Relais des Glaciers

A ski company that have really thought about what makes a family ski holiday. Good transfers, a range of accommodation, fantastic English speaking ski school full of English kids, flexible length of holiday- particularly useful for Xmas- and friendly, genuinely personal service. Other major positives the Italian food - they just take it so seriously, on or off the mountain and compared to French resorts it's just much cheaper - you could get a coffee for between 1 and 2 euros and the kids loved the food too.

There are a few downsides, Champoluc is fab for intermediates, off pisters or actually complete beginners, but there are no easily accessible blue runs -it goes pretty much straight from green to red. And the town is spread out on a road so not a cutesy alpine car-free village. But my eldest dd went outdoor skating, ds went skating, all made friends, we all enjoyed the Relais' new outdoor jacuzzi and fab evening meals and it all worked well for us . The children genuinely enjoyed it all and they don't always love skiing - and we do - so we'll definitely go back.

Comments from other Mumsnetters:

The small tour operator, Ski 2, won praise for their top-rated service: "They are specialists in Champoluc and offer a wonderfully personal service." "Unlike other tour operators they really can cater to individual needs so - whether it's particular childcare, transfers or any other requirements - they'll take care of it." "The flights - Ryan Air to Turin - and transfer are a joy", the little-known resort "charming" and the hotel "lovely." The skiing is "very good, as is the ski school" and there are "almost no queues" - the only minor negative: "a lack of green runs." Otherwise "a hidden gem."

fantastic hotel, fantastic ski outfit, can't recommend highly enough, me (pregnant and beginner) dh (expert) and ds 6 (beginner) all had an amazing time. the hotel is fabulous esp the food. one of our best hols ever.

we chose ski-2 having seen the mumsnet reviews and weren't disappointed. first and foremost the childcare was absolutely superb. the 4 and 5-year-old in our group had a nanny between them and a ski instructor. it couldn't have been more personal. being picked up at the airport in our own minibus with beer and saprkling wine was also a jolly good start to the holiday. the skiing was pretty good despite the fact it's a low resort and conditions weren't great (we went late feb) and ski-2's voucher lunch policy also worked really well for us.