hotel alpubel SAAS FEE- anyone been

[noonar]

hi, have read so many good reviews about this hotel- i'm on the verge of booking.

if you've been, could you please help me with a few questions? (i have dds aged 3 and 5, btw.)

should i book with crystal or book independenlty?

are places at the kids' club guaranteed?(do you book places ahead of time?)

were there many eng speaking children/ staff?

is standards of childcare, esp security wise, suitably high?

should i try to fly from sion? the tranfer from geneva is LONG!

um, thats all for now, i think

tia xx

[noonar]

liz.. you're a star xxx

[noonar]

at the risk of being slightly annoying with my continual questions...may i ask another quick question re supervision at the club?

my friend has a ds who'll be nearly 2 and we both have dds who're just 3. you said that the childcare is a bit more relaxed than in the uk. can i ask what steps they take to stop small children wandering off, or, god forbid, being collected by an unauthorised person? (liz, did you leave your dd at a young age?)

tia x

[LIZS]

dd was there at 18months , 2 1/2 and 3 1/2, we never felt there was a problem security wise, however living over there and not having used a UK nursery our perspective may be more relaxed anyway. There were usually two in attendance and maybe 10 kids at most in the creche room all morning, mainly under 4's as they weren't in skischool in the mornings. Outdoor activities in the afternoons when it is warmer with maybe a short play in the adjacent snowy area mid morning if it was nice. The room itself is pretty secure with a high handle on the doors. Don't remember any signing in and out but the staff do get to know you quickly.

I'm not sure what you mean by "unauthorised" but remember Switzerland is a reputedly safe country (remember 4 year olds walk themselves to school and play out unsupervised) and the hotel is rather off the beaten track. It is marketed as a Kids hotel so you don't get many childless people staying there at peak winter weeks unlike summer.

When we left dd for the mornings they would bring the lo's to the sister hotel near the skischool meeting area at 1pm (end of main skischool session) , by electric bus, for us to meet her and then return at 2ish with any remaining children and additional older ones who had finished skiing for the day.

[LIZS]

and in all that time , leaving the full outdoorsy kit each day, largely unnamed, plus dd in her basic tops/leggings we never lost so much as a sock or glove. Don't know how but they really do manage it somehow.

[noonar]

thanks again liz, thats v reassuring.

my friend tells me she has been told the childcare is for over 3s only. seems crystal have got their facts wrong. this is, understanably, deterring her from booking. hope that she will contact the hotel and be satisfied that her ds will be catered for.

[LIZS]

Definitely wrong ime and that of the Mnetter who went just last Christmas. What day do you arrive , as their childcare and the skischool don't operate at weekends due to the changeover days. There is another local creche, Marmotte iirc, which isn't far.

[noonar]

yes, liz, just took a closer look at that old thread, and they do seem to still cater for the under 2s.


we are going on a saturday, so will have to amuse ourselves on the first day. maybe dh and i can do shifts with the girls! in some ways, i think they may settle better if not put straight into child care.

will suggest marmotte to my friend as ' back up'. not sure i'd send the dds there just for a day. might unsettle them. think i'd rather take them sledging!

have booked dd1 into the pulvo (?) ski kindergarten. they take 4's and above, i gather. i plan to try to find out who esprit use in saas fee, though, as they offer skiing from 3yrs. (but think dd2 might be a bit too diddy, still!)

[LIZS]

There is only one skischool so maybe they have a parallel lesson to the pulvo one but don't remember seeing any tbh. Swiss skischools are normally pretty strict age wise, the kids are expected to be self sufficient (but maybe having a Esprit rep counters that ?) but we did blag a friend's 4 1/2 year old into the morning skischool beginners group on the basis she was in full time school in UK at the time. iirc with the Pulvo you can book by the day so cancel the next if they don't like it. The snow garden area is exclusive to the skischool for that time but there is an adjacent one open sometimes.

You must try the Feeblitz run - it is a cross between a toboggan ride on a fairground type track through the trees. One of the safest and fastest we've done. Also on the Sunday you could take the kids up to the very top of the mountain if the weather is good, 360o revolving restaurant with long views and an ice grotto.

[noonar]

ooh the feeblitz run sounds fab! think it would be a good idea to have a plan for the sunday, so we make the most of a whole day together. also love skating, but dont want any broken bones on day 1- dh is very accident prone!

btw, how long does it take to get up the mountain(s)? would it be feasible to ski in the am, meet the dds for lunch in the village, then go back up?

[LIZS]

Allow at least 45 minutes to travel up inc ase you ahve to wait at the change. It is feasible to do an afternoon trip but can get crowded at peak times and don't miss the last one back !

[noonar]

gosh, that sounds a long time! i may have to try to arrange for dd2 to be picked up by the club after skiing, otherwise we'll be up and down like yo yos.

tbh, as long as i get 3hrs a day to myself, i'll be happy.

btw, that feeblitz thingy looks terrifying, surely not suiable for my 3yo??

[LIZS]

It is a long way up, the vertical drop from the glacier is amazing ! lol dd went on it at 2 and loved it. It is fine you can go as fast or slow as you choose, and you are well strapped in and supported. Kids can go unaccompanied from 8 iirc.

[noonar]

oh, thought it was an actual roller coaster!

[LIZS]

There's a brake on each car, lo's sit in front! btw the club probably won't drop off/pick up from the Pulvo as they will have returned to the hotel before then. At a push they might meet dd1 from skischool at lunchtime , feed her at the snow bar of the sister hotel (younger ones will have already eaten)then take her back for you. Then again it may all have changed or be up for negotiation individually ! It can feel a bit as if you are up and down but the runs are long and good fun

[noonar]

hey liz, did you know there was a long paragraph on saas fee in the sunday times yesterday? they mentioned the sister hotel and gave the alphubel's email address. i was panicking cos my friend hadnt yet booked, and i thought they'd fill up fast.

am pleased to say that they booked today, but need to get confirmation in writing that their youngest can go to the club. it'd be so much easier if crystal got their facts right!

[LIZS]

Yes I did see it and thoguht of you ! If you look at the rubirc onthe Tarif sheet it ocnfirms 2 and over with younegr by request and under Topical it states no child is too small for the Gosulino club . Seriously email them and ask for confirmation . Mention me if you like , dd always gets thoroughly spoilt !!

btw you may also like to nose at Gosulino site Mainly in German only apart from the first few bits about the Kids Club, staff etc. Lots of nice pics

[LIZS]

email [email protected]

[noonar]

thanks liz. will tell my friend . bl**dy crystal- complicating things for them.

[mamafraise]

LIZS - any idea what the parking is like in Saas Fee? We're seriously contemplating driving, and understand it's a car-free resort.

Also, DH is concerned that there's not enough skiing (he read this somewhere!).

Thanks

ps you should be getting free holidays for all the reccommendations!!!!!!!!!

[LIZS]

There is a huge multi storey car park at the entrance to the village. We used to drive and never had a problem with getting a space at half term. From there you unload , call your hotel and they send an electrobus to collect you(or a electric tax for apartments). Same if you arrive by Postbus/coach.

The skiing isn't vast but it is high, varied and the vertical drop is 1700m so runs are long and tree lined at lower level. The lift connections can take a while depending how you go up. Also depends how good a skier you are . A good intermediate could manage pretty much all in a week. You can also travel to Zermatt for the day (think you can now get a shared pass) but takes about and hour and half by road/rail between the two then some to the Zermatt lifts or you can travel 5 minutes down the valley by bus for a bit of a change to a different mountain.

[noonar]

hello again, saas fee fans.

just wanted to ask a question or 2 about the ski kindergarten. firstly, is it likely that dd will be given instruction in english? (really shouldve thought of that one before!)

also, i'd like to know if there is anyone on hand to help with wiping runny noses, trips to the loo etc, or are they expectd to be self sufficient?

finally, one of dd's friends will actually be 6 when we go. dyou think we'd be able to get away with saying that she's 5, so that she can go to the pulve kindergarten too?

[LIZS]

You can say she is younger but realistically it may mean they spend the week in the snowgarden rather than moving onto a drag lifts. Pulvo is the short afternoon session , not the 3 hours am , your 5 yr old could do either and would probably make more progress in the latter. They do group them by the language of instruction, so with an English speaking instructor, but that doesn't necessarily mean her group will be exclusively British,so may well include Dutch children for example, with separate groups for French or German speakers.

No there won't be anyone on hand to do noses, toilet etc during the lesson, there are snack breaks and they usually are expected to go then unless they ask (bit of a trek though). Your best bet is to go just before the lesson in the Hotel Waldesruh basement (use the entrance next to the snow bar behind hotel and through the games room) which is where the Alphuebel skibus drops you and where you will store skis and boots in the skiroom to the side (prepare for a morning scramble), and is close to the skischool meeting point and 2 of the gondolas.

[LIZS]

ds wasn't quite 5 when he did the 3 hour sessions but had had a few weekends of all day lessons already so coped perfectly well and was soon up on the drag lifts. I will admit the level of English can be variable, especially if the resort is busy and they have had to get extra instructors in, which is why I said before you may need to be assertive if you are not entirely happy. Things quieten down in the afternoons so it should be less of an issue. Chances are other kids from the Alphuebel and Waldesruh will be in the same group.

[noonar]

liz, crystal offer either the pulvo, or day long lessons for 5yos. dd1 will be six almost as soon as we get home from skiing, but she and her friend were not v keen when they went last year, so we dont want them to be challenged- just happy! would rather book lessons with crystal, so taht other english speakers may be in her group.

so...re toilets...would they expect a 5 yo to trek to the loos on their own is it a public loo, or exclusively for the kindergarten's use?

[LIZS]

The only time ds has been is during a break, to a small hut near the bottom of the drag lifts on the opposite side, or at a mountain restaurant. The nearest public ones to the Snowgarden are at the gondola station(a short trek uphill) or ice rink, flat 100m or so across from skischool meeting point, but there may even be one in the hut in the snowgarden iself , not sure as neither of ours spent any time there. Otherwise they can go back to the Waldesruh ones. If they go before the lesson they can usually last the hour and half or so anyway. They'll be fine!

btw don't what Crystal are suggetsing but the Swiss Skischool lessons have traditionally been 3 hours am only, adults and kids 5+, unless they now have a special arrangement, but saw no evidence of that last time we went (2004) and Crystal never seemed to have that big a presence. ime it makes no difference which tour operator you have booked with, all the kids get grouped alike by language.