Talk to me about your ski holidays please!

[snowboarder]

Hi - a bit of advice please! We are seasoned ski/snowboarders (umm, as the user name might suggest!!) but since having children have gone as an extended family with the grandparents, staying in a private (ie just us) catered chalet in france. Next year it will just be the four of us and we're trying to decide what would be best. Options seem to be a family room in a catered chalet, a self catered apartment (worried we might be a bit bored/lonely and hard work!!) or maybe a hotel? Has anyone been to a kinder-hotel? Recommendations? A bit of childcare would be nice as would the opportunity for our boys to make some friends! I always find for catered chalets you need to book about a year in sdvance (so now for half term next year!). Oh - also - budget fairly limited and probably won't stretch to Mark Warner/esprit kind of prices!

Any thoughts and specific hotel/holiday company recommendations would be great!

(Annual summer holiday thread to follow too!)

[Mellors]

I have a great flat next to the Austrian ski slopes you could use (self catering) - great all day ski school for the kids ;)

[snowboarder]

But surely you'll be there yourselves at half term mellors!!

(Not jealous at all...😀)

[jollymummy]

We have a 7 and 4 year old and have been using Club Med. Fab set-up and guided skies within a group if you want that. We met great people in this way who we ended up meeting for dinner quite a bit.

[newtoedf]

We like pierre et vacances premium residences - your own apartment but in a hotel type building with a swimming pool, gym etc. ski-hire place in the building (soo much better than carting skis/boots around the resort at the beginning/end of the holiday). breakfast delivered each morning but you can cook your own evening meal.

I've found that the ESF ski school has been great for the kids. We've booked the kids in for morning lessons then added on lunch and an afternoon in the nursery when we decided we wanted to be able to have a whole day skiing ourselves. I think all the french resorts have the same set up where there is a state run nursery you can book which works alongside the ski-school, it's an impressive set up. Older kids can have ski-school all day if you prefer.

[alieh]

We've booked a sort of Kinderhotel type place. Hotel Cristal in Katschberg, Austria. I booked EasyJet flights the day they released them plus got a good deal on the hotel. It is still way more than I would usually pay for a holiday but about 1/3 the price of any of the package places I checked or catered chalets. No ski school or ski hire included but the hotel does have free childcare for over 3s (plus pool, soft play, etc). Hotel is full board in this case. Haven't gone yet so can't tell you if good!

[BigJoe]

My son has been using club med as well. He love it.