Which of these resorts would you choose for a beginner family?

[Yesterdayyesterday]

I'm looking at booking something for Easter (I know it's late). We're a complete beginner family with DC age 9 and 6. DH and I have been snowboarding before but never skiing.

I've looked at snow sure resorts and found some suitable accommodation options. However, I'm having trouble figuring out how beginner friendly some of them are. Some of these resorts are massive with multiple villages so even when there is a good % of blue runs, I can't easily figure out how close we will be to them.

Which would you pick out of these?

-Tignes 1800
-Plagne Village
-Plagne Centre
-Les Arcs 1950
-Avoriaz
-Montgenevre
-Beitostolen Norway (bit of a wild card!)

I worked in Montgenvre and would recommend it, it’s generally considered a beginner/intermediate resort, big wide open pistes, not busy at all, high and snow sure. Good learning area and ESF are fab there. The village isn’t that big so no great big hike to the lifts in the morning. You can leave your skis etc in lockers right on the slope for ease.
my only negative when I worked there was lack of restaurants so n the slopes to stop for coffee etc. but it’s lovely and easy to navigate.

avoriaz is gorgeous and will really give you the wow factor for your first time, its like something out of a fairy tail. Lots of extra curriculars like sledging etc, no cars all sleighs, but expensive and a bit awkward. Can’t recall what it’s like for beginners. The main area where all the lifts depart from what chaotic though from memory. Snow sure.

tinge 1800 is fab, again can’t recall from a beginner POV but we liked it. It felt very sprawling though and as you go higher up it’s very sparse and not as pretty as Monty or avoriaz.

all good options!

would also recommend serre chevalier and Saalbach as equally lovely options. Saalbach has a restaurant with a slide to get to the toilets which is fun, and a restaurant with loads of goats outside if I recall correctly. We did our best ever extra curricular there too - horse drawn sleigh ride though the Forrest at night to a slope side restraint for fondu. And back again, magical with kids.

You mention Tignes 1800 but there's not much there to do and snow can be very soft at that altitude at Easter. The runs back to 1800 are mostly red so you'd end up taking the bus. Tignes 2100 is a better option - not very pretty but lots more to do and access to nursery slopes in the centre of the village - there's a magic carpet, drag lift and short chair - with scope for blue runs on the Palafour side of the resort once you're a bit more competent.

I believe the beginners slopes in Tignes are in Tignes Le Lac and Tignes Val Claret -
not sure there are any at Tignes 1800.

You should do the same check for the other resorts you mention as you definitely want beginner slopes close to where you stay (as close as possible!)

Good options here…
I like Les Arcs 1950

Tignes 2100 = Tignes Le Lac

Les Arcs. We went at Easter last year and are booked for this Easter, too. Fab conditions at Easter. Fantastic beginner skiing (and boarding options, too).
Edited to add. If you stay in 1950, there's super easy blue runs literally on your doorstep. One day, go up the Varet gondola from 2000 and go down the blue Vallee de L'arc from there. It's looooong, super cruisey and goes all the way past 1950 and further down if you want to keep going.

Staying closer to 1950, there's loads of blues in the 1950/2000 bowl, and loads of lifts to access them. Getting on and off chairlifts is doddle on skis, especially if you've only done it on a board previously.

We used Evolution 2 in Les Arcs for lessons last year. We stay in 1800, but they have bases in 1950 and 2000, too.

Of the ones you mention I’d opt for Montgenèvre. I’ve skied there at Easter and there’s some lovely easy skiing. Not impossible you could make it to Italy by the end of the week. My favourite cafe where you get a round of 4 coffees for less than €10 😎⛷️. This Easter I’ll also be skiing in Vars/Risoul which is fab. Probably Risoul is better for beginners.

I too would choose Montgenevre from the resorts that you’ve shortlisted. As you’re all beginners there’s no reason to go to a mega- resort as you’ll only be using the nursery slopes and the easy blues and greens (which are lovely in Montgenevre too). The lift pass will probably be considerably more expensive at Les Arcs etc, and usually food/drink costs more.too. Save the bigger resorts until you’ve got a few skiing weeks under your belt.

Definitely not Tignes or La Plagne or Les Arcs; all have very expensive lift passes because their selling point is the huge km of slopes. I’d go for Avoriaz or Montgenevre or somewhere like Les Saises

Thanks all, luckily Montgenevre is coming out cheapest as well!

If you go to Montgenèvre you’ll probably fly to Turin (great city), but during your week consider visiting Briancon. It’s 20 minutes drive down the hill (other direction from Turin). It’s a citadel and the old town is great with an amazing situation overlooking Serre Che. I first went when I was 10. Be something different to do one afternoon after skiing.

Montgenevre is a great place for beginners with some nice gradual changes to red and blacks so you. Feel like you’re progressing!

la plagne has good beginner routes too, it’s quite flat at some parts and you have the option to go paradiski with les arcs as well so wide range of places to see/ski.

I worked for Ski Miquel in Monty - recommend looking at chalet hotel holiday with them

Montgenevre is by far the most suitable of these places and the snow is often good there at Easter.
Alternatively you could look at Sainte Foy (small resort but fine for beginners) or Val Cenis (good value all round -slushy at village level at Easter but ok higher up). I recommend Peak Retreats who are good family oriented TO.

Les Arcs is great and 1950 itself is absolutely lovely, my favourite resort. Loads of wide cruisey blues just above 1950 too.

We visited la plagne from Les arcs and it's nice but the central ski lifts do get busy around the centre. Les arcs 1950 is more charming and pretty.

I'd note that later in the season it's tougher to get over to la plagne from Les arcs as the crossing is a lot lower down, we ended up in afternoon slush at Easter time and it was not easy going.

Can I ask where you stay in Les Arcs - we were thinking of looking for a resort in 1950 itself as that's where our kids lessons are but can't seem to see many nice 2 bedroom apartments.

We stayed in 1600 before it was club med and that was nice but I think it’s all been done up now, there was a nice restaurant in the small town area that had very good duck.

1800 is much livelier for restaurants and shops but the parking is all in one place so your car is no where near your apartment.

We Also stayed in vallandry another time and it was nice but the town was a bit further walk out, a step back from the ski slopes. Able to find parking near the apartment. Also easy to get across to la plagne, can walk up to the peisey nancroix lift by road.

We stayed in a chalet with ski beat

@Larsson11 in my opinion there is better accommodation in Arc 2000 than 1950 and you can easily get the short lift down to 1950 for lessons or restaurants in the evening. La cime des arcs is good. I definitely wouldn’t stay in 1600 or 1800 if you have booked lessons in 1950. In late season arc 2000 is also the best place to be snow wise.

Just to backtrack a bit and echo what’s said above. I am a huge PDS fan and been many times but probably wouldn’t recommend Avoriaz for first timers. The way it’s built is a bit one-way in places and it can get congested. If you’re a decent skier it’s fine as you only pass through here & there but as an early stage skier you are going to be stuck there a lot of the time. Also once you start to stretch yourself a bit the run back from Chatel to Lindarets is marked blue but it is rammed and full and very bumpy from mid morning onwards and not suitable for beginners.

Thanks @abricotine i wasn't sure what Avioraz would be like for beginners, I just saw lots of info about it being good for families. So this is helpful advice!

You could look at alpe d'huez or les deux alpes - both got the height needed for late season skiing.