Please recommend me a resort?

[LadyFlumpalot]

Hi all,

Looking to book our first skiing holiday as a family unit but I'm unsure what and where! All my googling and research seems to throw up so many contradictions!

What we would like:

Suitable for young DC
Somewhere very pretty.
A decent apartment/chalet.
Somewhere with beginner slopes.
Somewhere we can do other things than ski if we want (go for walks, go into a town, sightsee).

Planning on going in late December/early January but we can't book til later in the year due to finances (windfall to allow this trip happening at some point in the summer).

Budget - up to £5k including travel.

We were thinking Grindelwald in Switzerland as it looks stunning and like somewhere we could enjoy even if we didn't fancy skiing every day, but then again I've also been recommended Maribel.

Please help?

hello, meribel is really just a place for skiing, grindelwald is pretty but the ski lifts can be a pain, have you looked at austria and in particular around innsbruck, there are about 9 resorts all within a 30 minute bus ride from innsbruck, all very pretty with lovely beginner slopes and of course you can visit innsbruck.

Most resorts have decent accommodation, beginner slopes and are suitable for kids.
I think Innsbruck is a good suggestion if you want to do some non skiing days. Maybe look at Zell am SEe, Kitzbuhel. Grindelwald Is very pretty.

Thank you both, like the look of those suggestions very much!

If you're keen on Grindwald then definitely check out Flims in Switzerland; part of the Laax ski area
It's a delightful ski resort and really well set up for beginners and families. That said though, more experienced skiers will not be disappointed either. I've been on a couple of occasions and would highly recommend

Grindelwald definitely, love it. We are going for the third time in March. Beautiful scenery. DD was in the nursery at Bodmi and we stayed in a chalet up the road so could walk there, we thought the ski school was excellent. I am an okay skier and always go in ski school group and been very happy. We go with my parents who are late 70s and love the scenery (esp looking up at the north face of the Eiger from the sunny balcony) and atmosphere.

Thank you all :) we've also been looking at Les Houches at the foot of Mont Blanc. But liking the look of Innsbruck as well.

Is there an optimum time to go? I love the idea of spending Xmas or New Year there but I've been told that December and January aren't good for snow? I worry that February might be too late (based on my entirely UK based knowledge of snow 😂)

Apologies, I have googled but there is teams of conflicting advice!

Teams = reams

Grindelwald is very pretty, but you need to try to get accommodation near the village centre to minimise the distance to the train and cable cars. The new ‘V’ cable cars are supposed to be open for the 2019/2020 season which will take less time to get up to the slopes, in addition to the train.
Wengen, on the other side of the ridge is a smaller village, beautiful and had nursery slopes in the village centre. It is ‘car-free’.
just electric vans for hotel transport. Again try to get a hotel or apartment near the village centre. Lots to do (long walking trails, tobogganing, ice skating and excursions/places to visit).
Fly into Zurich or Geneva and get a train transfer, Swiss trains are excellent.

Will there be enough snow? That’s the $64 question! To ‘guarantee’ decent snow, you need to go high and cold. We’ve been skiing at New Year and early January and it’s been varied. One year NO snow, we had a walking holiday for the first week then a massive dump of fabulous snow for the second week. Other times there’s been from adequate to too much! February is usually ok to excellent, March the same. Last two years we’ve skied in mid April, with plenty of snow, thpugh it gets soft and hard work in the afternoons, but in high resorts like Val Thorens, although some of the lower resorts were still good.
The person who invents a reliable snow forecast will make a fortune!

Les Houches is small, pretty and within easy reach of Chamonix.

Christmas and New Year are risky for snow especially in lower resorts but February is not too late, it usually snows a lot in January and there is a lot around in February. Mid March onwards can be risky in lower resorts.

We had Rauris in Austria recommended to us. We've literally booked it this evening. Apparently it's fantastic for children and beginners (that applies to both my DH and I and our two children)

We booked this apartment through this company....
www.homeaway.co.uk/p6578948

Zell am See