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Original poster

Skiing - chalet holiday with babies

26 replies

Hazellnut · 03/05/2005 13:57

Can anyone recommend a good ski company which has good childcare ? We want a catered chalet and will have 3 non-skiing children. Have used First choice and Crystal before (with and without children) but would like something a little bit better (i.e duvets on beds, comfy sofas, enough food !?) but not luxurious (obviously would like luxury but probably can't afford it !).

OP posts:
LIZS · 04/05/2005 08:05

Friends have used Ski Esprit a number of times.

lapsedrunner · 04/05/2005 13:44

Likewise I haven't used Ski Esprit but they come highly reommended by a number of friends. Could also try Mark Warner although their properties are a little larger but still run on chalet lines.

MrsWobble · 04/05/2005 14:25

also try Ski Beat.

Milliways · 04/05/2005 16:53

My friend is a ski nanny for ski beat and she is a fully qualified BRitish Nanny. They offer 1:1 nanny or group creche type facilities.

Mo2 · 04/05/2005 16:55

Ski Esprit - have skiied with them twice now in Austria - kids loved the clubs and nursery - FABeroooney IMHO.

sweetheart · 04/05/2005 16:59

We recently went on a ski espirit holiday and didn't feel we were "posh" enough.

Consequently this meant we didn't enjoy the time we spent in the chalet with the other guests.

There was alot of talk amongst the other guests about Mark Warner which has led my dh and I to the conclusion we will never take one of those holidays either.

These holidays are OK if you're willing to talk degrees, politics, nannies etc etc etc over dinner!!!!

nearly40 · 04/05/2005 17:06

Went to Hotel Val D'Isere with Mark Warner. Some of the guests were quite sloaney but you did not have to share tables at dinner or breakfast so no need to mix if you did not want to. Creche seemed very good (no personal experience as dd a bit older). Ski guiding v. good if you want that. They do reduce their prices quite a bit if you book late especially in Jan. However I don't know how booked up the creche gets. I know exactly what Sweetheart means about some of the guests in these chalets. They all seem to have tons of cash, send kids to private schools etc etc and not very nice people on the whole.

Mo2 · 04/05/2005 17:06

sweetheart - that may well be a fair comment!

On our last Ski Esprit holiday we were in a chalet of 40, and every single family was from Surrey... (but we DID fly from Gatwick, so perhaps not that unusual?)

I didn't find it particularly posh or stuffy, but there were a lot of people with their own businesses and a fair few with nannies/au pairs.

(Just out of interest, where did you go? Hope it wasn't OUR chalet!! )

Sponge · 04/05/2005 17:07

Try VIP - catered chalets in meribel and val d'isere with nanny service in both and creche in val d'isere.
Most companies will want you take the whole chalet anyway if you have small children so you shouldn't worry about other guests as you'll be with your own friends and family.
They also have a sister company called Snowline with some less expensive places in La Tania (part of 3 valleys) and Morzine.
Look here .

Anteater · 04/05/2005 19:06

The 'find the best' section of Mumsnet has a ski guide thats being updated as we type..

Pollyanna · 04/05/2005 19:12

I've had 2 ski esprit holidays which weren't at all sloaney, or even London biased. I really recommend them. (we've already booked for next year!).

I went on a Mark Warner holiday (but not ski) and did find it a bit Fulham-bodenish, but still enjoyed it!

stringbean · 04/05/2005 22:34

Have a look at Ski Peak, which does ski holidays in Vaujany. Not been, but heard good things about them - would be my choice if we could afford it!

elastamum · 04/05/2005 23:09

The BEST chalets we have ever had were with Scott Dunn, quite expensive but fabulous and fantastic service. We have also been with Snowline / VIP who are also really good, Snowline is a bit less pricy than the other 2. Both companies have creche in some resorts and also nannies. Have not used their childcare as we have a skiing nanny! but we have seen the nannies from both out and about on the slopes, they were all at the little ones ski school along with me and the ski instructor and seemed pretty good.

Anteater · 04/05/2005 23:19

Forget Ski peak with non skiing children, its a village with no shops, but does have a pool. Great for skiing kids tho..How old are the children?
Scott Dunne chalets are top notch, but its the non skiing kids bit again, how old are they?? Meriski has been bought by the Luxury family hotel group.. Quite similar to Scott Dunne but in Meribel.
Would try to opt for a resort with other things for the children to do, ie sledge runs (Saas Fee, Oberlech) or real village atmosphere (Zermatt, Scott Dunne go here, have stayed in their Bolero chalet, fine)
Are the children too young to have a go or just not interested?

Anteater · 04/05/2005 23:26

Just read the thread title, skiing with babies, der sorry!!
In that case Scott Dunne or Meriski are great, been with both and they are run along the same lines.
Consider a Hotel that offers childcare as part of the package..

Original poster
Hazellnut · 05/05/2005 09:07

Thanks everyone - the children will be 3 and a bit, 15 months and 13 months (She's just been born (not to me !) so we can book now as we have name !). Was thinking Skibeat so good to see some recommendations but I will have a look at some of the others on here too !

OP posts:
Sponge · 05/05/2005 10:04

Meriski went bust and most of their best chalets went to VIP/Snowline so they don't have so much left now.
Val d'isere has more to do for the little ones than Meribel IMO as it has more of a centre with playground, swimming pool, little farm where you can go and see the baby cows etc. The nannies also take the kids sledging, on cable car rides and so on and provide lots of toys for play in the chalets.

Ameriscot2005 · 05/05/2005 10:19

We had a crèche in our chalet when we went with Simply Ski. It was staffed by a nursery nurse and a paediatric nurse on sabbatical.

hatsoff · 05/05/2005 18:35

Ski beat have some fab chalets in La Tania. The best thing is that some of them are in the same building as the creche. (others are about 20 metres away) If you've ever been ski-ing with non ski-ing kids and spent half your morning getting them togged up in outdoor gear, trudged a couple of k across the resort with baby in a papoose and reluctant two year old being dragged along on foot, only to get there to discover that one of them has lost their hat on the way and you forgot to bring bottle/nappies/spare clothes/suntan cream/sunglasses, meaning you have to trudge back to the chalet (probably with two year old in tow coz they don't want to be left) then back to the creche (looking for lost hat on the way), and then finally back to the chalet to get your skis and boots, then you'll realise that a creche in the same building is worth its weight in gold. It's the only thing ever in our lives where we have booked exactly the same thing twice in a row. Expect we'll be doing it next year too...

Hazellnut · 05/05/2005 19:11

This reply has been deleted

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Sponge · 06/05/2005 09:29

We wet with VIP this year and they came and picked our ds up in the morning and took him to the creche. They do also have chalets right by the creche but we wanted to stay in one right in the middle of town - best of both worlds .

HandbagAddiction · 06/05/2005 09:45

We went with Ski Esprit to Chamonix last year (2004) when dd was 6 months old. Thought is was pretty bad to be honest. Hotels rooms too small, too shabby and the food / facilities not great. Found out afterwards that ski esprit have been taken over and no longer have the reputation for good quality childcare / hotels that they used to have...although I'm happy to be corrected on this if anyone else have any other information.

Went to Meribel / Mottaret with Mark Warner this year - dd - 16 months old. It was great, facilities excellent, childcare really good - took them out lots for hot chocoalte trips, snowmen building, bubble car rides. Don't agree with the sloaney element. OK I live in Surrey, but I'm certainly not posh and there was a good mix of people there - couples, young groups and families. Conversation, definitely not about politics, nannies or house prices.

In my opinion - you get what you pay for...so go for the best you can afford.

HandbagAddiction · 06/05/2005 09:45

We went with Ski Esprit to Chamonix last year (2004) when dd was 6 months old. Thought is was pretty bad to be honest. Hotels rooms too small, too shabby and the food / facilities not great. Found out afterwards that ski esprit have been taken over and no longer have the reputation for good quality childcare / hotels that they used to have...although I'm happy to be corrected on this if anyone else have any other information.

Went to Meribel / Mottaret with Mark Warner this year - dd - 16 months old. It was great, facilities excellent, childcare really good - took them out lots for hot chocoalte trips, snowmen building, bubble car rides. Don't agree with the sloaney element. OK I live in Surrey, but I'm certainly not posh and there was a good mix of people there - couples, young groups and families. Conversation, definitely not about politics, nannies or house prices.

In my opinion - you get what you pay for...so go for the best you can afford.

LIZS · 06/05/2005 10:29

Esprit now belong to TUI - Thomson, Crystal etc.

HA, that is interesting because we went there the previous summer and felt the hotel let it all down and they were still feeling their way with it. They had literally just taken it on and it was badly in need of updating. Food was actually very good but they had the experienced chef from their Morzine chalet there and I guess he went back for the ski season. The hotel manager was a prat though !

SunEsprit have taken on a hotel in Saas Fee for this summer and have to say, though we love the independent family hotel we have been to there in the past, its location and facilities look really good. Not sure if it is available for Winter season yet, think there may be legal complications in Switzerland over childcare.

sinclair · 06/05/2005 14:31

We have used family company Snowfocus for years - luxe chalet with nanny service in house and friendly, tailored unpackaged feel to it. In Chatel, in the Portes du Soleil, so fab ski-ing too. Ski-ing Heaven