Do not know where to start looking! Any good ideas for resort?

[Standingonlego]

We are planning to run the gauntlet of term time leave to go skiing with our 2 DS 5 & 7.

We have been twice before, to Morzine and Montgenvre, but with a group of very organised and experienced ski friends who basically decided where was good!

This year it is just us due to a number of factors and I am completely bamboozled by the choice of countries and resorts

DS did lessons with ESF and are doing well, Ourson level and happy to get started on greens. DH and me now intermediate and doing reds. We want to keep up the momentum!

ideally we would all do ski school for part of day, decent clean family friendly accommodation and some nice runs. Wild nightlife not needed! Happy to fly or drive at a push.

All thoughts greatly appreciated - just to get me started

Look at sainte Foy. Very family friendly, good ski area, ESF and other ski schools. 2.5 hours drive from geneva. We have been going for 10+ years! DCs (7 & 9) have had ESF private lessons since 3 and the instructors have been great.

You need to narrow it down a bit- are you looking at tour operators or DIY? We always DIY as we have to go in half term.

This year we are going to Vaujany- picked because it has a big ski area but is a small walkable village with indoor pool and ice rink. We didnt want to deal with busses this year. Also the short transfer was really important to us as we have a long transfer this end.

I am looking at La Clusaz for next year- looks pretty!

I love the look of St. Foy but have always been put off by the small ski area- it depends how much that matters to you.

In term time you could call some operators and see where they offer you a good deal.

If you are DIY...
First things first-

dates-
french school holidays are 15th Feb to 17th March (across 3 zones) so try and avoid those times.

airport-
see where you can fly cheaply from your local airport. If you live in London you have loads of choice! do a skyscanner search for the whole month to see whats around.

resort-
look on the peak retreats site- they have brilliant descriptions of lots of smaller french resorts. (remember they are selling them though!)
I like to look at how many km of piste, transfer time (you might have to google this) and distance from accommodation to the main lifts.

Once you have picked a resort you can google it for reviews and then look at the big rental sites for accommodation.

You can buy lift passes and book lessons easily online. Tour operators like to make out this is difficult or some sort of big hassle.- it isn't!
Good luck.

W liked Zell am See in Austria. It seemed reasonably family friendly and not a 'massive' resort

Fly into Salzburg

Thank you folks, great tips and ideas. Going to start looking in earnest over the next few days. Appreciate you all taking the time to share :)

Have a look at Snowfocus in Chatel. Its a Mumsnet Best, which is a great recommendation, and is how we found them. A high proportion of return clients too, which is always a good sign! www.snowfocus.com

Thank you....still in negotiations as HMRC gave us a unneeded surprise so reassessing the lego coffers before committing. Will look at snowfocus now :)

For me a vital ingredient is proximity of accommodation to the ski school and lifts. I can't bear trudging hundreds of yards in ski boots, and if the description mentions access by a free shuttle or regular skibus, that is a complete no no. With small kids like yours convenience is very important. Also given your level of experience it is pointless paying for huge ski domains and expensive lift passes so the suggestions up-thread of smaller resorts is very wise.

Booked with snowfocus Lissiee00, thanks for the recommendation and got a 10% Mumsnet discount. Very excited :)

I've booked with Igluski a couple of times and the hotels have been great.