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Grand Massif for next Easter with 2 x 7 yr old beginners?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
It looks like easyJet flights for Spring 2024 are imminent and wanted to check out a plan I’m hatching with you knowledgable folk:

I’ve got twins who will be 7 next year and am keen to get them skiing. So I’m looking for a resort which will work for beginners late season (due to school holidays); easily reached from Geneva (due to Bristol not flying to Austria or Italy after mid March) and has some old style charm (due to my wife’s fussiness).

I do realise the ‘old style charm’ contradicts good late season conditions, but feel that the best compromise is Samoens/Morillon?

I have sourced potential lodgings at a decent price in both but wondered which is better for access to good ski school (for the children)and the higher slopes (for me and my wife)which I am guessing means Flaine? Sameons looks like the larger village but our accommodation in Morillon would include a pool and breakfast, so they both have pros and cons.

If anyone can come up with a better alternative resort I’m all ears, but the clincher for GM is the free lift pass for under 8s, which has helped tempt me to take the plunge next year rather than leave it until 2025.
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Flaine would be the best bet at that time of year. My twins learnt there at 6 and loved it. You'll have guaranteed decent skiing, and never be more than 10 mins away from school pickup.

And forget the free < 8 GM ski pass thing: first time skiers that age will probably be on the free magic carpet the first few days.

Maybe also look at Les Saisies?
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@EdYarker, I’d second Flaine, much easier access for young 1st time skiers.

How late is your Easter?
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Thanks for the replies. Luckily Easter is early next year (30th March).
Yes I understand that Flaine is higher and more convenient but my wife insists on going to a ‘proper’ village, so my hope was that we could base ourselves in the valley and catch the lift up each morning.
Skiing up to Flaine for the two adults would be fine but would ski school in Samoens 1600 or Morillon 1100 be finished by then?
I did consider Les Saisies, as have heard go things about it. Seems a bit more tricky to get to without car hire and less accommodation availability but will keep it on the list.
Thanks again.
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Quote:

Seems a bit more tricky to get to without car hire and less accommodation availability but will keep it on the list.

With beginner kids your wife's enthusiasm for a "proper village" might wane after the third morning of getting them and their ski gear on the long schlep to the ski school meeting place.......from the convenience point of view you couldn't beat Flaine.

On the plus side, 7 is a really great age to learn to ski.

I know Les Saisies well. You do need car hire (or quite an expensive transfer, or a cheaper but more complicated bus to Megeve and taxi) but it's an easy drive. There's masses of self-catering accommodation of all standards, quite a bit of it with very easy access to the slopes. We have consistently found the ESI "Glisse Passion" excellent with kids but they won't get free lift passes.
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We were in LS this Easter, and two kids had private lessons with Glisse Passion. Staying in Bisanne 1500 so had to drive kids round to ski school. Consistently able to park the car immediately at the top of the "front de neige", just by the steps leading down to the ski school meeting place, and adjacent to the shop where we hired their skis and boots. Nice, and inexpensive, little café just at the top of the "magic carpet" where they finished their lessons, so we could sit with a beer and wait to meet them, emerging excited and dishevelled with their instructor. All very easy and manageable. But yes, you really need to drive.
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@pam w, thanks for the info. My wife is well aware how much work will be involved getting them to the right place at the right time, but she really doesn’t like modern resorts. For her the holiday is as much about the local atmosphere as the skiing. I realise I’m trying for something which is nigh on impossible late season!

The other benefit of a GM resort as opposed to say Les Saisies is the availability of shared transfers compared to the stress and extra cost of a week’s car hire.

But looks like we will have to compromise somewhere…
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EdYarker wrote:
Thanks for the replies. Luckily Easter is early next year (30th March).
Yes I understand that Flaine is higher and more convenient but my wife insists on going to a ‘proper’ village, so my hope was that we could base ourselves in the valley and catch the lift up each morning.
Skiing up to Flaine for the two adults would be fine but would ski school in Samoens 1600 or Morillon 1100 be finished by then?
I did consider Les Saisies, as have heard go things about it. Seems a bit more tricky to get to without car hire and less accommodation availability but will keep it on the list.
Thanks again.


i was in Flaine during the first Jan Week.
Before our booking, i wanted also to Les Carroz . Seems much prettier as Flaine. Finally we booked in Flaine, and after the weather-desaster in Dec, i was happy that we booked there.
As already said, a proper village is nice if you are withoung kids. With kids most important ist convenient.
If you can afford it, check out Valdisere or Tignes. I think they offer also kids free till 8 years. And Valdisere is a proper village
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We were based in Morillon 1100 in Feb half term. I know crowds will be fewer at Easter (so shorter lift queues) but it's still a bit of a trek getting to Flaine and back let alone spending a decent amount of time there.

Also, not sure if ski school is half day? If so, can't quite see how going to Flaine would work. Sorry, I may have missed something.

Also, not quite sure what the snow line would be at that time of year. Although Morillon is a 'proper' village, it might not have that snowy ski village feel (it wasn't snowy in Feb!) and many lower pistes may be quite grotty.
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renting a car for the week would compare favourably with a private transfer, for four of you. Les Saisies is much more convincing "village" than Val d'Isere IMHO and half the price!
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@EdYarker, I am going to agreeably disagree that your wife has factored in the faff, especially e.g. if the weather's grubby and youngsters only want a half day ...

You could also look at Les Carroz, which is a bit higher than Morillon 1,100 I think? Samoens for the record, +/- also means a drive to the lift (or a bus), even more faff.
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I skied one day Samoens till Flaine in the way to LaPlagne (7th April)
It is maybe a proper Village however you need 90% a bus i think + with the Gondel up way.
In this week definitely somewhere in Flaine. You can walk tll the lifts easily, if the weather is sunny you could make a pause in FLaine Forum and eat a baguette from Spar for 3 Euro etc
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+1

With young kids it's bad enough when you are staying right next to the ski slope. Adding in a ski bus and gondola (ala Saomens) would not be much fun with children.

I'd also suggest Sainte-Foy. It's a much longer transfer, but ski passes and accommodation may well be cheaper than the GM. It should be reasonably snow-sure at Easter, and most (self-catering) places have swimming pool + doorstep(ish) skiing.
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We have been to Les Carroz in early April and had very good holidays. We stayed in Les Chalets de Jouvence which is at the foot of the slopes but also within east walking distance of the village centre. The ESF there is very good and there is s beginners area at the top of the gondola. The slopes of Les carroz and morillon are better for beginners than Samoens and Flaine in my opinion and there are some lovely mountain cafes. It can get a bit slushy in the afternoons but the kids won’t notice that.

We have always booked through peak retreats and usually self drive.

I think if you are flying to Geneva Les Carroz is s good option. Les Saisies is also good eg chalet des cimes in the resort centre.

My favourite place at Easter is Montgenevre which is a bit more snow sure but if you are flying you would be best off with Turin flights for that and from what you say that isn’t an option.
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If you are choosing between Morillon and Samoens, Samoens is a much more direct and easy way to Flaine on skis. Plus it is more likely to have better snow as it is higher (the 1600 station). But the distance to the GME gondola from where you are in Samoens is important (or you take a bus)
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And that late, Samoens village "proper", though a lovely place in mid summer or covered in snow mid-winter, might be pretty dismal, with a few piles of very tired - it's right down in the valley.
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If you are OK to stay down in a "proper" village and have to gondola up to the snow Les Contamines would be worth looking at.
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Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond. It’s really helpful and I really appreciate it.

My conclusions so far is that not many people think Morillon or Samoens are good options with first time children (let alone at that time of year)!

I appreciate the advice of staying in Flaine itself but I know my wife wouldn’t like it and that’s just as bad as the kids not liking it!

VDS and Tignes are likely to be too expensive and the transfer looks too long.

I have considered Les Carroz and will continue to do so. Just haven’t found the right accommodation for our budget there yet.

Les Contamines also looks like a decent shout although I note the lifts are even further from the main village than in Samoens (+ no free lift pass for kids). Happy to stand corrected on this!

I will have a closer look at Sante Foy. Don’t know it at all.

The other two places I’ve found good accommodation close to the lift is in Les Houches and Combloux (which I realise means it’s away from the village). But I fear both these destinations will suffer with poor snow on the 30th March.
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@EdYarker, wouldn’t be booking les Houches for 30 march till 29 March …
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There isn't much in Combloux which is at all convenient for the "snowy" side of the valley. It's a very pleasant village (I'm staying there for four days later this month to enjoy the spring flowers) but likely to have little snow at village level on 30 March, as you surmise. If I were doing exactly what you were doing, and had the same priorities, I'd go to Les Saisies, which unless the weather patterns are very unusual will have better snow than almost all the "proper" villages around.
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@EdYarker, "I will have a closer look at Sante Foy. Don’t know it at all"

Absolutely brilliant for your needs, but realistically it's a car hire place to be there. Very friendly, extraordinarily easy for children/ski school/progression etc, a great family experience with definitely no travelling when there to facilitate your day. We've been as a family of four plus introducing other family to skiing there, all having the best time. Don't feel you'd be disappointed with that one.

We do also like GM too and stayed in all of the locations multiple times. Convenience, Flaine is very hard to beat with a family. We also really rate Morillon 1100 as alternative. Both walk out onto snow Convenience, ease of use and very good learning slopes. Morillon has budget advantages usually over Flaine for accommodation.
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Quote:

Both walk out onto snow

Can you really guarantee walk outable snow at 1100m in April?
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I've never been to Ste Foy but it does sound good. Passed the turning driving up to Tignes quite a few times. And it's worth biting the bullet of a slightly more demanding transfer to have convenience all the rest of the time.
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pam w wrote:
Quote:

Both walk out onto snow

Can you really guarantee walk outable snow at 1100m in April?


Yes, of course not, it's often a commitment of faith around that time generally.

But to explain it another way that may be realistic (given that budget is a control here) they have good snowmaking provision, north-ish facing and with all the accommodation grouped around the principle lift, it doesn't actually need a huge amount of snow to use that little village part there, both ski in and out.

They are pretty practical and skilled (immediately local pistuers) in making it work, friendly little place too. Often we've visited mid to end of March there, never without snow.
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Both Combloux and Les Houches usually close before Easter due to their low altitude.

At Les Contamines I imagine you could find self catering apartments in Le Lay (the complex close to the main gondola) but you would be a 15-20 minute walk to the main village. I don't know whether there are any hotels around there.

Or if you are thinking of that area I am sure there are self-catering apartments to rent near the gondola in St Gervais, again a bit of a walk to the village centre though closer than LesC. With "old-style charm" though not around those apartment blocks. The nursery slopes at the top of the main StG gondola shouldn't be too bad for skiing at the end of March, but LesC usually does much better for late season snow.
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@EdYarker, will your wife be skiing?
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@under a new name, yes she’s a middling intermediate but hates slush! I know… not a great combination with her love of low lying villages! rolling eyes
It all used to be much easier before kids!
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@EdYarker, I think you are going to have to bring her round ...
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under a new name wrote:
@EdYarker, I think you are going to have to bring her round ...

Or have her organise her own ski holiday at a different time
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Yes, sounds like we may have to stick to our current arrangement of a quick weekend away mid season with the girls to the grandparents. They can wait a bit longer for their first taste of skiing.
Thanks again for everyone’s input.
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@EdYarker, so you'll sacrifice your childrens' possibly joy of skiing to satisfy your wife's somewhat petulant desire for "alpine beauty" which doesn't exist in either Samoens (rather tired overbuilt savoyard village) or Morillon (more or less purpose built tired savoyard village) anyway? Twisted Evil
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@EdYarker We did samoens in march 2019 when my son was 2 and niece was 4. We liked the town (sitting out in the square in the sunshine, nice park) and skiing. We are used to skiing in Austria so not averse to a bit of bus faff - busses work well (assuming no low season revised timetable)
The plateau at 1600m (top of gondola) is ideal for beginners.
The negatives for us were:
No town swimming pool.
Lack of lockers at gondola base (tho there were some private ones in an underground bunker at the top of the lift).

Think it’s difficult to guarantee avoiding slush at that time of year other than by doing your skiing early in the day.

The concept of sleeping in low altitude towns is a good one we have enjoyed in the Zillertal too.
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EdYarker wrote:
Yes, sounds like we may have to stick to our current arrangement of a quick weekend away mid season with the girls to the grandparents. They can wait a bit longer for their first taste of skiing.
Thanks again for everyone’s input.


I meant she can go where she wants another time and you take the kids at easter. Her needs/demand are incompatible with your desire to introduce the kids to skiing so a fair compromise IMHO
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@EdYarker, could you fly from somewhere else? By traveling a little bit further to a different UK airport you might open up more suitable options (potentially with a similar or shorter transfer at the resort end).

It would seem a real shame for your kids to miss out. As an alternative suggestion, why not consider the Family Bash (SFaB2024). Obviously Val Thorens isn't the low lying pretty village your wife appears to want, but can that not be offset against picking a resort and occasion that gives the kids a good first experience of skiing? The Oxalys is a great place to stay.
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There are lots of good options for that week. Although it would help to know your budget for accommodation. If the places I mentioned above are more than you want pay how about the following;

Les carroz - chalets de leana
Montgenevre - Le hameau des airelles.
Les Saisies- chalet des cimes (already mentioned but I don’t think you commented on it)
Sainte foy - etoile des cimes
Val cenis - les balcons du village

If you go in the first week of April it might be a bit slushy or could be wintry conditions.it is usually a good time to go with beginner kids. 16th December would also be a cheap week to go and less slushy but you would need to pick your resort carefully that early, Montgenevre would still fit as it opens in early December.

As someone said above I would also look at flights from Gatwick as that will open up more options eg Turin for Montgenevre or Lyon for Val cenis.

Self drive would also be worth considering. Peak retreats who I recommended higher up the thread do self drive or accommodation only packages and have lots of lesser known resorts and traditional villages as well as the more well known options. I’d recommend looking at their website.
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Quote:

16th December would also be a cheap week to go and less slushy

but quite possibly less snowy, especially down in those proper villages and as @snowymum notes, some of the lower places won't be open.
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Quote:

16th December would also be a cheap week to go and potentially less snowy


FIFY
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@snowymum, getting from Bristol to Gatwick already adds a bit of hassle, no?
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@pam w, Montgenevre is a pleasant village and would probably be ok that week. Although I think the April week would be better for beginners.

@under a new name, it adds hassle but then so would flying to Geneva and going to a resort with a long and expensive transfer. We always drive or take the train to ski hols despite living near two major airports! So I probably shouldn’t have commented on flights.
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@snowymum, true re transfers but that week out of Geneva long transfers are unnecessary. However, inserting an unreasonable requirement for "picturesque" into a holiday with the objective of getting kids to enjoy a life changing* activity seems a bit strange to me too Twisted Evil

* changed mine ...
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