Skiing Jan 16 with 3yr old & 22 month old

[2llfrancis]

Hi
My husband and i are skiiers but have never taken children. We would welcome any advice, tips, resort info, hotel vs chalet etc... We would like to stick to France as the flight times are not too long and transfers. We would like to put kids in childcare of some sort but somewhere that allows my son to learn to ski but have fun too. Please help! Its a minefield and its too expensive to get it wrong! Thanks

Have a look at snowfocus (chalet la Sonnaille) in Chatel, France. We are about to head back for our second year with 21mo DS. It's a small owner operated chalet with flexible childcare (in-house nanny for littlies, ski nanny for older kids who gets them to/ from lessons and i think you could use a bit of both for your 3yr old). We had a great time last year and can't wait to go again. I think it's a mumsnet best too.

Thank you very much, I will look now. How is the skiing around that area? Also is it just an accomodation price or "all in" - is it expensive (i know its always expensive!)

The skiing is fantastic, it is part of the Portes du Soleil area which is vast. The chalet hosts guide you every day and know where to find the best snow/ quietest pistes/ best mountain restaurants.
The basic price includes accommodation, food (except lunch) and transfers. Not flights, ski pass or ski hire. I can't remember exactly how the child prices work but I think their website was pretty clear. It's not the cheapest way to ski with kids but in my opinion it's worth paying a bit more as it is so hassle free. Last year it was absolutely the highlight of my whole year!

We have been with Crystal to La Plagne - their childcare is located in 1800. It all went very smoothly, and they can go in the ski school from 3 years old there. They have a package which involves you dropping the children off at the childcare and they take them to and from ski school, with the option of you meeting them in the afternoon for a ski with them on an ad-hoc basis as well.

We had three children at the time, the younger two were in their childcare (4 and nearly 2) with the 4 year old doing the skiing.

Crystal are one of the cheapest but they did everything we wanted and very well. I don't know if that's because we got lucky, but we had no complaints!

We're going to be trying their childcare service in Tignes first week of January. We're getting the Eurostar to avoid long transfers (50 minutes from Bourg Saint Maurice), and hopefully they'll sleep through the night on the train. It's something to consider if long bus transfers are something you want to avoid like we do!

I've been with Esprit about ten times over the years and always found them good. Good childcare, food is generally ok, kids get to ski.

I would recommend snowbizz at puy st vincent. You stay in self-catering appartments, but there are restaurants you can eat at. The childcare is excellent, the skischool is very good (a nanny goes to 'the totons' class to help with fallen kids) and the resort is small so feels a lot safer for kids. the skiing is good. We have been for the last 5 years. Well worth a look, especially if you actually want to spend some time with your children, or want to save some money by self catering!

Thank you all for your help, we have booked with Espirit. They have introduced a "BATS" weeks (Baby and Toddler) The deal was fantastic, basically the little ones go free and half price childcare. Very excited!