Family ski resort / chalet recommendations

[JQ]

I've been skiing for many years, but 2016 is the first time I'll be doing the full family trip, normally I'm away with the lads. My boys will be 6 & 7 when we travel. Does anyone have recommendations for resorts or even potential chalets. Requirements are :

Short transfer from airport (we'll be hiring cars)
Plenty of non ski activities (swimming is essential, ice skating, bowling etc). I doubt the kids will ski all day.
Not busy - I would like to steer clear of the traditional Brit resorts - Vaujany and Les Carroz are currently on the shortlist. Really I'm ideally looking for under the radar recommendations that perhaps are more popular with locals as the big travel companies don't go there.
Self catering accommodation for 10 people (6 adults, 4 children) in resort.
Beginner / intermediate slopes to accommodate my wife and kids.
Good ski school for kids

Cheers

[//j17]

Les Gets might be worth a shout.

60-90 min from Geneva, proper village and more family than Morzine. Not sure if it has it's own pool but can ski/bus/drive to either Morzine/Avoriaz that both do. Morzine also has a full ice rink and ice hockey team (Sunday games from memory). Sure to be bowling in one of them - all French ski resorts seem to have one!

[Amateurish]

Morzine is a good place for family skiing. Not exactly under the radar, but tends to attract independent travellers rather than packages. Good new indoor pool, ice rink, cinema. Lots of ski school options.

eta I took my kids (4 & 6) there for Easter this year and put them both in the ESF ski school for the mornings. They enjoyed it, and were up for some extra skiing in the afternoons.

[s3fella]

Val Cenis is a nice area, a couple of resorts, very nice and affordable appartments, and great ski schools. Try Snow Trex for a drive yourself deal.

[JQ]

Cheers for the recommendations, I'll do some investigating this weekend.

[Ranger 6]

Have a look at La Clusaz.

A good family friendly resort off the map and with a god selection of chalets/apartments.

Sensible distance from Geneva too

Swimming pool, ice rink etc etc

[S10GTA]

//j17 said:

Les Gets might be worth a shout.

60-90 min from Geneva, proper village and more family than Morzine. Not sure if it has it's own pool but can ski/bus/drive to either Morzine/Avoriaz that both do. Morzine also has a full ice rink and ice hockey team (Sunday games from memory). Sure to be bowling in one of them - all French ski resorts seem to have one!

Yes Les Gets has a pool, and it has a bowling alley. There is also an ice rink in the winter.

[MKnight702]

Last year we went to Levi in Lapland.

For the first time skiers it was superb, the snow was the best I've ever seen and the queues, well, if there was 5 people in front of you at the gate it was busy! (And this was Feb half term).

There was a separate area where the kids could go and ski, sledge, muck about that had a traditional hut with open fire and hot berry juice. There is swimming, bowling, ice karts, dog sleds etc etc to keep you entertained.

Worth a look?

[Amateurish]

S10GTA said:

Yes Les Gets has a pool

I don't think it does. Not that I know of, anyway. Unless you are thinking of the pools in Morzine?

[S10GTA]

Amateurish said:

S10GTA said:

Yes Les Gets has a pool

I don't think it does. Not that I know of, anyway. Unless you are thinking of the pools in Morzine?

My apologies, not public pool but many hotels do have one. You are indeed correct I was thinking of the public pool in Morzine.

There is also a new waterpark in Avoriaz, called aquariaz http://www.avoriaz.com/en/things-do/family-activit...

[prand]

//j17 said:

Les Gets might be worth a shout.

60-90 min from Geneva, proper village and more family than Morzine. Not sure if it has it's own pool but can ski/bus/drive to either Morzine/Avoriaz that both do. Morzine also has a full ice rink and ice hockey team (Sunday games from memory). Sure to be bowling in one of them - all French ski resorts seem to have one!

Agree with the above, I had a good time at pretty Les Gets with my family this year, much more alpine than Morzine - our kids were aged 3 and 5 both into morning ski school while Mrs P and I hit the slopes, we rented a pretty reasonable 2 bed apartment with a pool which was good for the afternoon entertainment. (Les Fermes D'Emiguy). There is a big kids snow play area at the top of the first lift station, with little kid tows and conveyor belts we took our kids too, they were perhaps a bit small for it, but your boys should have a good time.

Even though they'd not had great snow at that point (1st week in Jan), it was still mostly very skiable with lots of snow cannons, and allowed me to stretch my legs on the pistes in some reasonable snow conditions, I was able to ski over to Morzine up the black runs there and up Mont Chery for a bit of variety in just the mornings. A trip to Avoriaz was a bit of a trek for just for a morning though so didn't bother.

The resort is low, just above 1000m, but easy to get to from Geneva in around an hour and 8 hrs straight from Calais (we drove). There was cinema and bowling and ice rink in the town square (not tried by us - kids a bit small). Expensive for eating out, but then all of France has got 30% VAT on restaurants at the mo, but we took a lot of food with us in the car which meant we could have a few meals out.

EDIT - this was our first trip as a family too, sadly the raucous trips away with our mates are no more, though we managed to get some reasonable (it's all relative) apres ski at the bar at the bottom of the main lifts, our kids would play in the snow and meet up with other kids while we supped on a couple of beers. (See pic below - Mrs is in background reading a book!)

Edited by prand on Friday 17th July 14:03

[kirsty-s2k]

We were in Tignes for the first time last year although I can't recommend any self catering places the resort and skiing I thought were fantastic. There are nursery slopes available and if you're buying lift passes there is pool access included http://www.skipass-tignes.com/en/serviceskipass
We liked Tignes so much that we've booked to go back this year too!

[Condi]

Been to Grand Massif (where Les Carroz is) a few times. Generally full of French people and is often wonderfully quiet. Never been in half term, so cant comment on what its like then, but would recommend. Some lovely blue runs and some more challenging blacks and reds. Not sure on the other activities beside skiing, as we stay in another village.

[PauloV12V]

www.skivillars.com ?
Is a large family ski chalet on the slopes in Villars. It has sledges, sky TV etc etc. There is an ice rink in the village, kids ski free and its a very relaxed chilled resort 1hr from Geneva. The website shows a ski map and more details etc..
Worth a look.

[//j17]

prand said:

Even though they'd not had great snow at that point (1st week in Jan), it was still mostly very skiable with lots of snow cannons...The resort is low, just above 1000m...

Don't let these 2 put you off - the 2014/15 season was just really st in most of France, especially at the start of the season but that's weather for you. I've spent a week in early Jan. in the PdS area for each of the last 4 years and this is the only one where the Morzine/Les Gets area wasn't worth skiing. The higher Avoriaz side was OK, just busy as everyone was there.

Sure, a high resort tends to mean a more snow-sure resort but in France often also means a constucted resort, often in the communist era easter block architectural style and with prices that are even more inflaited than a village resort because you can't escape and one company owns each and every hotel, bar and restaurant. I'll take the charm of a real village any day, where you get bars like Robinson's in Morzine that are staffed by 3 OAPs who close around 8pm not because there's no customers but because they have made enough money for the day and want to watch something on TV

[OscarIndia]

If you fancy Les Gets I have a 10 person Chalet there. PM me and I will give you a call.

[prand]

//j17 said:

Don't let these 2 put you off - the 2014/15 season was just really st in most of France, especially at the start of the season but that's weather for you. I've spent a week in early Jan. in the PdS area for each of the last 4 years and this is the only one where the Morzine/Les Gets area wasn't worth skiing. The higher Avoriaz side was OK, just busy as everyone was there.

Sure, a high resort tends to mean a more snow-sure resort but in France often also means a constucted resort, often in the communist era easter block architectural style and with prices that are even more inflaited than a village resort because you can't escape and one company owns each and every hotel, bar and restaurant. I'll take the charm of a real village any day, where you get bars like Robinson's in Morzine that are staffed by 3 OAPs who close around 8pm not because there's no customers but because they have made enough money for the day and want to watch something on TV

Don't get me wrong, I'd be back at Les Gets like a shot, I was more than impressed by its location close to Geneva and the Autoroute, its facilities (especially for kids), the small village atmosphere and the easily accessible skiable area from the village. But some people do get a bit sniffy about altitude so thought it worth a mention.

This year was an absolute freak across the region from what I could tell, I really felt for those who booked a week over Christmas at Les Gets and many other resorts as there was (contrary to recent years) green everywhere, then a massive dump on departure day, causing many to have the journey from hell home surrounded by the stuff they'd been praying for the week before.

[anonymous-user]

I live in Haute Savoie, and have pretty much skiied the entirety of the resorts within 200km of Geneva.

That being said, the best all round resort I have ever been to has been:

Saalbach Hinterglemm

[OscarIndia]

prand said:

Don't get me wrong, I'd be back at Les Gets like a shot, I was more than impressed by its location close to Geneva and the Autoroute, its facilities (especially for kids), the small village atmosphere and the easily accessible skiable area from the village. But some people do get a bit sniffy about altitude so thought it worth a mention.

This year was an absolute freak across the region from what I could tell, I really felt for those who booked a week over Christmas at Les Gets and many other resorts as there was (contrary to recent years) green everywhere, then a massive dump on departure day, causing many to have the journey from hell home surrounded by the stuff they'd been praying for the week before.

It wasn't just Les Gets, all the Alps had a horrific start to the season!
That said I went out on Boxing Day, couldn't see the problem.....!

[S10GTA]

OscarIndia said:

It wasn't just Les Gets, all the Alps had a horrific start to the season!
That said I went out on Boxing Day, couldn't see the problem.....!

I concur. We had a nightmare trying to move guests from resorts with no snow to ones with very little. Not sure I've ever worked so hard!