 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
We are considering our first family ski holiday (mum, dad and 7 year old).
Can anyone recommend a company that organises this kind of thing? With activities and lessons for the kids?
Just trying to make it as stress free as possible!
Thanks,
Mick
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Esprit ski, every 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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| Timmycb5 wrote: |
| Esprit ski, every time. |
Depends what you are after but I couldn't wait to ditch Esprit when our little one was old enough!! 1st trip to Belle Plagne was ok, rough around the edges in places but generally ok - we said we wouldn't rush back but seemed ok value compared to other options when we looked the following year. It turned out that Belle Plagne was their showcase place though.
Next trip was Val D'Isere and it was bloody awful. Tiny dining room, chips for every meal for kids food, adult food was very poor, daft speed dating arrangement where they moved you around to meet new randoms every night (despite asking several times to stay with the same folk who we were getting on with), always running out of milk etc in the "parents kitchen area" - great fun with a whingey toddler at 9pm at night. I even went and bought them some washing up liquid after 3 days of telling them it had run out and I'd like to wash my son's bottle. Childcare was ok but none of the kids seemed to settle there (our son included and he was generally really confident and happy to do stuff like that) - place was always full of screaming, hysterical kids. The Esprit "manager" on site was about 18 and all the rest of the staff a bit younger and they were all hopeless. I could go on and we'd have chalked it up to a single bad experience except we spoke to others on the trip who'd done lots of Esprit trips and they were very accepting and said it was fairly typical!!
I note that this is the OP's first ski holiday and he is looking for a company to organise a trip so the following may not be relevant but don't rule out independent or just a std ski holiday company now your daughter is 7. When my son was 4 we went independently - helped we'd done lots of ski trips before and knew the area etc but worked so much better for us. My son went into ESF Piou Piou with wrap-around stuff - I'm sure they do this for older kids too. Dropped him at 9am, they had a play in the nursery bit, off for lessons 10-12 then they fed them and he either had the option of more skiing or more play. He had a great time and couldn't have been happier. We're doing similar this year with less childcare in the afternoons as all he wants to do now is ski (and eat crepes!) so we'll just ski with him in the afternoons.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Some of our friends swear by club med ski holidays.
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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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@Dashed, wow. That is nothing like the experience I've had with them! Our first trip we were in a large chalet and we just sat where we wanted in the evening, and the 4 course meal each night was fantastic. They were also great with the kids. Our other stays were in smaller chalets, so seating arrangements was never an issue either. They also didn't run out of any food, despite me and several others always having triple breakfast.
I assume you're being facetious about the ages of the staff, though I suspect every single chalet person in the world is between 18-25, so you're never going to get anyone "old".
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I'm an intermediate skier but haven't skied for a few years, wife is not so confident.
I just want to minimise the stress, finding the ski school, collecting kit. It can be stressful enough without kids. I'm not planning on dumping her in childcare. I'm hoping that she can have lessons a couple of hours a day and then play/ski/sledge with us in the afternoons.
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We’ve been with crystal, and it’s simple enough to get the extras through them. I’ve looked some years at getting the extras direct, but there’s very little price difference and you have the convenience that they give you the lift passes on the coach rather than having to go and buy them early the first morning (actually this year I was on the ball and booked lessons direct to take advantage of 20% discount). Lift passes, equipment and ski school can all be sorted through them. I think some of their holidays offer childcare but we’ve never looked for that. Our ski school is 9.30 - 2.30 and they keep them for lunch!
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We used esprit in Lets Gets for a few years when the kids were little (ages 5 - 11), always in a chalet where we had the whole occupancy (with our mates and their kids). As chalet hosts, they were a bit hit or miss (one year we had gourmet-quality cooking, another we had ... rather less than that). But the organisation around the kids was always fantastic, and we still have adorable videos of Lad 2 (then 8, now 16) singing very silly songs with his "girlfriend" as they got booted, suited and marched to lessons, all without the parents lifting a finger (or in some cases, getting out of bed). This was defintiely worth it as we were novices then too. I'd probably stay away from the hotel version of esprit which always felt (and smelled) a bit chaotic when we visited for the end-of-week showcase.
Powder Byrne are a more upmarket alternative that friends of ours have used and recommended.
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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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| Timmycb5 wrote: |
@Dashed,
I assume you're being facetious about the ages of the staff, though I suspect every single chalet person in the world is between 18-25, so you're never going to get anyone "old". |
Slightly facetious, and entirely expected for 95% of the staff to be younger but if you're the manager running a decent sized hotel with a big team of staff then a little experience in running hotels kinda comes in useful at times. It's not really a "straight out of uni gap yar" kinda job 
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I took our daughters on a "dry run" for a few days to a large bunny slope with snow in Spain. What really worked for me was the expectation that I wouldn't ski at all, it was purely for them. As such, it was a great success (and yes I did ski, though not much).
The next year we went to Andorra, El Tarter. I booked passes and skis+boots online, found a 1-bed flat on booking.com. They have a good ski school from ages 6 and up. Left the girls there. I've written a couple of trip reports where I try to identify things for other people for future.
Next month I'm going to Austria for the first time ever, and I started (continued) a thread in Trip Reports where I ask various questions and people who know the resort well are giving helpful answers.
So if you wish to DIY, pick a resort and people here can very probably help before you go.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Second the advice above not to rule out independent arrangements.
We took 3 kids, youngest was 7, last year for our first family trip.We did Vbro for a SC apartment, and drove over with tunnel from UK. This kept the cost manageable for us. It’s easy enough to arrange ski school, and resorts often have animations programmes aimed at keeping families entertained over the holidays. We can’t wait to go back this year.
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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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Stay somewhere close to the piste, preferably with a pool. Ski lessons in the morning, swim in the afternoon. A 7 year old beginner will be done skiing for the day after lessons, at least for the start of the week. Avoid the big/expensive resorts; you only need a small ski area. I'd suggest Sainte-Foy or Grand Massif, but there are many others.
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I'm considering Ski Famille for my first family trip - have to start saving now though, not cheap. But I remember seeing them with the kids out on the snow (before my two arrived in quick succession), and was really impressed.
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You know it makes sense.
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Best advice would be to get them lessons in a snowdome or on a dry slope so that they are familiar with boots, skis, poma and can do basic snow plough turns.
At 7 I’d steer clear of Esprit - and unless you love other people’s toddlers.
Chalet is easy and a way to meet others, but not if child is a picky eater.
and you are living in close quarter with others.
When we went with Esprit a lot of the guests were very opinionated- we had booked ESF for kids not Esprit lessons and our fellow guests were appalled we’d taken the “risk” to save £s - but our kids were in a class of 4 while theirs ended up in very full classes, because of course even out of season Esprit has loads of kids.
We dropped kids at ski school at 9 and picked them up at 2 after they went to ESF lunch club - as they had already learned the basics on a dry slope they were able to ski with us in the afternoon
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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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After that first Esprit holiday we’ve always gone independently- saved a fortune - usually book an apartment
When kids were still in primary we’d go half term Thurs-Thurs for cheap flights and quiet weekend slopes - hiring a car for easy mid week transfers (Geneva, Venice, Grenoble all good destination airports)
We’ve also driven a couple of times - kids skipped school on Friday - get 1/2 way down France, stop over, get to resort mid afternoon Saturday - time to organise skis, boots and lift passes. Car full of food we knew kids would eat. Drive back after skiing on Saturday so you get 7 days on the slopes
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Poster: A snowHead
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Snowbizz in Puy St Vincent - excellent kids club and ski school.
Ski Magic in La Tania - you take them to ski school in the morning but nannies pick them up and give them lunch, play games etc in the afternoon
If you'd like them to be with other British kids in the ski school lessons then esprit works well. But food can be hit and miss. On both holidays in the bigger chalets everyone went down with a sickness bug. I'd stick to the smaller chalets where they cook in the kitchen of the chalet rather than a hidden away hotel kitchen - we regretted looking inside when we walked past!
We have DIYed to montgenevre - brilliant ski school with Apeak and nice activities in the afternoon as a family - luge, sledging. Green runs right from the top of the mountain.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Our kids and mum had a great time with Mark Warner years ago. My son was about 10 then, and he enjoyed the "ents" .. particularly the "Chucky Egg" competition.
This was in a clapped out chalet that was part of the "Mont Fort Pub" in Verbier.
It was pretty rustic but still great fun.
Our bedroom had a double aspect with probably a balcony.
I dont know if it was balcony ... because we had our own glacier out there which melted into the room each morning. But we still had a good time.
My son is 40+ now 
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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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| Dashed wrote: |
| Timmycb5 wrote: |
| Esprit ski, every time. |
Depends what you are after but I couldn't wait to ditch Esprit when our little one was old enough!! 1st trip to Belle Plagne was ok, rough around the edges in places but generally ok - we said we wouldn't rush back but seemed ok value compared to other options when we looked the following year. It turned out that Belle Plagne was their showcase place though.
Next trip was Val D'Isere and it was bloody awful. Tiny dining room, chips for every meal for kids food, adult food was very poor, daft speed dating arrangement where they moved you around to meet new randoms every night (despite asking several times to stay with the same folk who we were getting on with), always running out of milk etc in the "parents kitchen area" - great fun with a whingey toddler at 9pm at night. I even went and bought them some washing up liquid after 3 days of telling them it had run out and I'd like to wash my son's bottle. Childcare was ok but none of the kids seemed to settle there (our son included and he was generally really confident and happy to do stuff like that) - place was always full of screaming, hysterical kids. The Esprit "manager" on site was about 18 and all the rest of the staff a bit younger and they were all hopeless. I could go on and we'd have chalked it up to a single bad experience except we spoke to others on the trip who'd done lots of Esprit trips and they were very accepting and said it was fairly typical!!
I note that this is the OP's first ski holiday and he is looking for a company to organise a trip so the following may not be relevant but don't rule out independent or just a std ski holiday company now your daughter is 7. When my son was 4 we went independently - helped we'd done lots of ski trips before and knew the area etc but worked so much better for us. My son went into ESF Piou Piou with wrap-around stuff - I'm sure they do this for older kids too. Dropped him at 9am, they had a play in the nursery bit, off for lessons 10-12 then they fed them and he either had the option of more skiing or more play. He had a great time and couldn't have been happier. We're doing similar this year with less childcare in the afternoons as all he wants to do now is ski (and eat crepes!) so we'll just ski with him in the afternoons. |
What seasons were these?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I have 4 kids, each two years apart. Other than covid never had less than 2 ski holidays a year. Never used a tour operator. It is easy to find and arrange whatever you need with a bit of research, whether that is just ski school or additional childcare. It does help if you relish spending time in the mountains with them and accept you might ski a bit less yourself when they are wee. Some of my best memories are messing about on the nursery slopes with them, sledging, buying them hot drinks and food treats, etc. Get a decent apartment or chalet where they have space to play and relax, and you can feed them at times that work for you and with food they like. Happy to help you out this sort of thing together, just shout!
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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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Ski Famille is definitely not worth the money. We have done Esprit several times and that was good. However I would always do DIY now in a nice apartment and use one of the ski schools that does lunches. I just find it more relaxing especially as you have more space.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just to put my view of Esprit, we have had good experiences the past two years at Champoluc and then Val D’isere. Worth sharing that their property at Val D’Isere has been refurbed in part, and I suspect that has helped them improve both food and child care. Ski lesson sizes also very good (4/5). Food really was excellent imo and there was good experience on the childcare side with some having done multiple (6+ seasons). We recognised one from Champoluc.
Having said that, you should expect esprit to be excellent on that front given their USP so I completely get that if you go and get less than stellar provision for kids, anyone would feel disappointed.
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@zikomo, As a Dad of 3 skiers and 1 snowboarder, I agree.
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Cannot believe nobody has mentioned LeSki yet. 3/4 of their guests are return customers, which speaks for itself. They uphold very high standards and have staff who also return each season because they are well looked after. This creates a good service. And yet their prices are competitive.
They also have nannies I believe.
Seriously, a step above the likes of Esprit.
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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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They may have nannies but don’t advertise them on their website, so not an obvious choice for someone who wants to feel comfortable on a ski holiday with their young kids.
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@geomickb, If you don't want to get ripped off then don't go with package company, organize it yourself. You save literally thousands of pounds.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Chilly Powder Morzine/ Avoriaz
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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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@geomickb,
Chilly Powder in Prodains (Near Morzine and right next to the lift up to Avoriaz).
Disclaimer that I did used to work for them.
Small ski school class sizes, own nannies and ski-school assistant, been running their business for approx 20 years and have lots of satisied clients.
Au Coin du Feu is their larger Chalet but it's not too large. Like a small hotel/big chalet. Great food and wine and great with dietry requirements.
Short transfer from GVA.
Family Ski also in the same area (At Ardent) offer similar product.
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Sort your own kids out.
We did.
First holiday was a 2 week SC affair with fully booked ski school in Switzerland. Boyo was 3.5yrs so Switz was the only place he was welcome. After 5 days he was skiing with me down reds etc.
Dont underestimate how much better than you the kids will be, its weird.
You do not need kidd care, just take them skiing with you and you'll enjouy it MUCH more.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Rois1980 wrote: |
| They may have nannies but don’t advertise them on their website, so not an obvious choice for someone who wants to feel comfortable on a ski holiday with their young kids. |
Well they do. So I reiterate my recommendation.
I have worked multiple seasons and seen their operation, as well as those of other operators, and have subsequently holidayed with them.
Like I said, 75% of guests being returners speaks for itself.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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A 7 yrs old shouldn’t need a nanny - get them some lessons in the uk so that they can ski with you in the afternoon from day 1 and stick em ski school plus lunch club in the mornings
even better if you can find a school friend whose family ski or relatives that ski then go together
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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With @homers double, on this tbh.
At 7 our kids would ski all day. Didn't need any other activities - except a spade to dig in the snow and a sledge for after skiing. The times when we had a pool we hardly used it.
You minimise the stress by self catering and making sure your apartment is convenient for ski school meet up and that the ski school is a good one.
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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 do recommend Esprit. What is particular good is because they are exclusively a family operator you have to be booking with children (obviously grandparents joining is fine). This means ready made friends of similar age for kids to play with after skiing. It also for use created a much more relaxed vibe to just let kids play in afternoon / evening.
We did Mark Warner once and they have a mix. There was a definite animosity from the non parent adults to the kids just running around having fun.
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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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If you want somewhere kids are loved rather than frowned upon, go to Italy. But yes, at 7 they would happily be skiing until their legs gave out. 3 hour lesson in the morning, fun with parents in the afternoon. Likely he’ll make a friend or two in class who you can meet after lunch. Forget nannies etc.
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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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We used Esprit once and went to Obergurgl - on a whim at the end of the season - kids were 4 and 8 at the time
On the plus side was nice not to have to worry about transfers, sorting ski school, equipment etc, kids had great time and made some good friends through the week. On the downside the rooms weren't that roomy and did feel a bit disconnected from the kids as they headed off to lessons am/pm and you didn't really see them. That being said we did enjoy the holiday and can definitely recommend if you don't want all the hassle that comes with DIY trips - however the last 7 trips we've organised ourselves.
It can be a bit of a headache putting the various bits of the trip together but I start planning pretty much from when we get back for the next year. As I've done it more I've figured out whats good to spend money on to make life easier and where you can save. I also like the fact it spreads the cost across the year. We've found some great places over the years with the various rental companies and I much prefer the flexibility it gives, kids want a lie in no problem, kids want shreddies for tea no problem, kids want to ski all day no problem.
We're off to Morzine again this year and it's all DIY - it's not as cheap as it could be but given we're stuck travelling at half term I'm happy with what its costing
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I think the answer on this is it it depends on what you want...
For our 5 year old I wanted the ski lessons to be as good as possible and loved the idea of the snow rangers supporting the instructors that ski with the kids group that Esprit supply.
The lunch and afternoon childcare was also fantastic as we wanted to ski a fair bit during the day. At the end of the week we were able to ski with the little one but as it was his first week that was not an option at the start of the week so we really wanted full day childcare.
For a first ski holiday I do think Esprit is a great choice. If they have been skiing for 2-3-4 years at 7 years old then maybe you can ski all day. I can't imagine a complete beginner is going to want to do that and I imagine all the 7 year olds above who ski all day were not doing that on day one of their first holiday.
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I think it's fairly optimistic to assume a 7 year old skiing for the first time will be able to ski all day - and last thing I'd want to do is put them off. Plus, an only child (or only child on the holiday at least), they would probably appreciate the opportunity to make friends and hang out in the evenings, much like what @NickyJ has said.
I am all for DIY ski trips, been doing them for years, but for a first ski trip when kids are little, I don't mind admitting that I like the idea of getting some help with the actual skiing aspect, and having facilities/games rooms/other children for distraction in the evenings. And not worrying if my toddler has a meltdown.
@Andie65, I'd love to know of your experience with Ski Famille. They take little ones from 3 in their morning ski lessons, which is one of the key reasons I'm thinking about them (plus they are in Les Gets, which we know), but if you can compare with Esprit and come out on the Esprit side, it would be good to hear a comparison. (ps I'm ok with other people's toddlers, as I'm going to be the one with "other people's toddlers")
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@Rois1980, the first I took my kids skiing, my son was 5 (literally just 5, the first day was his 5th birthday) whilst his older sisters were 7. They skied all day no problem. Just got to make sure there are regular breaks for hot chocolate and snacks.
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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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@Rois1980, Completely agree.
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FAQ
