anyone been to MONTGENEVRE? urgent as i need to know whether to book!

[noonar]

we have found a truly fantastic deal over xmas in a basic but clean hotel.

i really like the sound of the resort. sounds good for a family with young children.

But... dh isnt totally convinced as we are going over xmas, and he wants a bit of luxury!

can you tell me, is the resort as nice as i'm telling dh that it is? would it be a lovely scenic location to spend xmas?

tia

Get him to google the ski resort to look at photos. Tell him skiing IS a luxury.
I have never been there, but looks fine to me from the tourist information website. It says there are family discounts on lift passes bought 10 days in advance and another discount of ESF ski school bought at same time as the lift passes.

What you have saved in finding a great deal you can spend on a good night out. What is for sure, it will be more scenice than a UK town in the middle of winter.

yes, natation, that is very true!

tbh, i had my heart set on austria, but we cant afford a snow sure austrian resort. montgenevre has an amazing snow history.

i think that dh just thinks there is something better out there, but the trouble is it costs about £2kmore!!

can you believe ... that this holiday is less han £900 half board with flghts, for a family of 4!!!

We have been there and it is an ideal resort for a family ski holiday. It has a good size beginners area and some nice greens and blues for the children. The international ski school in Montgenevre is very good and has small group sizes. If your DH wants luxury I think hotel chalet blanc would be your best bet or the new MGM luxury self catering appartments.

Montgenevre is a great little resort. Okay, it has little that is really steep, but great for between-the-runs off piste, and miles of cruisy reds & blues. At there southern end is a large bowl where you can ski anywhere, and on the northern side the route to Claviere takes you down a fantastic remote valley.
Make sure you get the lift ticket which includes Claviere just over the border in Italy, but don't bother with the full Milky Way pass as it's too far to get over to Sauze/Sestriere: you just spend all day on lifts (up and down!) and not a lot of actual skiing.
For £900 inc flights, you aren't going to be getting top luxury, but since you don't give the hotel name, it's a bit difficult to comment further.

Thanks for the that, MrLSG and jojo.

The hotel is called les rois mages. it gets quite good reviews from families who've stayed there.

we wouldve been prepared to pay up to £2k for our dream austrian holiday, but even that budget excludes us from the snow sure resorts.

to be honest, skiing wise we are easily pleased. i am a good intermediate and dh a very competant boarder.

a higher priority for us is to give our 6 and 8 y olds some fun in the snow in with a scenic backdrop. i would love to be able to do some gentle runs with them after lunch and just have some quality time together. btw, 8yo dd has skiid twice but 6yo hasnt been before as she was still in the creche the last time we could afford to ski!

Les rois mages is very well located. Right opposite ski school and the chair lift.
The staff were English speaking and friendly when we went there once for lunch.

Food adequate (burger and chip type) in the pub bit downstairs. Not sure if there is a different restaurant for people staying there. Maybe you could treat yourself to a meal out at hotel chalet blanc restaurant one night.

I think you would find the skiing is exactly what you are looking for. There are some good red and blue runs for intermediates in Montgenevre and Claviere and there is a very a long green in Montgenevre you would be able to do with the children in the afternoon.

jojo, that is good to know, thanks.

would you say that the resort has any 'winter wonderland' appeal. sorry to be cheesy but i had visions of romantic autrian lakeside villages and tyrollean chalets in my head... now i've found this holiday and am trying to adapt my expectations!!

Hi noonar, I agree that is an amazing price you have been quoted. I think it will be a case of managing your (your DH's!!) expectations as the hotel you mention will not be at all luxurious. It is extremely well placed, in fact you could not get a better location in the resort, but it is a very basic hotel which is mostly used for school group parties. You might find your room for a family of 4 consists of a room with 2 sets of bunks. I have been to Montgenevre and would stay in this hotel for the location alone, but it is cheap and cheerful IYSWIM. I would hate your OH to be disappointed and blame you as mine would!!

Re. the ski school, I cannot recommend the international ski school Apeak there highly enough. Small class sizes, attentive english speaking instructors, great attitude,reasonable prices. Fantastic.

The skiing is great and snow sure enough. You will be able to ski with the children on the large beginners area and very likely up on the greens and blues above it.

Re. winter wonderland appeal, mmmm difficult. I suspect the resort will make big efforts and have Father Christmas come with a sledge and have free mulled wine and some kind of Christmassy celebration, possibly fireworks and other events run by the resort/tourist office. I think there is an ice rink at that time of year. There is a little church in the village. There are a few shops, bars etc. There is a nice safe sledging area with its own lift. But it is not really your austrian image resort. AFAIK there is no public pool either. You could probably take the bus down into Briancon for other stuff if you felt the need.

If you really want Austria I think you will find some good deals there for that week with Crystal holidays. Having said that I love Montgenevre as a resort and would be back there in a flash.

Best of luck.

The village itself is not really winter wonderland and le rois mages is a 70s square building. It is not pretty like some Austrian villages but not as ugly as some of the purpose built french resorts.

However the ski area has several pretty tree lined runs and was not at all crowded when we went so when it snows it certainly has the winter wonderland feel up on the mountain.

This is a fantastic resort for young children!! We stayed there last xmas with some friends whose children were 4 and 7 - they had a great time at ski school - right opposite the hotel!! There was a torchlit procession on xmas eve down the mountain by the ski instructors which looked magical!We have booked to go again this year for Xmas, and Jan, the hotel is basic but you get what you pay for, the food in the restaurant was very good - three courses, and you had a choice of a couple of dishes each night, breakfast was continental, they also did an early dinner for children if you wanted them to eat earlier! We had a super Christmas dinner - with crackers, etc! The bar was good, and no problems with taking the children in there. The riding is very good, some good off piste!!

Thanks guys. i really , really loved the sound of montgenevre and will def consider it for the future.

however, dh and i have now found a holiday which is finally booked and paid for. we are going to lapland. staying in a 4 star hotel on the piste, over xmas for £2100. almost half price!!! dh is finally happy and dds are v excited as you can imagine.(lapland thread, coming soon.....lol)

oooh lapland sounds lovely. Father christmas won't have far to travel with the pressies .

jojo, rather unexpectedly, lapland- the resort we are going to anyway- is somewhat less snow sure than montgenevre!! we're taking our chances, tho ! thanks for your replies x

Any chance you can tell us who this bargain was with? I'm looking for a trip when the Christmas holidays start and have been to Montgenevre before and loved it.

les rois mages hotel with rocketski x

hope you enjoyed Monty i did last year
stayed at Lhameau apts they were good value too

Hi Noonar
I hope you had a good holiday.
How was Montgenevre and the hotel Rois Mages I have booked to go next month with Rocketski