Does this resort actually exist

[Skiingonagreen]

We want to being the dc age 10 & 11 to a resort with a great ski school for beginners (3 hours per day) slopes where tobogonning is allowed, ice skating, cheap equipment & lift passes... Looking to go with Crystal. Can't afford Austria or France.. Would Italy be good? All suggestions welcome!

Not ice-skating but bowling ally.
Pry St Vincent with Snowbizz. Small family outfit but brilliant real personal touch.

Passo Tonale is one of the most family friendly resorts www.pontedilegnotonale.com/en/a-holiday-in-the-mountains-with-children/fantaski-tonale/
It’s got a few ice rinks www.pontedilegnotonale.com/en/what-to-do-in-pontedilegno-tonale/skating-rink/

Rauris in Austria. Mine are 9 and 11 and we go back there this coming week. Hear me out as I know it's Austria.

No ice skating but fab beginners resort where you can bring your own toboggan onto the nursery run, or use the 2km toboggan run with a hired one.

Brilliant ski schools based on the nursery slope and next to the lift, which are significantly cheaper than French ski schools.

maierrauris.skischool.shop/en/ is one of the ski schools.

www.ski.co.at/en/ is the other.

You can check out prices of lessons and hire before booking anything via the website.
We're paying approximately £181 (€208) per child for a lessons and hire package for 6 days (4 hours of lessons a day).
DH and I are paying approximately £71 (€82) for equipment hire for the week.
We paid in Euros, so that is based on conversion rates today. We thought it was incredibly good value when you consider what you get for that price. Our local dry slope will charge you £160 just for a day pass for 4 people, no lessons.

Plenty of reasonably inexpensive accommodation in resort as well. The more expensive aparthotels have pools too.

Lift passes were bought when they went on sale two weeks ago, so got an early bird discount. Cost around £500 for the 4 of us rather than £800 if we'd bought on arrival.

We booked and paid for the flights in January, ski school/equipment in August, lift passes two weeks ago and the accommodation is pay on departure but we paid for it this week once the cancellation window closed.

We saved a significant amount if money by opting not to use airport transfers and getting the train instead. The nearest train station is about 15 minutes away so will be about €30 each way in a taxi. Children travel for free on the train.

What's your budget? That's easier to advise on than dismissing a whole country.
If you're booking with Crystal, then you'll naturally pay more than if you booked it yourself.

You'll probably not find all of the requested facilities, but for good value skiing try Andorra. Perhaps Kronplatz in Italy. As beginners don't need a huge area for the first week, perhaps Spindleruv Mlyn in Czech Rep. or Kranjska Gora in Slovenia - both of which are much less expensive than Austria or France, but neither of which will be served by the main tour operators such as Crystal. You'll need to google and find the specialist operators, or DIY the flights, transfers and accommodation and also look at the information on the Tourist Office websites.

Bulgaria? Many people on MN and Snowheads have had a perfectly good ski holiday in Bulgaria for little money. Others have been there and swear they'd never go back because of poor facilities, poor snow cover and long queues.

As the previous poster says, there are lots of small resorts in Austria (such as Rauris) and France that might also fit the bill, but these are not usually served by the big tour operators and require a bit of work to put the trip together, but really, organising a ski holiday is not much more complicated than organising a weekend away in the UK. Lots of people on MN (and Snowheads) will help with answers to specific questions.

Bulgaria and Bosnia are reasonable on Crystal and have other activities and ski school!

The Grandvalira area in Andorra would offer everything you are looking for. Good English speaking ski school with a good number of native English speaking instructors. There is defiantly tobogganing at Grau Roig and I think else where. Canillo has an indoor ice rink. Pas del la Casa might be bit full on party resort for DC but the other resorts are quieter. Canillo you need to uplift an downlift which can be a hassle. There are ski busses free with lift pass and public bus paid linking the resorts and the public buss the Andorra la Ville. Prices are cheaper than the alps in the main. It is a fairly long transfer from either Barcelona or Toulouse which is a downside.

Thanks for all the advice! Looking to get the cheapest deal possible!
@Havanananana I would be very interested in Bulgaria but the lack of snow is a worry. I have read the ski school is very good..
@RhubarbFairy rauris sounds absolutely perfect. However our budget is 2k for flights & accommodation.. Would really prefer to book with Crystal or inghams for the reassurance & take the hassle out of it!

Crystal ski - Ruka or Yllas (Sport resort!). I've just booked Ruka - Ruka valley appts but been to Yllas and was fab!

Oh sorry - Finland / Lapland! :)

Currently benefitting from Crystals Snow guarantee (should be in Bulgaria, actually in France!) Other people here in same situation, including some who had booked other operators and lost the whole holiday. That is now a definite on all our future bookings

Weve been to Passo Tonale with Crystal 3 years ago, and Andorra last year. Passo Tonale was good for beginners, but DH didn't rate the kids ski lessons. He found the instructors in Andorra better (he's a qualified instructor himself, but sends them to ski school so he can play for a few hours on the harder runs).

Also we were amazed how much cheaper last minute bookings can be... our flights and accommodation were less than half price, hence why this is costing the same as Bulgaria (but only Self catering)

We are checking out Levi in Finland as DS is unlikely to ski much but there is loads to do. Not sure if it's too expensive though.

Rang Crystal there & the very best deal is in La Thuile in Italy Residence Planible apartments. Anyone have an experience of here?

Are you prepared to take them out of school for a week?

When we went in 2020 we paid £300 for return flights for 4 people and £700 for a 2 bed apartment in a complex with a pool.

This year we've paid £400 return for flights over Christmas week but have done that by flying to an airport further away and getting the train in. Flights to Salzburg for the same week were £1000.
There was accommodation for less than £1000 for Christmas week if you didn't want the longer transfer, so that would fit with your budget.

There are loads of guesthouses in the town that offer accommodation around £1000 for the week even in holidays and even less than that if you go in term time.

It really is no trouble at all booking it independently and we can offer help if needed.

@RhubarbFairy yes definitely, would prefer them to gain confidence on quiter slopes. We'll need to as can't afford holiday time!

Then honestly, it ticks all your boxes and your budget too.

The week before this February half term you can get return flights for 4 from Stansted for £182 or Gatwick for £250.
You don't say where you're flying from, so I put London Any into the search bar of Skyscanner.
That leaves a very healthy budget for accommodation.

We did it the week before half term and it was lovely. It was busy enough that you didn't feel isolated, but quiet enough to give us space to develop our confidence.

Do you and your husband already know how to ski? We went as beginners too and opted to have a private instructor for DH and I. We did three 2 hour lessons with him. We progressed faster because it was focused teaching, and our weeks were much more flexible than if we'd committed to group lessons. The DC went into group lessons and had a ball!

Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

Definitely look at Levi or Ruka. Quieter cheaper and so much to do. At Levi you can husky ride, snowmobile, snow shoe etc. Ruka is nice and small and so safe that kids can ski on their own as no way of getting lost!

Just to say we stayed there last year and had such a great time (in spite of vivid restrictions still being in place) Apartments are lovely

We went here with snow bizz at the beginning of the year. It was brilliant all round for the kids &adults

I posted a separate thread but do you have good ideas of accommodation in Levi? We'd prefer half board.

Les gets - France. We went every year as kids. It has everything

Try montgenevere brilliant family resort no ice skating but does have toboggan is beginner friendly great ski school and because its close to Italian border (its at the bottom of the town) prices are cheaper then a lot of French resorts

Ahh😅Need advice really quickly! Got a really good deal with Crystal for Jan 24, Bardonecchia Campo Smith apartments 7 nights 2 adults 2 children, flights to Turin, transfers, luggage... And also a ski bundle including ski school for 3 hours x 5 days, lift pass, equipment & helmets for the 2 dc for 2.5k... Should we book?!!!! DH & I undecided about skiing so a nice village with good restaurants is an absolute must. Quite excited, agent holding it for me but thought I'd ask mumsnet first!

Just a warning... food in ski resorts is expensive. Even basic stuff in the shops. Dont forget to budget for eating out...

(We paid €100 for a meal out for 4 last night!)

Thanks, yes food is a big factor. Thinking I should book this, one of the dc gets a free child's place. The ski bundle is a big plus!

Sounds like a great deal to me. I would go with it, all included!