catered ski chalet

[smilesandsun]

Hi All,

I know i'm late in looking around, however i'm still going to try. I am looking for a catered chalet for a Christmas or new year holiday for our family. Don't mind what country it is in, just looking for somewhere really comfortable that is good for beginners and intermediates.

Thanks.

Is there a special reason that you want a catered chalet? These can be very expensive, and unless you book the whole chalet for your group, it means that you are sharing with strangers. Not all bedrooms in chalets have their own facilities, so you could be sharing bathrooms / loos as well.
You also have to be careful of location if you want it to be good for beginners, as many chalets are on the slopes, and can be a bit of a trek for beginners to get to ski school.
If you are looking for somewhere really comfortable, but not as expensive as France, have a look at the Sport Hotels in Soldeu, Andorra. This is an excellent skiing area for beginners and Intermediates,called the Grand Valira, and covers 5 resorts, with the majority of runs being blue or comfortable reds.
Look at the Sport Village hotel - we have stayed here about 5 times - very classy hotel, but still feels cosy and relaxing. The gondola to the slopes is right beside this hotel, and you can ski all the way back on a choice of two blues or two blacks.
Sldeu is only a small resort, but very friendly, with bars, restaurants and the necessary shops.
With two sons, we booked a family ( superior ) room, which had a double bed separated by a half wall from a lounge area with two sofa beds.Balcony with a piste view.
Some of these rooms also have a jacuzzi bath.
Very extensive buffet food.
The Sport Hotel is opposite the Sport Village, slightly cheaper, but still a cosy hotel, built in pine and stone like the Village.
The most expensive is the Sport Hermitage ( luxury category ) which has a pool and spa/ Wellness Centre. Anyone can pay to use this though.
The ski school is excellent, and you can choose morning or afternoon lessons, both 3 hrs Monday to Friday. Andorra employs many English instructors, unlike France.Both my sons became advanced level skiiers, and enjoyed their lessons here. It is still their favourite resort.
For more info about the resort and hotels, see the Trip Advisor Soldeu forum.

thanks. I'll check it out.

The reason I was looking for a catered chalet is that we have 5 adults and plus children going and would like to be able to relax without having too many other people around. I think I'd rather have a few extra people in a chalet than a whole hotel full of people to share the common areas with. Having said that I'm still open minded so am going to check out your suggestion.

thanks!

It may be worth trying igluski.com
They act as the middle man, so not trying to sell their own holidays.
I have booked our skiing holiday to La Plagne with them, for next March, and they booked us the hotel and flights much cheaper than the usual skiing Tour Operators like Chrystal, Neilson, Thomson, First Choice etc. About £200 pp cheaper.They have booked us with Ski France, and got brilliant flight times - better than the brochure ones.
If you look at the igluski.com website, there is a phone number - I used that, and was helped by a lovely young girl named Emily.
They will also arrange lift passes etc.

Last year, I booked the Bruxelles Hotel in Soldeu for a group of 10. We had 5 out of 6 rooms on one floor, so it felt like being in a chalet really. Very traditional hotel, French run, exellent food ( waiter service with choices )
They have some family rooms I think. Only 2 star, as no bath, only a shower cubicle, but was a very good price for Feb half term week. Close to the godola. No lounge though, so we went into the Sport Hotels in the evenings after dinner.
I have written reviews with photos of The Sport Village, Bruxelles, and also the Piolets hotels on Trip Advisor.

We stayed at Chalet Spycat, catered chalet near Morzine in France, food was lovely. If you google Chalet Spycat you should be able to find the details.

rookie, I had a look at the chalet near Morzine - we stayed in the Sport Hotel in Morzine one year.
It looks very nice, but I see that you have to go to the slopes in a private vehicle.
Presumably they drop you off then pick you up at the end of the day?
What if the weather changes, or kids have had enough, or you need something from the chalet? Could you phone them to come and collect you?
I'm only thinking that with beginners and children for a first skiing holiday, it is easier to have quick access to the slopes and ski school, but also be able to return to your accommodation if necessary whenever you want.
When we stayed in St Gervais with Snowcoach, we were dropped at the gondola at 9am, then picked up at 5pm. There was no way of getting back during the day, as your snowboots stayed on the coach, and you couldn't catch a bus in your ski boots with skis!
OK for us as experienced skiiers, happy to stay out all day in all weathers, but not so convenient if kids get cold in the afternoon, or tired, and you want to go back to your room early.
My sister went to Morzine / Avoriaz every year with her 3 young kids. They enjoyed the ski area, but her kids said they often could not really understand their French ski instructor.That can be a problem in France, as they do not employ English ski instructors.
We finally convinced them to come with us to Soldeu two years ago, and they loved it so much they came with us again last year.

Hi there, yes you are right they pick you up in a minivan, they are very nice about it and would come when you wanted, but with children you probably do want something a bit closer. Sorry hadn't thought of that.

www.chaletlamaitreya.com or www.smallwonders.eu stunning been loads fly to Grenoble/Chambery/Lyon....

www.chaletlamaitreya.com or www.smallwonders.eu stunning been loads fly to Grenoble/Chambery/Lyon....

Chilly Powder We went this year and everything about the place is fab. The chalet is rather small so we got to know most people staying there by the end of the week. It's all very friendly and child-friendly. Excellent creche. My DS1 loves public transport and when they found out, they specially organised a trip to take him out in the cable car and land train... We would love to go again soon. I have heard they still have very limited vacancies for Christmas as I was tempted when I heard!