Ski resort advice

Depends when you are going. The Alps have enjoyed their best start to a season for 55 years in terms of snowfall. However if you intend to go the late season go high high high to ensure you have good snow. This is particularly important if you have young ones as the beginner slopes tend to be at or just above resort level which can mean they struggle for snow in lower altitude resorts. I'd recommend Obergurgl in Austria; it's perfect for adults and kids and has a great mix of runs that suits all levels of skiers. I've always found Austrian ski resorts to be far more friendly than their French counterparts. Alternatively Murren is Switzerland is great for kids and families, and has the Snow Garden childcare centre. However, Murren does not have the greatest snow record - best to go there in Jan. If there's good snow then Murren is also home to one of Europe's longest ski runs: The Schilthorn to Lauterbrunnen run starts at an elevation of 2,970 meters or 9,742 feet and continues some 15 km, or 9 miles!

La Tania as far as I know is a very family friendly resort and, being as it is in the 3 valleys there would be lots of opportunities for better skiers in the party to explore.

Although not in the Alps Andorra also has a good reputation for beginners/families.

Try this company.We have been going to Val D'Isere and Courchevel with them for years and can say that they are an excellent company

http://www.leski.com/

I'd personally discount Les Deux Alpes as the mountain is "inverted" This means that the easier runs are at the top and the more difficult runs into the town are at the bottom. For beginners this can be good and bad, for adults they actually get to go up the mountain rather than being stuck at the bottom all week, for kids, prob not so good as they'll have a half hour ride up in 2 sep gondolas then the same on the way down, obviously with you accompanying them, so not ideal.

Agree with the comments about Austria, much prefer it to the french resorts.

Be very careful about transfer times when booking. Some resorts like Val d'Iseres and Tignes are a long way away. Also look at flight times. Mark Warner are fantastic.

A few people here have recommended Flaine - would second that as it is very family friendly.

Also, Alpe d'Huez could be worth a look. Good set up for beginners as most of the green (beginner) stuff is in the main bowl around town so you can get up and down quickly. There's also loads of other stuff to do there as the town is quite large.

And you could have a crack at the alp - in snow!! :twisted:

I'd go for Les Gets. About an hour transfer from Geneva, easy village to get around in, lots of alternatives, loads of English speaking instructors including British Ski School. Also the skiing for adults is not too shabby either if you look for it. Loads of early snow plus lots of snow making make this a go-er this year. Don't be put off by the low altitude, the skiing is good. I spend every winter there

I think a part of your decision has to be based on your own level of skiing competence and experience, especially if you are considering somewhere like L'Espace Killy (Tignes + Val d'Isere) There are several reasons for this, in Val D'Isere especially the vast majority of suitable green and blue runs for family skiing with 'beginner' children are well above the tree line and as such are exposed to the weather, also the runs to resort level can become dangerously crowded as they funnel people into narrow areas, in essence there is no 'easy' way off the mountain with kids if you're planning on skiing with tehm outside of their lessons. Therefore you have to think about your own ability to descend the mountains safely with your kids. Sorry if that sounds a bit negative, but I speak from the experience of being a ski instructor in Canada and having spent many many weeks in Val d'Isere observing all of this close at hand.

In its favour, it has every amenity you could hope for, and some of the best ski schools in the alps, particularly Evolution 2. Oh and one of the mountain restaurants sells the best tartiflette i've ever tasted. I would agree with Jashburnham, Austrian resorts have a tendancy to be friendlier than French ones and can be a good deal quieter and family friendly, for example Saalbach.

And finally Flaine is as ugly as sin.

pneumatic wrote:

millar time wrote:

And finally Flaine is as ugly as sin.

I always thought the whole point of sin was that it looked rather attractive. At least to start with.

But, yes, there is something of the Le Corbusier about the buildings at Flaine. Thank goodness for the snow, trees, peaks and blue sky.

I assume you're not a fan of Le Corbusier then?

Neiderau, very child friendly with excellent an excellent ski school and nursey slopes right to the town centre.

Since the kids started skiing we have mainly kept to the French ski resorts. We used to go to USA, Austria and Switzerland regularly pre kids. The French resorts are usually well linked and you can go quite far and meet up with the kids after their ski lessons at lunchtime. Alpe Duez was where we first took our sproggs (4 & 6). They loved it as there were heaps of other things to do- good ice rink, swimming pools etc. The beginners slopes are close to the town and have good access.

We did make the mistake of using the French ski school that first time. They were terrible. They didn’t seem to give a stuff about the kids and didn’t give the standard of care we would have expected.

The next year we went to Flaine and although the accommodation was poor the skiing was good. We put the kids into an international ski school and they enjoyed that better and hence their skiing improved. They also made friends with other kids and did stuff in the evening with them.

Les Arcs next was larger and better skiing. Again International Ski school.

Last few years have been in Merribel and the kids loved it. Small ski school sizes and good interconnecting runs. We are booked for this year.

One thing I recommend is that you go later in the season with the kids. The snow might not be the best but there is more chance of decent weather. Being really cold will put kids off.

Enjoy it. And if you can avoid Geneva airport- It’s a nightmare.