of them in the first place. |
Indeed. But I appreciate the anti-gaspillage effort!. My only gripe with Tiffanie (all branches) is that they could make just a little more viennoiserie in the mornings...
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French logic has always been that pastries, croissants etc. are always best when they're freshly-baked (and TBF they do have a point) so nobody should expect them to stick around more than an hour or three. And as for buying the day before...
but in fact many can be revitalised by a couple of minutes in a hot oven, even two-day old pains au raisin. Same for French bread, which notoriously can go stale in a matter of hours, esp. the thinnest types of baguettes (parisienne, baton or whatever they happen to call them in that part of the country). Just store them in a plastic bag, semi-sealed, then whack them in a hot oven, plus or minus a sprinkling of water to help crisp up the crust, and they'll be (almost) as good as new. An hour later, if unused, however, and they'll be better off being used as a doorstop than anything else. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I did see that Zig Zag are open for lesson bookings already - https://www.zigzagski.com/
There is usually a small discount for pre-booking your ski tickets online. However, depending who you've booked your chalet with some of the operators also get access to discounts, worth checking.
If deciding on transfer rather than car then there is only one main transfer company Go Massif who should be re-introducing shared transfers this year - https://gomassif.com/ though I dont think they are open for bookings yet. There are other options for private transfers.
Should you drive up, there are supermarkets in Cluses and Marignier before heading up to the resort which are a little cheaper and good for a big shop.
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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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| jujujuju wrote: |
...
Any suggestions on ski schools, there seems to be quite a few. Places for ski rentals? Can you rent ski lockers at the gondola? Car or do a transfer from Geneva (my brother and fam will have a car) Lift tickets? Any suggestions at all really... |
I've done quite a bit of skiing in the Grand Massif and stayed in Samoens for a season.
I would say Zigzag is the obvious ski school choice - they have taught my two boys to a very good standard, they limit the size of groups, and they have some good instructors. Definitely worth booking early, as you can find their early morning session (starts just before 0930 IIRC) can get full, depending up the level they are in.
You can rent from Extreme Gliss, which is just over the road from the base of the GME, and they will take your skis overnight to save you carrying them around.
Personally, I think a car is essential in Samoens, whether that is getting to the supermarket or travelling around to Morilion or Sixt or Vercland etc. And if you have a big shop, it is worth going to Super U near Taninges (rather than the closer Samones Carrefour) as it is noticeably cheaper.
On the downside, it sounds like you are prepared for the half term queues. Again, without wanting to be too negative but having tried to make half term work, I've decided it isn't worth going at that time. The queues in the morning are terrible on the Samoens/Morillion side, and the lift which gets you out of the valley (Vernant) over to Flaine gets extremely busy. Plus the slopes are busy and you get quite a few of those skiers where their confidence exceeds their skill level, which can make it a bit hairy.
Related to the queues, everyone wants to get up the mountain for the start of the ski schools, which makes the queue at the base of the GME very big at half term. If you have a car, you can drive to Vercland, and take the lift from there which is normally far less busy. In theory, you can get the bus to Vercland, but driving is much better. You can also drive and park at the top at Samoens 1600, which I do quite often.
I would recommend considering booking for your children the downhill toboggan run in Morillon, which comes down the Marvel run in the early evening, after the lifts have closed for skiers/boarders. It's really fun, we loved it, and have done it a few times. But again, you will need to book as it gets fully booked as numbers are limited.
One last point - I would suggest booking some of the restaurants before you arrive, as they can get fully booked over New Year, Half Term etc.
Le Serac does nice pizza (and is nearly always fully booked with returning customers). 8M is superb food, although it is a compact restaurant and isn't really suited for younger children imo. La Reposette in Vercland is really nice too. And make sure you book a lunch up on the mountain at La luge a teran - that's a super place. And also the Grand Cret, which is *superb* for steak, which is owned by the same person who runs La Reposette, and is on the run down to Vercland.
Hope that is of use. Enjoy!
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@Gliss, very good point re Vercland. A chum used to own a chalet above Samoens and that's almost invariably where we would start off from. Haven't done a season in the GM but did have one year where social agenda almost but not quite justified a season pass.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Gliss wrote: |
| jujujuju wrote: |
...
Any suggestions on ski schools, there seems to be quite a few. Places for ski rentals? Can you rent ski lockers at the gondola? Car or do a transfer from Geneva (my brother and fam will have a car) Lift tickets? Any suggestions at all really... |
I've done quite a bit of skiing in the Grand Massif and stayed in Samoens for a season.
I would say Zigzag is the obvious ski school choice - they have taught my two boys to a very good standard, they limit the size of groups, and they have some good instructors. Definitely worth booking early, as you can find their early morning session (starts just before 0930 IIRC) can get full, depending up the level they are in.
You can rent from Extreme Gliss, which is just over the road from the base of the GME, and they will take your skis overnight to save you carrying them around.
Personally, I think a car is essential in Samoens, whether that is getting to the supermarket or travelling around to Morilion or Sixt or Vercland etc. And if you have a big shop, it is worth going to Super U near Taninges (rather than the closer Samones Carrefour) as it is noticeably cheaper.
On the downside, it sounds like you are prepared for the half term queues. Again, without wanting to be too negative but having tried to make half term work, I've decided it isn't worth going at that time. The queues in the morning are terrible on the Samoens/Morillion side, and the lift which gets you out of the valley (Vernant) over to Flaine gets extremely busy. Plus the slopes are busy and you get quite a few of those skiers where their confidence exceeds their skill level, which can make it a bit hairy.
Related to the queues, everyone wants to get up the mountain for the start of the ski schools, which makes the queue at the base of the GME very big at half term. If you have a car, you can drive to Vercland, and take the lift from there which is normally far less busy. In theory, you can get the bus to Vercland, but driving is much better. You can also drive and park at the top at Samoens 1600, which I do quite often.
I would recommend considering booking for your children the downhill toboggan run in Morillon, which comes down the Marvel run in the early evening, after the lifts have closed for skiers/boarders. It's really fun, we loved it, and have done it a few times. But again, you will need to book as it gets fully booked as numbers are limited.
One last point - I would suggest booking some of the restaurants before you arrive, as they can get fully booked over New Year, Half Term etc.
Le Serac does nice pizza (and is nearly always fully booked with returning customers). 8M is superb food, although it is a compact restaurant and isn't really suited for younger children imo. La Reposette in Vercland is really nice too. And make sure you book a lunch up on the mountain at La luge a teran - that's a super place. And also the Grand Cret, which is *superb* for steak, which is owned by the same person who runs La Reposette, and is on the run down to Vercland.
Hope that is of use. Enjoy! |
Absolutely agree in regards to what you say about Vercland. We've stayed there many times and it's a much better route up the mountain, particularly with the new lift. Roland Gay was mentioned by someone else in terms of ski hire and it's very handy for this route up the mountain, as the shop is at the summit and they have lockers to store your stuff.
La Reposette is great too, so well worth a visit.
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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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Been skiing in Samoes since 2008. Everyone else has covered pretty much everything... Sixt has two lovely restaurants too... Auberge de la Feuille d'Erable and Le Rouet. As for a ski school - I will stick my neck out and say that ESF is still the best by far. Both our children started with them at the age of 2yrs 2months and 2yrs 4mths and both are Gold Star Competition at the age of 9 and 12 now. ESF's philosophy is a bit more tough love rather than pure pastoral care - not saying it works for everyone, but my children know they are there as part of the Decliq group - only 7 in each - and they are there to improve their skiing, which in turn would allow them to ski with us anywhere.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Does anyone know if the highly recommended mountain restaurants take lunch reservations? Or is it a case of trying your luck on the day?
(e.g. Grand Cret, L'Igloo, Chalet D'Clair, Montana 1842, etc.)
I've got a trip coming up at Christmas and I'm hoping to avoid the self-service snack bars this time!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I thought La Luge a Teran in Samoens did (off the Dahu piste from the top of the Chariande Express).
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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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| porkpiefox wrote: |
| I thought La Luge a Teran in Samoens did (off the Dahu piste from the top of the Chariande Express). |
When I've asked them about this, they say they don't take reservations in advance for future dates e.g. you can't book a table for Friday if it isn't Friday etc. However, you can either give them a call in the morning and they will reserve a table for that day or pop in earlier on and reserve a table.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Gliss wrote: |
| porkpiefox wrote: |
| I thought La Luge a Teran in Samoens did (off the Dahu piste from the top of the Chariande Express). |
When I've asked them about this, they say they don't take reservations in advance for future dates e.g. you can't book a table for Friday if it isn't Friday etc. However, you can either give them a call in the morning and they will reserve a table for that day or pop in earlier on and reserve a table. |
Ah ok. I've only ever stopped there for drinks, but they've often asked if we've got a booking when we walked in, so assumed they took them in some way. Food has looked good but I haven't eaten there.
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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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Next time you go, I would highly recommend eating there....the food is super.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Gliss wrote: |
| Next time you go, I would highly recommend eating there....the food is super. |
Great thanks, it has always looked good when we've been there, so that's good to know.
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FAQ
