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Hi everyone, some great recommendations here. Just to let you know, that Travel Designers in Balham (8 The Boulevard, Balham, London, SW17 7BW - opposite Ducane Court) are your local recommend travel agent for a wide range of ski operators, including Esprit, Club Med , Mark Warner and Neilson, just to name a few.

I am also pleased to say that with many of these operators we can offer you better prices than you can achieve than by booking direct. So as well as some fantastic savings, you will also receive our independent advice and recommendations, along with full ATOL protection.

So if we can help with any of your holiday requirements , save you £100's, why not support your local independent Travel Agent, by popping in to see us, call us on 020 7720 8484 or email lesley@traveldesigners.co.uk

We travelled with Espirit last year with a 3 year old and a 1 year old and I would echo the comments above. My three year old loved snow club and went to ski school in the afternoon. We flew into Chambrey and the only down side was waiting for another (then delayed) flight to arrive to share the bus transfer to resort. This added over 1.5hrs to the transfer so the kids were all getting a bit grumbly. We would definitely go with Espirit again but would be v tempted to get a private transfer.

We went to Belle Plagne last season with Esprit ski for our first family ski trip. I can not recommend the company highly enough - we enjoyed it so much we are actually going on another Esprit Ski holiday to Courcheval this season. It was incredible value, the staff are wonderful, the nursery is brilliant, the pool in the hotel an added bonus which the children loved. Those children in our group that were leaning to ski loved it as it was made 'fun' - throwing hoops over penguins etc. the babysitting service works perfectly and the adult only restaurant in the evening a welcome break for all the parents. I really would highly recommend Eaprit as a company. We hadn't skied at Belle Plagne before and were pleasantly surprised by the range of skiing and wonderful mountain side restaurants for long lunches etc. the only downside that I can see is the asthetic appeal of belle plagne and the surrounding villages - plagne central is rather ugly! And the coach trip from the airport - dependent on what time your flight arrives might mean you have to wait for other flights going to the same resort from different uk hubs... Hope that helps - feel free to message me with any questions you might have!

We've been twice with Esprit, once to Belle Plagne when our oldest was 14 months and last year to Courchevel when our eldest was three and our youngest was eight months. Both holidays have been fantastic in terms of the childcare and the children really enjoying the holiday, in fact our eldest cannot wait to go skiing again next year back to Courchevel with Esprit. The people looking after the children are brilliant at getting them ready, doing fun activities when they're not having ski lessons and supervising them at mealtimes.

Belle Plagne is their premier chalet hotel with lovely rooms, swimming pool and ski in / ski out. The food was good both times at Belle Plagne and Courchevel. We opted for Courchevel over Belle Plagne last season and for next year to avoid a hefty room supplement with a suite, but both resorts are equally good.

Chambery airport even has an esprit room with toys and games in to keep the children occupied at departure. Esprit really do seem to think of everything!

We went two years running to Val Gardena in Italy with Ski Espirit. Both times the child care was fantastic. Very reassuring and allowed to have a relaxed ski. They were very flexible. Only negative was the first year the cooking was awful, truly and I'm not fussy. Second year was much better but not gourmet in anyway shape or form. Perfectly acceptable but not Masterchef finalist!!!

I give them a definite thumbs up and I worked 10 seasons in the industry so have good experience of many company workings. Good value for money, there are companies that offer more bespoke service but the costs rocket obviously.

We went to Les Deux Alpes last year with Mark Warner, our DS was 2.5 years old, this year we are going to La Plagne, again with Mark Warner.

hi
as an ex-esprit employee, ex-toddler instructor, experienced skier and experienced ski holiday with family organiser am happy to share a few thoughts and happy to discuss further (off forum) to allay your fears
- weather wise it depends on what month you go. for first time experience kiddie-skiing nothing can beat April skiing in the sunshine- make sure you go to a high-ish resort for end of season snow. But not too high for tiny babies. Belle Plagne should be fine.
- lessons and childcare with esprit - all works well but don't expect Norland nannies
- children will be happily exhausted by skiing and playing in snow.
- Esprit have been around years and the logistics work well. They are a very large company
- Esprit costs are average in the family ski industry. For other companies which have similar costs but are smaller try e.g. Famille Ski, Family ski, Chilly Powder, Premier Neige, Meriski. For high end e.g. Scott Dunn, Powder Bryne.
i could carry on....

We went last year to Obergurgl with Esprit.
Although we booked it through Iglu (as Esprit "don't email" )they made our holiday a truly relaxing time.
No stress with the ski school and getting out the door it was all taken care of by the staff, we even had our own time as a couple to shower and relax before dinner as the kids had a playroom with activities.
My daughter was one years old and I was unsure about leaving her in the nursery all day, but in fact bumped into her on the top of the mountain at lunch time!! The staff are happy and wonderful and it was so nice not to have to worry about cooking and washing up etc transfer flights etc

If I can jump in here...

We took ours with six other children (and two other families) when our youngest was 4 (and the oldest 6) so although there is some cross over there wasn't a lot.

However what worked REALLY well was Mr NVN made a single A4 laminated ski list with images (picture of a helmet, picture of gloves) and "big school writing" words of all the kit they needed every morning.

Every morning there would be a "fun" inspection of the children and their kit lists and they loved it! There was a reward (I think it was a toffee) for the child who had all their kit and it really made a difference as even the youngest (one child was three) would run around looking for their kit for the list.

Anyway I just remembered that when I saw your post and wanted to share.

Has anyone been skiing with Espirit Ski? I am considering booking to go to Belle Plagne with my 3 children who will be 4 and a half, just 3 and 13 months but am a bit apprehensive about the whole set-up of childcare, lessons etc. We have never been skiing with the children before and I have visions of it being a chaos of wet ski gear and cold kiddies! Any advice appreciated!