Poster: A snowHead
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Looking for some suggestions/recommendations on where to go at Easter. We will be driving from Scotland. Been researching for a while now and still are, but would appreciate any suggestions.
We will be 4 adults and one child, tend to ski mainly blues and reds and really not looking for lots of steep as child only 5. Wee one can ski with us ok.
Would like ski in/out or at least only a very short walk to lift. Would rather not have to get a ski bus which I think is like some Austrian resorts?
No need for major nightlife, a bar or two, couple of restaurants, maybe a takeaway would be handy.
Enjoy mountain restaurants for a beer / hot choc stop
No real need for the big resorts as with wee one, don't get to use as much, however saying that, we are considering Les Arcs/La Plagne/Avoriaz perhaps staying in Morzine. Due to the altitude of these.
We all like Italy, but open to all options.
Self catering - intend leaving it till nearer time to book an apartment, then can see what snow is like. Want to keep the cost of the apartment to under 1k for the each week. Plus flexible on arrivals and departure dates would be ideal as we will probably be looking to stay only 12 days.
Ski school - would be good if there was a good ski school, but after a bad experience with ESF wee one not that keen, although he has agreed to go with a bribe of moshi monsters! It is not essential though, we may just get him a couple of private - so saying no need to pick a resort purely on ski school.
Places we have considered are the ones mentioned above, plus Pila, Montgenevre (we liked Claviere but think more accommodation options in Montgenevre) Les Coches, Montelbert - would the latter two be possible to ski back to first two weeks of April? Liking the thought of Morzine, ski in Avoriaz then come down after to sit in the sun in Morzine, plus have the new swimming pool complex in Avoriaz for a day off skiing. Plus near geneva if our friends fly into there ( not yet booked). Any smaller not so well known resorts that I wouldnt necessarily know? I read about some on here like les saises but not sure how snow sure they are later in season.
Anyone got any accommodation recommendations?
A nice to have would be a resort that is free for kids up to and including 6 years, as son turns 6 in the first week of April.
Friend home from Abu Dhabi next week so we will be doing some planning!
Well I think that is a starter for 10!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Have you thought about Sainte Foy - kids under 7 are free. Its a small resort but has deals with some of its larger neighbours - as you have a car you could have a couple of days out. As it is a small resort you may get bored with the amount of pistes for 2 weeks - but never with the off piste. Nick Quinn has his own boutique school down there, there is also Evo2 in addition to ESF. But as its so small its all very friendly.
Website here: http://www.saintefoy-tarentaise.com/english/winter/ski/ski-passes/
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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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chocksaway, No I hadn't considered here, had a quick look at website and piste map and it looks fine for us. This is the kind of suggestions I'm looking for thanks!!
Will look into it a bit more when not so tired!!
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If it gives you any reassurance we used ESF as we didnt think New Gen times would work for us at Les Arcs 1800 and found them v good - kids really enjoyed themselves and itching to go back each day. Due to illness the adult in our group had 3 different instructors and rated them all.
My kids are 8 and 9 and had a range of group lessons/ private instructors.... Fairly discerning customers who don't give praise lightly
We did work out when there that we could have skied down from Aiguille Grive apartment block to Vallandry without needing to use a lift so could have made the 915 start for New Gen lessons in Vallandry much more easily than walking to ESF lessons in 1800..... Live and learn!
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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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Gilly28, I think you're wise to leave booking an apartment till later - it's impossible to know about snow so long in advance. I have a place near Les Saisies - and I will be here then. The whole of Les Saisies is open till 13th April, then just the central area (excluding the Douce Bowl) till 19th. Until 13th the links over to Notre Dame de Bellecombe and Praz sur Arly are open. If snow permits, obviously. 2 years ago it was pretty dire and the resort closed a week earlier than planned but that's very rare (and we had skiable, albeit not very good, snow here after much around, including most of the Chamonix area, had closed). The snow record here is very good - every other year since 2002/3 we've been able to ski till the end of the season, in variable conditions. Until 12/14 April you should be OK - but I'd still wait.
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You wouldn't have to pay as much as £1000 a week for an apartment round here - a good 2 bed apartment would be more like £500. It's low season.
Only under 5s are free for lift passes, sadly.
Private lessons are very affordable - I have just fixed up a series of 5 two-hour private lessons for 4 children in the first week of April just $95 each - less than ten euros an hour! A single 2 hour private lesson is €62 and I could recommend an instructor.
Most apartments in Les Saisies are let on the usual Sat/Sat timing. I have a friend who lets his out more flexibly sometimes but it's in Bisanne 1500, where mine is, not the main village.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gordon.bodiesmith/location.html
We have a restaurant/bar, it's ski in/out and there are other facilities just down the bottom of the lift - ski hire, another restaurant, tea shop, small supermarket.
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Gilly28, Might be worth taking a look at Risoul, southern (ish) alsps. We 've been there for the last three Easter hols (family with 2 children now 13 and 10). It's reasonably high at 1850cm, snow has always been good for us (esp one year when we had much better snow than we experienced in the northern Alps the week before) and ski passes are very reasonable esp as there is something like 180km of piste (linked with Vars).
Accom is good value, we use Erna Low where you also get Eurotunnel with Flexiplus (turn up and go don't need to book a certain train).
Skicool Risoul are a v good school, we've always really enjoyed lessons with them
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we use Erna Low where you also get Eurotunnel with Flexiplus (turn up and go don't need to book a certain train).
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if Flexiplus is bundled with an Erna Low reservation, it's nice to have, but not worth paying double for it, if you are booking separately. If you avoid the peak times you can always, in practice, turn up and get the next train. Even if you have to pay a little extra, it's nothing like the huge cost of flexi-plus.
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Gilly28,
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We all like Italy, but open to all options.
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La Thuile is just through Mont Blanc tunnel so not far from Geneva. Pretty reliable April skiing. A lot at the level you describe.
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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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Will have a look at Risoul, another I hadn't considered, thanks.
T Bar, Been to La Thuile a few times, friends actually got married in LT by the Mayor. If going to Aosta I think we would go to Pila, plus, you quite often get a cheap late deal from Crystal for LT, so whilst we are driving it also may be nice to go to somewhere we may not normally manage to get to.
pam w, Yes agree on the Erna Low/ tunnel thing, we have seen a few EL apartments and haven't booked tunnel yet just incase we booked with them, but wouldn't be booking for the sake of the flexi thing. We will be using Tesco vouchers for the tunnel anyway. I think we intend hitting the tunnel around lunchtime Friday 29th March, is this a potentially busy time?
Like the look of SF so far, off to check out Risoul. j
Ah just realised we have looked at Risoul, we came across accommodation in Vars and it led us to Risoul, so thanks for the recommendation. Any preference of Risoul over Vars ?.
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we intend hitting the tunnel around lunchtime Friday 29th March, is this a potentially busy time?
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well, it's Good Friday, isn't it, but I've never travelled then. I don't think it would be specially heaving but it might be worth specifically asking, in a separate thread. If you want to use Tesco vouchers book in plenty of time - not something you can leave till the week before.
I've never been to Risoul but it sounds ideal. Not as pretty as Les Saisies but with some good higher skiing.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just looking at Les Saises now, it's a pretty big ski area! A lot of the accommodation is in Bisanne 1500 though. Do you then have to drive/bus up to Les Saises
Risoul discounting their passes come 1st April, so that's a plus point.
Yes, knew it was Good Friday, just wondered if it was maybe not that busy anyway. I suppose a lot of people take caravan holidays as well on that break.......I may post a separate thread on that, but as heading down from Scotland, we will want to set off as soon as we can and both options we have thought about entails arriving there around lunchtime Friday. Booking with Tesco vouchers, do they limit the number of bookings they will take with them?
Thanks for the suggestions so far, much appreciated and means I am looking at different places rather than sticking to the ones I know.
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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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To follow up the suggestion of Ste. Foy, the back door into Les Arcs (Villaroger) is just across the valley and Tignes/Val d'Isere about a quarter of an hour away. However it loses some of its point if you don't ski off piste.
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snowball, yes none of us ski off piste!
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