 Poster: A snowHead
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After COVID scuppered several attempts at sorting a first ski trip for the kids, we finally made it, albeit 4ys later - myself and the wife realised it’s 6 years since we were on snow, so it was long overdue.
We’d planned to hook up with some friends for the trip so in total, 4 adults and 4 kids so after a bit of searching, we settled on Chalet Des Nieges in Oz En Oisans (Oz 3300), booked through Sunweb to take advantage of the free lift pass, which is the company's main USP. I'd always been keen to see if Sunweb was too good to be true, but they came through; holiday totalled £3900 for a 5x bedroom self catering chalet overlooking the nursery area, price including lift passes and ski hire for all 8 of us. Great value I reckon, probably helped by our school area (warwickshire) having the start of the easter hols a bit earlier than many local authorities in the UK and Europe.
The Journey There:
We’ve done numerous Europe road trip Summer holidays but never a ski trip; grabbed a cheap set of snow chains off eBay, packed the car and off we went.
6am start from Rugby got us to Eurotunnel for 9am so we were bumped forward 40 minutes to a 9:40am crossing. Did the usual thing of forgetting to pre-load the Dart charge so that was the first job once we got done once we emerged in France. Driving in convoy with our friends was nice, so we could take turns to lead and control a steady pace. They had an existing SANEF teg in place so whizzed through the tolls, waiting for us to scramble around to find the card that always seems to find a hiding place. I'd also organised a CRITair badge back for our Summer road trip, which was valid for the lifetime of the car; these are ULEZ-type badges that are ordered online for a few quid and basically allow you to enter major cities in a vehicle
Headed to Troyes for our first stop – easy journey on the A26, relaxed driving as always on Autoroutes – but got to Troyes in the afternoon (about 4pm after a few stops) to find the entire city centre cordoned off for a festival of some sorts. Meant we had to drive round for an hour to find parking other than at the accommodation; ended up at the secure rail station parking, which was only 600m walk to the digs and cost €11 for the night.
Stayed at an amazing place called Maison juvenal des ursins - thinks it's a former guest hotel or B&B, so big communal area and loads of double bedooms, tucked in an alley just off the main street in Troyes and with a bar opposite. Highly recommended, was £160 for the entire place for the night.
Left Troyes the next morning about 9am and did the stint to Oz 3300 via A5 to Dijon, then the A39 past Bourg En Bresse then A43 and A48 to Grenoble; we'd budgeted 6hr + 2hrs for wee stops and a supermarket stop in Vizelle. Worked out spot on, arriving in resort at 5:30pm after a delay on the final bit of the D1090 due to a crash further up toward Bourg D'Oisans.
Road up to resort was exciting for the kids - "Daddy, don't drive off the edge of a cliff, pleeeeease!!". Parking was fine, loads of spaces in resort in the lower long stay area. Bit of a slog to get luggage and food up steps and then up to the 5th floor but there's a reason we have children!!
Accomodation:
Chalet des Neiges Is actually several buildings set overlooking the main pedestrianised area of Oz 3300; well maintained, they seem to cater for a wide variety of group sizes. It seems to be the main accommodation option for Sunweb in the resort.
Our challet was F7 in Gentiane building, right above Ferme D'oz eatery and with a balcony looking down onto the resort's main green slope.
5x big double bedrooms meant the older kids could have space to themselves - all rooms had ensuite showers and there were three separate WCs. Cooking area was 'bijou', with a big dining table and lounge. It had everything you needed, including a collection of the world's biggest eating spoons and the world's smallest drinking glasses!
Showers were scalding hot (as my wife likes it), with plentiful water, and the whole place was warm and comfortable even if the low beams sometime caught me out (I am 6ft 3in) a few times.... I have the bumps to prove it!!!
Our building has the swimming pool, sauna and gym in it on lower levels (for use by all Chalet guests from across CDN buildings) plus we have reasonable-sized ski lockers on the 2nd floor for each chalet.
No quibbles or anything about the accommodation; we smashed a chopping board - why do they insist on glass ones is beyond me - but the reception just shrugged and said don't worry. We got our €500 deposit back after a quick inspection, no issues. We'd also chosen not to take the £100 cleaning fee option - there's a hoover and mop provided anyway so unless you're a proper scruff, shouldn't hard to clean an apartment in half an hour.
Despite the listing saying there wasn't wi-fi, it extended to our chalet so the kids were happy; it just needed logging into each day to stay active. If you can't stand BBC world news or French shows on the telly, probably worth bring a USB device - the apartment has a modern flat screen TV.
There is a bread and bakery delivery service organised via reception, but we didn't take advantage, as the shop was straight opposite and we'd bought a gazillion waffles and sweet treats on our big shop.
The Resort:
Arriving in 15˚C temperatures with no snow on the ground feels peculiar given you're there to ski, so the resort did have that 'out of season' vibe about it, even if shops and bars were open. However, with some overnight snow it looked like it should and it's a nice little place. Compact, not ugly, and fairly quiet, I can see why it's a choice for families.
The Sherpa shop is totally fine, albeit a bit pricey (as per any ski resort) so if you are travelling by car, do your shop in the valley to get better prices (we stopped at the Intermarche in Vizelle, 30 minutes drive to the resort). There's a nice bakery at the top of the resort, some lovely bars - the one below the sherpa is great for Belgian beers - plus a wide choice of ski hire places.
We'd booked via Sunweb so went to Ski Tonic but the guy there was already dealing with a big group so sent us to Skimium next door who were great; no qualms about my son wanting to change to a snowboard setup and (maybe coincidentally) everyone ended up with boots that matched the colour of our outfits. He even asked us about our level and ski preference.
Lift pass hut is next to the main Poutran gondola - no hassles getting passes, all quick an hassle-free as we'd expect booking through a TO.
Food & drink:
We came back to the chalet most days for lunch, as either the kids wanted to chill out for a bit, or one of the group was electing to have an afternoon off. Only day we lunched out was the final day, eating at Ferme D'oz downstairs - fondue, tartiflette, burgers were all good, fair bit of main meal choice for €20 or under. We'd eaten there on an evening also during the week and the service was great, food was really good and with a ton of drinks, probably work out at €30-40 per person. Big glasses of Maredsous Belgian beer went down well. But in general, evenings were hearty meals like chilli, sausage stew, pasta served in the chalet. With a ton of tired kids to entertain I'm not sure we could have made a hotel/catered chalet work... it was nice just cooking and serving up when we felt like it.
Had some drinks in random places in ADH - the usual €5 for a coke or a bit more for a hot chocolate, €7-10 for a beer depending on size - and visited the two bars in Oz, both of which are a love letter to wooden interiors and serve a good selection of non-lager beers for between €6-10 depending on size.
Didn't go to Timberlodge or down to the Moontain Hostel. Did pop to the bakery at the top of the village for some lunch snacks, nice little place serving sweet treats and savoury snacks like pizza slices for a few euros.
The Skiing:
I've been to ADH previously but that was in the main area and on a lads snowboarding holiday; this time it was all about learning to ski - myself and the wife had 2 days in Andorra 6yrs ago so had forgotten most of it - and the kids had just done the fast track sessions at Tamworth. Oz seems perfectly-placed, with greens and blues plus quick access via gondola to the main ADH area and the Montfrais sector above Vaujany.
Anyone who's not been to ADH, the higher you go the more reds and blacks appear so it's best as a beginner to stick to the lower slopes or key areas such as Signal, with the Marcel's Farm beginner run.
Lots of super-wide pistes that intertwine so it's hard to get lost or go wrong.
Day 1 - fresh snow and whiteout but we headed up to the top of Poutran to do the green (Jeux?) down to the base of Signal in ADH. I loved it, but maybe it wasn't the best for a group of beginners (the other family we were with were also total newbs, apart from skier Dad who had 2wks experience). Everyone survived and despite some uncertainties and a few tantrums, it seems that we'd made the right decision coming skiing - lots of smiles all round.
Day 2 - spent it up at Montfrais lapping the Chalet blue and the greens down the bottom. The Dads did make the mistake of taking the kids up to do Edelweiss, which turned out to be more like a red in the middle - more tears, a bit of walking and Dads getting the blame. Sweets and fizzy pop soothed the situation. . Eldest lad had a 2.5hr snowboard lesson, came back able to do proper turns. Very proud Dad moment.
Day 3 - Montfrias again, where my 10yo daughter got caught out by some moguls (it snowed again and the runs had lots of snow piles) and the she crashed, twisting her knee. A retirement to the pool and sauna for mums and young kids meant dads and older kids could head to ADH to do more of the greens and blues.
Day 4 - absolute dumpage of snow! So much in fact that we spent the first hour looking for skis as we all came acropper in the fresh stuff and lost various bit of equipment in 2ft of powder. Daughter took the day off with her bad knee (Mum took one for the team and stayed home) so the rest of us just lapped the green and some blues to hone technique. Everyone's pizza wedge was turning into something resembling a parallel turn, and snowboarder son was getting used to shussing on the flat (still holding us skiers up though). Afternoon it was still dumping down so Dads and snowboarder headed over the back of Signal to faff in the powder. Had an absolute hoot, fell over lots and realised that skiing in powder is WAY HARDER than snowboarding in it. Had a nice bit of chiropractoring thanks to the Petit Prince drag lift - that thing is savage!
Day 5 - Snowing, again. Kids and mums had a lie-in so Dads went and explored DMC 2, Marmottes and Dome Des Rousses; amazing conditions, runs that would have been chopped up earlier in the week were just powder fields. Really helped my skiing progress, ended up hooning it down reds and blues with proper confidence. Afternoon, the mums and kids joined us so we just did Marcel's Farm and it was amazing to watch everyone just not focussing on their ski tips an actually skiing naturally. Really proud of my daughter for fighting through the knee pain, she was tucking poles under the arms by the end and doing little bridge obstacles. This was the moment that the deal was sealed - everyone wants to go skiing again.
Day 6 - overnight the weather changed, with high winds and high temperatures seeing the slush return and the entire domain closing. Gutted! We'd all been looking forward to more exploring but what can you do when safety is paramount - sun came out and it was at least 15˚C (probably more in the direct sun) so we just lapped the green run, I hiked up the red run a few times to take advantages of the untouched, groomed snow, and then we had a long boozy lunch before a few more green runs and then taking the gear back to the hire shop. Disappointed for everyone they couldn't get one more big day in but everyone was pleased with their skiing.
The journey home:
The way home we left Oz3300 at 10am and pretty much followed an identical route to the one we took to get there, apart from coming off to go to Louhans for Mcdonalds and cheaper fuel. Arrived in Reims at 5pm; journey felt long, it rained and everyone was a bit pooped and depressed at going home. Stayed in Reims for two nights due to a birthday in the other family, so plenty of time to explore, although with it being Easter Sunday and a bank holiday, very little was open shop-wise so we walked around, visited Pommery champagne caves, ate lots. Not sure I'd return.
Left Reims at 11am and got to Calais for 2pm to wander round Citi Europe and do a booze shop - then it was back to the chaos of UK motorways and its drivers!!!
Stopovers:
As a bit of an addendum, whenever we do long road trips we trip to max out at around 6hrs driving in one go. Main reason is my daughter gets car sick, plus we feel that the stopovers can be made as much part of the holiday as the main skiing, so it's nice to have time on an evening for a mooch and a sightsee, plus a relaxed breakfast in the morning.
Choose the right places and it can make grumpy, travel-weary kids very happy when they get to see cool towns and cities, visits sights and eat in restaurants. Of course, this all adds extra cost and time but we find it gives the best 'experience' for us as a family. We've toyed with the idea of doing a straight-through drive, setting off in an evening and driving through the early hours to arrive in resort mid-morning, but it sounds a bit hellish until I can convince my wife to share the driving (she hates automatics, and my car in general)
How did we select stopovers? Bit of a pin-in-a-map job TBH; we'd stayed in Troyes before so it was easy to convince our travelling friends, plus it meant we'd done the 3hrs in the UK plus 4hrs in France. It also meant the stint to resort wasn't horrendous.
The way back we knew we would rather have a short drive to the tunnel so opted for a longer stint to Reims.
Accommodation was all booked on booking.com, generally with free cancellation option; I often pre-book several accommodations and then pitch them to the wife, I'll sleep anywhere whereas she has standards so she has final say.
On previous Summer trips we have had out-of-town hotels (eg. Ibis Budget) and we've been lucky they were great, but obvs that often means you're not near any civilisation and/or things to do and see, so may make the idea of a stopover less appealing. Or it may suit you just wanting a cheap place to sleep for the evening. Horses for cources.
For stopovers we spent £80 per night per family on this trip (so £20 per head) which I think it super reasonable, not many hotels in city centres you can get for that price. Obvs you can then spend what level you feel is appropriate for food on the journey; we brought a couple of burgers, had some meals out and some snacks, plus a few pastries for breakfast. That is unavoidable IMO and is just a cost that you accept..
Benefits of driving:
Freedom to work to your own schedule is the main thing - aside from having to get to the tunnel or ferry - you are on your own terms; drive as far as you want, pr take your time. I HATE driving in the UK but in Europe it's generally great and the scenery and stops can be a really memorable part of the whole holiday. This was the second time we've stayed in Troyes and we'll return because it's a lovely place.
Compared to travelling by air, flying is possibly better time-wise but you definitely don't get to experience places like you do when you do stopovers. But stopovers do mean more time on holiday in total, so it might not be for everyone - we were lucky that for a 11-day holiday, we only had to take 5 days off, which allowed us to take the 'scenic' option of driving.
From an eco perspective, I worked out that driving was something like a third of the carbon footprint, maybe be even better. That's a win.
Plus, cost-wise it's most likely cheaper than flying (when you figure in airport parking and the possibility of having to organise a transfer to resort); the tunnel was £250, tolls were about £175 in total, and I did about £180 in fuel - yes, there are some bargain flight to be had but with the luggage you can take in a car, plus the food shopping option, I just works out better all round than a plane IMO.
CAVEAT: I drive a company car so have my insurance covered by work. Obvs this is an other cost to factor in if you're not in that fortunate position.
Benefits of self-catering:
After sampling all-inclusive summer holidays, I can see the appeal of being waited on and served at will but only if the costs stack up in your favour; skiing is naturally an expensive holiday so any catered or full board option would price us out of going, hence why we're happy to do SC. In fact, I'd say unless you crave the hotel environment for socialising or for an easy life, self catering makes total sense, especially if you've driven; you can stock up on what you want, make food when you want and eat what you like. I'd be reluctant to do that for more than the 8 people we had, but for a family of four it will offer the most freedom and you can always throw in some restaurant evenings if you don't fancy cooking.
was it cheaper than a hotel? Not sure... we always go off a bit half-cocked on holidays, a few more drinks here or some overpriced snacks from the shop there. Plus, with 3x nights as stopovers (one being a birthday celebration), we've incurred a fair chunk of food and drink costs. But that was us overindulging and I know we could have dialled it back a little.
We spent £500 on the big shop and some top-up shops at the resort shop between both families, which did us all self catering meals (breakfast, lunch and tea), plus £200 each family on eating out two times in resort.
We did take a slow cooker with us, so that made cobbling together a nice, rich sauce very easy; prepare at lunchtime and leave on and just serve later when you're ready. I was going to bring the air fryer but it would have taken up precious booze space on the way home!!
I did also find that my kids in particular were less inclined to snack when away; we bought crisps and other snacks, but hearty breakfasts, lunches and evening means - combined with extreme fatigue and tiredness - sent them into a zombie-like state about 8pm, and they all just took themselves off to bed, watered and fed and ready to recoup for the following day. Maybe I lucked-out with that!!
Breakfasts were probably the time that needed the most co-ordination; porridge cooking, maybe some eggs and toast, that worked mostly but by day 4 the kids were getting harder to corralle so they ended up necking waffles and oat bars while the parents ate their body weight in porridge so not to waste the precious oats!!!
Will we do it again?
Yes. Definitely.
My kids have already asked if we're going again in Winter, so we have a Christmas trip in the planning, something we've always wanted to do. The kids are happy with snow and although Christmas will probably be colder (which could play havoc with my daughter's Reynards), it should be magical because it's Christmas and it's skiing. Our friends would go again also but have a big summer Disney trip to plan so we may join with them again in 2026.
Would we use Sunweb? Definitely. Totally hassle-free, good comms via email and the prices are too good to ignore.
I think we lucked out with the accommodation this time in terms of quality and location, maybe a bit more homework required, especially if we choose Austria, as Sunweb seems to have lots of obscure or out of town accommodation options,. But regardless, we'll be driving and we can't wait.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Wed 3-04-24 15:18; edited 7 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A very comprehensive report -- thanks
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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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| albob wrote: |
| A very comprehensive report -- thanks |
+1
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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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Yes, that was good reading. Your approach shines through - positive, capable. The same holiday could be described in quite different ways by someone more inclined to complain and find fault and expecting other people to solve their problems.
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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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@Specialman, Nice report. We stayed in CDN 2 years ago but a different building, so trudging outside to go to the sauna or pool was a pain (stayed in CDN building in VT this year). I thought Oz was a good base for AdH.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| halfhand wrote: |
| @Specialman, Nice report. We stayed in CDN 2 years ago but a different building, so trudging outside to go to the sauna or pool was a pain (stayed in CDN building in VT this year). I thought Oz was a good base for AdH. |
I think we are lucky having those facilities in our building. Only downside is compulsory adult supervision for kids in the pool but I can understand - it's a small, shared space and kids going feral might ruin it a bit for others.
The closure on the last day highlighted how cut off the satellite villages can be if the weather goes bad, and how important the gondola links are; not that there was much open in the main ADH area and any of the drag lifts that were running would have been crowded for sure. But yeah, Oz is a great place and we'd definitely consider it again.
| Origen wrote: |
| Yes, that was good reading. Your approach shines through - positive, capable. The same holiday could be described in quite different ways by someone more inclined to complain and find fault and expecting other people to solve their problems. |
Thank you. Just gotta roll with it sometimes and accept that you've chosen the DIY holiday route so you have to deal with obstacles as they come. Ultimately, aside from a few niggles (such as our accommodation in Reims being smaller than advertised and no clean towels or bedding), we had very little that could spoil the trip. Always a sense of relief when you get home without major trauma and everyone gives the green light to do it again 
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Bad luck about the wind but great for you to get back on the slopes again after such a long time.
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@Specialman, linen and towels are not routinely provided in French self catering accommodation. If it's not specified it's not included. Sometimes an optional extra, like end of stay cleaning.
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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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| Origen wrote: |
| @Specialman, linen and towels are not routinely provided in French self catering accommodation. If it's not specified it's not included. Sometimes an optional extra, like end of stay cleaning. |
We joked that the bedding in the place in Reims was like something taken from a teenager's bedroom, I wouldn't have wanted to shine a UV light on it!!!!Tthe owner didn't give a flying fig when we contacted him. Negative review incoming for him.
As for the ski chalet - beds were absolutely great, linen was all spot on, and towels were all decent too, and plentiful. Glowing review heading to Sunweb and CDN.
Just proves that you you win some, you lose some when going DIY - thankfully my wife and daughter turn the back seat of our car into a camper on long road trips so we have throws, blankets, pillows and all sort of other stuff to get us out out of a bind.
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Sunweb definitely getting a good reputation. We do a lot more of their client ski passes than before.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Excellent
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FAQ
