 Poster: A snowHead
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Right, the background is wife and 2 girls of six and nine. Reluctant skiers although plenty of trips between them, wife and eldest more ability than they appreciate.
Need distractions like hotel pool maybe kids play areas/clubs.
Prefer Austria due to price of apres and would like a lively scene.
Easy access to slopes from village (so not Mayrhofen).
Mileage not a priority but access to gentle slopes to bring them on.
Would really like a place where there is likely to be British kids for the girls to make friends with.
Back in March went to Katschberg in Austria which was great but not a single English voice all week.
I have been to Mayrhofen, Saalbach and Katschberg in Austria.
Thanks for your 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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What date you looking at going Ian?
Budget would also help. March is a good time for Austria, how about the SkiWelt area? Obergurgl also family orientated with larger hotels. Pretty much as snow sure as it get for Austria but pricey(er).
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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 would have said Saalbach, but Kitzbuehel is also worth a look. The public pool there is pretty good, lots of slides and stuff for the kids, and saunas for you and the wife.
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I'm off to Kitz in Feb. I;ve not yet been but according to my mate there's heaps of non-ski stuff such as bowling, cinema, aqua park of some kind? I however will ski from sun rise to sun set so not interested in such distractions.............. 
Few other options in the area on the same pass but quieter than Kitz.
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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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went to Katschberg in Austria which was great but not a single English voice all week.
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 sounds wonderful. can see it's not what you're looking for, though!!
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If they are still reluctant after several trips might they prefer a different type of activity holiday, perhaps in the UK where they can quickly make lots of friends eg. PGL ?
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Grizwald, budget way down the list of priorities, much more important to have a happy family. I think last years family trip to Katschbeg cost about £4K.
Time wise probably mid Jan as i have 18 day breaks off work. So hopefully no snow cover issues.
clarky999, have you been to Saal with kids? any reccommendations for accomodation?
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truffaut, What is PGL? selfish i know but i feel that it will hopefully click and they will fall in love with the mountains.
i thik my youngest will be well up for it though.
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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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ianbradders, Soll.
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ianbradders, no, but I have taught (older) kids there, and my gf has taught a fair few kids groups there, and there's plenty for them to do.
Sorry, I don't know anything really about the accommodation available - mine is always provided by the ski school. If you do a search, there was a recent thread where myself and Tatman wrote a fair bit about things for kids to do, and if you pm him he can probably tell you more about the accommodation side of things.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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PGL do activity based holidays in the UK for kids staying on their own and also for families. More of a spring/autumn/summer thing though. My kids love it, but then they also say it's a shame they only go skiing once a year...
A lowish (sheltered from the wind) resort with great lift system and plenty of trees and easy access to the slopes would be what I would look for in mid Jan, but the best chance of finding English kids outside of school holidays is more likely to be in a high, treeless, windswept megaresort in France which is where the Brits seem to be found in the greatest number (also in St Anton (not great for beginners) and Mayrhofen which you have discounted). Perhaps your best bet might be Andorra which is supposed to have great Australian ski schools tailored to English kids, easy access to the slopes and quite a few hotels boasting pools and spas etc ?
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the best chance of finding English kids outside of school holidays is more likely to be in a high, treeless, windswept megaresort in France
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 how about trying a cliché-free thread for a change? Shouldn't be too difficult to find English kids in some low,sheltered, family friendly resort with loads of trees, such as Les Gets, Morzine, Les Coches, Vallandry etc etc etc.
The most important factor could be the ski school - BASS in Les Gets gets very good reports but there are plenty of others.
PS How do you get involved in a "lively apres scene" with such young kids? Sounds a clever trick. Our kids greatly enjoyed chalet evenings when they were younger - in a chalet with other families with young children should be plenty of opportunities for some organised or disorganised games before bed time. Sometimes, what makes a holiday really great for kids, is having the 100% attention of their parents. If you spend an hour or so playing a board game, whilst drinking a few beers bought from the chalet hosts and then quaff plenty of "free" wine with dinner, the cost of "apres" is really rather irrelevant.
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You know it makes sense.
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Samerberg Sue, thanks for those suggestions, i will certainly look into them, certainly not ones i had considered.
pam w, i see what you mean. By lively i mean the existence of some apres. After a few years in the Grand Massif then last year at Katschberg there was practically no apres to speak off. I do mean just a few drinks at the end of sking, not nightclubbing. We always make sure we have activities for the kids when we go to a bar.
I am not really a "chalet" person although i have never done one but it could well be an option, i was under the impression you could only have kids in a chalet if you took the whole place up, probably wrong on both counts. I have given Les Gets some thought as i have been to PDS and i know how popular it is with English families.
Thanks for your time.
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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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ianbradders, Have you looked at Serfaus? Not cheap but loads of kid activities for the snow if the kids can't be bothered skiing
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hey there!
I will suggest for you the Superski Dolomiti compound and in particular the Malga Ciapela Hotel Garnì Roberta: the place is awesome and very friendly, the breakfast is to die for and it is straight on the slopes.
As for the English speaking thing: I actually found loads of English speaking people there, so you may like to give it a go. The fact that it only a stone throw away from Cortina means that loads of non Italian tourists are around and that your family could also enjoy a bit of shopping. Just saying!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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if you pm him he can probably tell you more about the accommodation side of things
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ianbradders, Feel free to give me a ring also if you'd like to chat about it.
I suspect that, if you have tasted and enjoyed the 'forbidden fruit' of the somewhat uninhibited and exuberant Austrian apres-ski party scene, you may find many smaller or more refined ski resorts a little quiet for your apres-ski taste in future. You'll no doubt make your mind up what appeals to you and your family most.
I agree with most of pam w's comments about children in catered chalets, provided that you're in a chalet that caters for families and there are other children of a similar age for them to play with, and particularly if your idea of winding down after skiing is tea and cakes and board games.
However the point should be made that the Austrian apres scene is pretty child-friendly, in that the fun kicks off at around 4pm and children of all ages are to be seen joining in the party, as you may already have witnessed at venues like the Hinterhagalm, the Goassstall and Bauer's Schialm. Singing silly apres-ski songs and dancing around in ski boots seems to break down barriers between ages, as well as nationalities.
Having already been to Mayrhofen and Saalbach, you're probably in the best position to judge which type of apres-ski experience is most likely to appeal to you as a family. I agree that you should look for slope-side accommodation with easy access to facilities for tobogganing and snowman-buildng, and preferably also with hotels nearby that allow use of their wellness facilities. Accommodation with a television and DVD player is also advisable.
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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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Thanks for your input Richard, yet another year when i am seriously considering your places. The one thing that makes me waiver is the access to a pool.
Crazy really as last season with the lads at the Panther again we never went in the pool once.
However with the family trip a pool is an absolute must so my query is how much and how convenient is it to use the facilities at the nearby hotels. I guess it is at the Hotel Kohlmais next door?
Thanks again.
Alternatively anyone else have experience of using the facilities at other wellness areas when staying elsewhere in Saalbach?
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An off-the-wall suggestion, perhaps, but you could tick all of your boxes in some North American resorts - Breckenridge, perhaps, comes to mind - and certainly stay well within the budget of £1K each, even including lift passes and equipment hire. Americans are famously sociable, so your kids would have no trouble meeting friends, and even cheap hotels usually have pools over there. American ski schools have extraordinarily high standards in my experience, and that should help build confidence.
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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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my query is how much and how convenient is it to use the facilities at the nearby hotels
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ianbradders, When I enquired at the Hotel Kohlmais last season, they were charging 12 euros to non-residents for both breakfast and for use of the wellness facilities. The pool facilities at the Panther are very good (as you may seen, even if you didn't use them), and, as far as I'm aware, they and the numerous other nearby 4 star hotels welcome (at their discretion) non-residents on payment of a few euros. I hasten to add though that our family hasn't really bothered to suss out the pool and wellness possibilities - too busy skiing or apres-skiing or chilling in front of the tele/DVD in the apartments. However we did have some guests the season before last who were in a routine of spending alternate evenings getting slaughtered or detoxing in the Hotel Kohlmais's wellness suite - apparently it helped them stand the pace.
Much depends on how much one is into spending time in swimming pools and saunas, what the weather is like, whether one is a fair-weather skier, and how much one is prepared to pay to stay in a 4 star hotel with facilities that may or may not be used, including immediate access to a pool and wellness facilities. I'm not surprised to hear that you didn't use the Panther's facilities at all - we had a similar experience a few years ago. By the time we got back to the hotel from apres-skiing at e.g. the Hinterhagalm or the Goassstall, either the pool had been closed or it there wasn't enough time before dinner. Nowadays we pay for things as and when we want/need them, rather than as a pre-paid package
I will invite feedback on this subject on "Chalet Tatman"'s facebook page and report back.
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Jonny Jones, Now that is an off the wall suggestion but certainly food for thought.
We have a load of tesco clubcard points and they can be used on Virgin Ski holidays in the US.
My head is hurting with the options.
Thanks all.
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ianbradders, continuing the North American theme, I once went to Big Sky, Montana with kids aged 6, 7 and 9. They absolutely loved it - ski school was the best they'd experienced and we stayed in the Huntley Lodge with a decent outdoor pool and adjacent hot tub (us in the tub, kids in the pool  ) and a very good kids club, but there wasn't much to do there on a day-to-day basis apart from ski. The highlight of the holiday was definitely a non-skiing item, though: a winter trip to Yellowstone with masses of wildlife - bison, eagles, coyotes, moose, etc - and, of course, the geological features such as geysers hot springs, mud pits, etc.
Not sure if Virgin go there, though. We had to DIY a trip.
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