 Poster: A snowHead
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Was thinking of a chalet in Vaujany for Christmas 2011. We are two families with children aged 3, 6, 7, 8, & 9. None of the children have skied before. Any advice on this as a destination would be gratefully received. 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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There are no runs at resort level, no runs back to base, no such thing as ski in ski out, however the most local sector - 'Montfrais' - seems like a good beginner area and is a short bubble ride away.
It's a pleasant enough town, if a little unremarkable. Be aware that a lot of lodgings are at the top of the village, which is rather steep. There is a sort of escalator thing that goes from the high part of the town to the low part (where the lift station is), but this will really get on your nerves if you're carrying 6 sets of skis.
If you're keen on the AdH area (and you should be!) you should probably set your sights on AdH itself. It will make your life a lot easier with 5 ankle-biting beginners.
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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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it always gets good writeups for kids notwithstanding Paulio's comments (all of which are true). supposedly has a decent creche and good teaching facilities for kids
i'd say the most important thing is to find out how convenient your accommodation is for the lift station. some is very close, some provides minibus transfers or you can park close to the station very easily if you have a car. if you are stuck at the top of the village with no transport to the lift it would be a faff, although at least one shop near the lift station has lockers for ski kit
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Thank you both for your advice, really helpful stuff! 
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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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Jasmatty, Have used the creche, was very very good, however very strict. Ski school was ok(ish), but maybe just the instructor my daughter had, but they had a fenced off learner area. As Arno, said If you go with an operator such as ski peak they will ferry you about the village. (they have some very fancy apartments near the top) I think there were lockers you could leave stuff near the huge cable cars (as well as a shop where you could do so.) Shopping facilities are a bit sparse. Montfrais is quiet, and a good learning area. For the rest of you access to all adh is easy, with no queues as the cable car is massive, and vaujany is perhaps the best place to be in falling snow as there are some trees about, esp montfrais.
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Wasn't too impressed with the ESF ski school. Drop off was easy as the instructor would meet you at the bottom of the two lifts out of the village. However, pick up was not so easy as my non skiing wife had to meet the ski school at the fenced off area, which involved having to take the bubble and then walk on to a magic carpet. Not the best. According to my daughter the instructor was more interested in speaking in French to the french kids than helping the English kids. Not useful as she never really understood what she was supposed to be doing. You can get that in any resort. Guess it depends on the mix of kids in the group and the luck of the draw with the instructor.
Stayed at the top and the bottom of the resort. Being at the top is a pain in the butt! There are escalators that take you all the way from the lifts to, well, nearly the top. They annoyingly left a flight of stairs at the top. Seems strange as they went to all the trouble of putting in escalators nearly all the way. Still, better than having to walk all the way up!
Can't comment on the creche as we have never used it.
Vaujany has great links to ADH, but in my opinion is not as good as Oz en Oisans. Oz has a two stage gondola that takes you straight to the top of the "green zone" in ADH, or a gondola that takes you to the mid station in Vaujany. You can then either take the cable car up to the top of Vaujany/ADH, or join the DMC at the mid station to head up higher in ADH. There are also short beginner slopes in Oz, and a free magic carpet and drag lift serving them. Great for the little ones to practice close to home.
I can recommend the creche in Oz as we used it up until our daughter was too old to attend. I think they only take kids up to 6yo, but the ski school do pick up and drop off the kids until they reach a certain level (can't remember which now).
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