 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi everyone
I'm looking for some advice on the above resorts. We have booked flights to Turin for the week of January 21st. We will self cater and there seems to be good options in all of these places. We have only been to the larger French resorts (3V, EK etc) and are keen to try Italy not least to save some money! Our needs are as follows:
1. 2 adults (decent intermediates, off piste not necessary) and 3 kids aged 9, 7 and nearly 4. Older kids were coming down blues in Tignes at the end of this year.
2. English speaking ski school for the older kids. For the younger child we will need some kind of half day ski school (this year she did a week with Evo2 in Tignes in their kids club and got on well so something similar needed again). We may consider private lessons for the older 2 if the price is not too prohibitive.
3. We won't have a car and given that the adults will be dropping kids to ski school and collecting them again by lunchtime we won't get to cover too much ground on the slopes. So we'll be limited to the valley we are staying in which is fine. We know our skiing time is limited and we're ok with that. It worked well for us this year. One of us will get out in the afternoons with the olders kids while the other plays with the younger one. But we won't need a massive ski area and we don't mind repeating runs. However, we would favour a resort with a modern enough lift system and avoiding drag lifts if at all possible!
4. A resort with a decent bus system. Quite possible we'll need a shuttle to and from accommodation so a reasonably frequent bus service around the area. Maybe some ski lockers near the lifts so most of the walking can be done without ski boots etc.
5. Apres not relevant to us. A glass of wine for the adults and a pizza for the kids at the end of the day is all we need.
6. A decent supermarket. We will self cater and cook most of our main meals due to a dietary requirement in the group.
7. Some basic kids activities such as sledging and a bit of a playground would be useful.
At the moment I'm leaning towards La Thuile or Montgenevre. Montgenevre probably looks like it suits us best but I would like to try Italy for once even if it is just over the border in France.
Any comments would be most welcome.
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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We are big fans of La Thuile and have taken our children there a few times since they were aged 4 and 6. Good sized resort (and even bigger if you go over to La Rosiere, but that may not be possible if you are tied to ski school times and there is a long drag lift to make the connection home). Nice choice of runs that you can all manage. Good restaurants at decent prices.
There is a gondola up into the main skiing area, when our youngest was on her first few days we took the gondola home again at the end of the day, but by middle of the week she could manage the ski down. There are nice blue runs and lunch places up there.
There is a fair choice of accommodation near the gondola and nursery slopes (based around the Planibel complex) but we have also stayed a bit further out and found the buses frequent enough.
Planibel complex whilst maybe a bit bland is good for apres, there are pubs etc, a good take away pizza place etc and if you are staying in the complex itself there is a games room and pool. I think there might have been a playpark near the nursery slopes but can't quite remember.
Supermarket in the planibel complex not huge, but has enough for a week, we usually stop on the way up (we've had a car in the past, but private transfer companies will schedule in a supermarket stop) at a large carrefour or similar. There are nice local shops in the older part of La Thuile, only a 10min walk or so from main gondola area. Downsides - it can be extremely cold!
Have also been to Sestriere. It had a nice choice of runs, good for beginners with easily accessible nursery slopes, adults would probably manage a quick trip over into over resorts in the morning before ski school pick up. There is a public swimming pool with an outdoor bit which my kids loved in the snow! and an icerink, but overall we enjoy the skiing in La Thuile more.
In both resorts Italian ski school always had instructors who spoke good English and it was much cheaper than France. We pretty much always ski in Italy as we find it much better value, prefer the restaurants and general atmosphere, esp when our children were smaller and always quieter - though that will be less of an issue late Jan
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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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I like La Thuile too (but can't comment on the other resorts).
My family and I have been several times, but none of the children were pre-teens. The slopes are varied and sufficiently extensive for a week's interest for intermediates (except real mileage freaks). There is something to suit most abilities, and even to stretch most people. They seem to keep the slopes in good condition. The lift system is good, but not the greatest - you're not going to find heated seats here!
I have always stayed in the Planibel complex, both in the hotel and self-catering. They have been undertaking a big refurb project of both hotel and apartments over the past couple of years, but I don't know how far advanced it will be next winter - might be best to try and get a refurbished room. The cooking facilities in the self-catering apartments are basic, but people seem to cope OK. The supermarket is a reasonable size, but you will struggle with ingredients for some dietary requirements (such as GF), but you probably knew that already.
It's a very different feel to the French resorts I have been to, and I like it. It suits me well and I fully plan to return.
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@adriangrogan, Champoluc would work, fits all criteria, ... I am biased as Mrs U's father was born there and she is a cousin of everyone, so I have probably done equivalent about 250 days 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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I’d discount Courmayeur with young kids as you have to walk to a cable car to access the skiing. Montgenevre would be ideal and apartment prices would be reasonable in January. Le hameau des airelles is good value although if your budget will run to it Le Napoleon Residence is better. Ski school excellent and many runs beginner friendly. Skiing above and below the tree line. Monty express fun for apres ski and the above accommodation has a pool. La thuile would be okay but i would say it is less attractive than Montgenevre. It might be very cold and windy higher up in January and the lowest sheltered runs are red and black. It might be hard for you to ski the whole area including la Rosiere with younger kids. I don’t know champoluc so hope others can advise on that. I think that generally there are better options in France for self catering. Italy seems to offer more in the way of hotels.
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First I would eliminate Courmayeur as you will get bored on-piste compared to your previous mega-resorts.
I would also eliminate Champoluc as it's not great for blue run skiers (and also quite small on piste).
That leaves La Thuile / Montgenevre / Sestriere.
La Thuile fits your requirements, though personally I don't think it's the most interesting ski area in the world (to put it mildly). If it's stormy then the blue run skiers might struggle as there is very little easy skiing that is in the trees.
I haven't been to Montgenevre / Sestriere but I suspect they would be the best for your group, skiing-wise. Again, they are both quite exposed resorts if it's stormy. I can't comment on the specifics re. supermarkets etc.
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Agree with @denfinella, La Thuile not ideal for relative beginners: the runs through the trees are mostly a little tricky and the easy runs higher up can feel very exposed in bad weather (as can most of the resort) though they are attractive in nice conditions.
I've only skiied Montgenevre as day trips from elsewhere, but it seemed a great place for beginners piste-wise, including a lot of runs through the trees if weather unsuitable above the tree line. And those experienced can venture further afield; I remember a red that felt so satisfying we went straight back up the chair from the bottom to repeat it. Can't promise you a supermarket, though would be very surprised if there weren't.
Sestriere has skiing at all levels, and would be brilliant for the intermediates since it is in the middle of the Milky Way with plenty of trips to do. I seem to remember blue runs were a bit more limited, and might it might not be the best place in poor weather. We self-catered and had no problem buying provisions, from what I remember the "supermarkets" were small and crowded but stocked with everything you would want.
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Thanks everyone for the replies. It looks like Montgenevre is the most suitable for us. I have found decent, well located self catering accommodation at a reasonable price. Looking forward to trying somewhere new for a change.
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